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We just got our most recent copy of CQ Weekly, and it has an interesting section on broadband access. It’s clearly written for an audience that lacks tech savvy (section header: “What is broadband and how many people have it?”), but it has some really interesting stats on how far America has fallen behind as an international leader on high-speed internet. All sources: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Broadband penetration rankings, in 2001:

1. South Korea

2. Canada

3. Sweden

4. United States

5. Belgium

5. Denmark

7. Netherlands

8. Iceland

9. Austria

10. Germany

11. Japan

12. Switzerland

13. Norway

14. Finland

15. Spain

Broadband penetration rankings, in 2007:

1. Denmark

2. Netherlands

3. Iceland

4. Norway

5. Switzerland

6. Finland

7. South Korea

8. Sweden

9. Luxembourg

10. Canada

11. United Kingdom

12. Belgium

13. France

14. Germany

15. United States

We do equally poorly in terms of broadband speed. Here are the average broadband download speeds (Mbps) of 15 developed nations:

1 Japan 93.7 2 France 44.2 3 South Korea 43.3 4 Sweden 21.4 5 New Zealand 13.6 6 Italy 13.1 7 Finland 13.0 8 Portugal 13.0 9 Australia 12.1 10 Norway 11.8 11 Luxembourg 10.7 12 United Kingdom 10.6 13 Germany 9.2 14 United States 8.9 15 Canada 7.8

Clearly, Japan is killing the game and the United States has a lot of catching up to do. The fact that American broadband is so slow is compounded by the fact that it’s expensive. According to CQ, the United States ranks 22nd out of 25 countries in terms of the affordability of broadband. The average monthly price of broadband in the States is $53.06. It’s cheaper in Turkey. It’s much cheaper in Japan, where a month of hi-speed runs $34.21. And it’s cheapest in Finland, where it costs $31.18.

We’re falling behind as a country. And because the American economy has transitioned and continues to transition from a manufacturing economy to an information economy, more and more people will be left out of America’s next phases unless consistent and affordable hi-speed comes to rural and urban areas.

That’s why many consider it important that we have a president that understands technology and has a strong technology platform. Much more on that later today…

Update: An examination of McCain’s technology policy.