Internet Playoff: Bulgaria Beats USA By 23

Bulgaria ranks third among 224 countries in average Internet download speed, just a bit behind Romania and South Korea, according to Pando Networks, a network vendor. The United States ranks 26th. The data flatter Bulgaria, but should embarrass Americans. The relatively dismal state of American Internet service was cited in a recent New York Times op-ed article by David Cay Johnston.

Johnston argues that telecom conglomerates and misguided regulation have nurtured a strategic weakness that "presents a genuine economic threat to America: the future industries and jobs that require a universal ultra-high-speed network, after all, will most likely be developed somewhere else." He concludes:

Just as canals and railroads let America grow in the 19th century, and highways and airports did so in the 20th century, the information superhighway is vital for the nation’s economic growth in the 21st. The nation can’t afford to leave its future in the hands of the cartels. 

CREDITS: David Cay Johnston, "Bad Connections," New York Times, Nov. 27, 2012. Johnston is visiting lecturer at Syracuse University’s College of Law and author of “The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use ‘Plain English’ to Rob You Blind.”   Pando Networks Releases Global Internet Speed Study, Sept. 22, 2012