Don’t Miss Great AEI Report on EU Lagging US in Broadband

Anyone interested in broadband policy should not miss the excellent new research of Roslyn Layton, an AEI Internet economist, who has studied European broadband progress as compared to America’s.

Let me flag two big research takeaways that should not be missed.

• “… per capita [broadband] investment in the U.S. is twice that of Europe, and the gap is growing.”
• “Then there is the claim that Americans pay more for broadband than Europeans. As I point out in my report, critics forget to include the impact of value added taxes (as high as 27% in some countries) and compulsory media license fees (adding hundreds of dollars per year to the cost of every broadband subscription). When accounting for these real differences, Americans pay less for broadband.”

These findings affirm the wisdom of America’s market-led broadband policy that encourages facilities-based broadband competition over the EU’s lagging, common carrier, monopoly-unbundling, approach to broadband.   

For the short op-ed version, please see Ms. Layton’s op-ed in Real Clear Markets entitled: “Don’t buy the Hype about Lagging U.S. Broadband” -- click here.

For the ten-page AEI report: “The European Broadband Challenge,” click here.

Roslyn Layton and AEI deserve kudos for this excellent, pertinent and timely broadband comparative research.