America's Internet Service Mediocrity

In the late 1990's, the US had the fastest internet speeds and widest penetration of almost any country.  Today, the US comes 16th, according to the OECD, with an average of 27 megabits per second, compared with up to quadruple that in countries such as Japan and the Netherlands.

A price comparison shows that internet service is more expensive in the US than elsewhere in the world.  The average US cost for 1 Mbps is $1.10 compared with $0.42 in the UK, $0.34 in France, and $0.21 in South Korea.

Countries such as Estonia, Portugal, and Hungary have better internet service than the US.

Comcast is America's largest cable television and internet provider and is a near monopoly in most of the largest cities in the US.

Through brilliantly effective lobbying, US cable companies have escaped the universal access and affordability clauses that were imposed on telecoms and electricity companies in earlier eras.

Comcast is one of two fixed-wire internet providers in 22 of America's largest 25 cities. As a result, only 7% of American homes are served with fiber optic wire compared with more than half in South Korea and Japan. It is the difference between a steam train and a bullet train.

The above blog is excerpted from an article published on Feb. 25, 2013 in the Financial Times, p. 9, and authored by Edward Luce. The dollar rates quoted above are monthly rates apparently.

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European Bank Loan Repayments

According to the European Central Bank, in the week of Feb. 25, 2013, European banks are expected to pay back 61 Bn Euros worth of cheap, 3-year money that was pumped into the euro zone financial system a year ago, in the second round of the ECB's loan program.

Consensus forecasts had been for an initial repayment of 130 Bn Euros as the window officially opens to start repaying the 529 Bn Euros borrowed by 800 banks last February.

The actual expected amount to be repaid is slightly less than half of the consensus forecasts and less than 12% of the borrowed sum.

As one economist put it, "If banks still feel they need to hold on to liquidity offered when times were bad, rather than pay it back now that things are supposedly better, it's not a resounding vote of confidence."

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