Virtually all of SD has broadband, so I find it amazing that it isn't available everywhere, seeing as how we're such a backwater. I've had broadband since 1997.
Some utilities just should be public. That simple. It does not pay for cell phone and broadband providers to provide adequate coverage. The countries who have better service than we do don't have five competing providers. They have monopolies like our phone system once was.
They seem to be playing with relative sizes of national states.
We could find an area comparable to N. Korea and find that its access is about the same. Conversely, if we took Europe as a whole we would find laggards.
This mostly comes from the people that want government subsidies for this sort of thing.
It would be interesting to see the real facts behind all of these "studies."
I know that throughout almost all of NYC (excluding Staten Island.) that is is generally possible to get 3mbs/740 dsl for around $40 a month (it would be cheaper except for all the taxes.)
That is fairly impressive.
I really wonder about these studies when I read them. I travel overseas frequently and I never really see anything overseas that is any different from here.
But the main point is markets: is there a need for that sort of thing.
Ive got broadband too and I'm out in the sticks. As far as I can tell that most people overseas don't have internet access at all.