Strong Telecom Investment Helps Put U.S. Near Top of Net Vitality Index

The U.S. is one of the top five countries developing a “robust broadband Internet ecosystem,” according to a new report from The Media Institute Global Internet Freedom Advisory Council. Also among the top five are South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and France, according to the report, titled “The Net Vitality Index in Detail.” The Media Institute is a non-profit research foundation focused on communications policy. The Global Internet Freedom Advisory Council advocates for free speech online and for the Internet to be an “open and interoperable platform, largely free from government intrusion.”

 The Net Vitality Index
In creating the Net Vitality Index, researchers collected a wide range of existing rankings from sources such as the International Telecommunications Union, the Akamai State of the Internet report, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group. The five top countries consistently ranked near the top of lists based on parameters such as telecom investment as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), lowest broadband prices, and 4G LTE penetration. Researchers took 52 existing indices into account – and these indices, included in the report, are interesting to page through.

Some of the highlights:

• Just under one half of the U.S. GDP goes toward investment in telecom, putting the country in third place worldwide after South Korea and the U.K., according to an ITU eight-country index.
• The U.S. ranks fourth out of 161 countries based on lowest broadband pricing, according to the ITU. The only countries with lower pricing were Macau (China), Israel, and Switzerland.
• The U.S. was third on a 10-country Statista index based on the number of available Wi-Fi locations, behind South Korea and the U.K.
• At 21.1%, the U.S. ranked third on a 2013 10-country Juniper index measuring 4G LTE penetration, behind South Korea and Japan.
• The U.S. had the highest-value digital start-ups on a 10-country Policy Exchange index.

According to The Media Institute, the research illustrates that the top five countries have a “powerful common driving force: innovation.”