Britain edged out the US in broadband penetration for the first time in 2006, joining a host of other countries with better broadband access. It could have something to do with the fact that US households have to pay nearly three times as much.
The news comes courtesy of the United Kingdom’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), the equivalent of the US’s Federal Communications Commissions (FCC), in its annual International Communications Market report. It compares the UK with 11 other countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the United States.
The report states that a family of four signing up for bundled services that include a landline phone, basic pay cable, and internet service will pay about 25 pounds ($50) per month, compared to $54 in France, $80 in Germany, and $140 in the US.
These numbers are the latest to show that the US pays vastly more for vastly less in the digital age than other countries. In September, a Hong Kong telecommunications company began offering 1 Gbps fiber connections for $215 per month, compared with Verizon’s maximum 30 Mbps for $180 per month.
UK adults are also more avid social networkers than their European neighbors, with 40 percent logging in an average of 5.3 hours per month at social networking sites. This may also be the reason advertisers spend more money per person on internet advertising ($66) than any other country. In Britain, advertisers spend twice as much as France, Germany, and Italy combined.
Ofcom’s full report can be viewed at the agency’s website.
