[1st-mile-nm] 413,000 speed tests don't lie (fwd)

[Dale Carstensen]

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Date:    Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:08:33 GMT
From:    "Beth Allen, Speed Matters" <speedmatters at cwa-union.org>
Subject: 413,000 speed tests don't lie
Campaign-Id: Getactive-08 at speedmatters-27478994
Sender:  speedmatters at cwa-union.org

Dear Speed Matters supporter,

The results are in.

Today Speed Matters is releasing our third-annual report on
Internet speeds across the U.S. As a member of the
speedmatters.org online community I wanted you to be one of the
first to see this brand new report:

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/_74Xy-s1jj1i/

Based on more than 413,000 speed tests taken at
speedmatters.org, our report shows the U.S. still has a long way
to go to catch up to the rest of the world's Internet speeds.

Our data shows the average download speed in the U.S. is 5.1
mbps. While this is a slight increase from previous years, we're
still nowhere near world leaders like South Korea, which is tops
with an average download speed of 20.1 mbps.

Our report also lists the average Internet speeds in all 50
states, showing wide variation across the country. 

Check out our full report and find out how your state stacks up
with the rest of the country:

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/_74Xy-s1jj1i/

Without universal access to high-speed broadband, Americans are
at a serious disadvantage when trying to compete in the global
economy.

Small businesses are missing out on opportunities to sell their
goods and services around the world. Rural communities are
missing out on essential links to growth and development. And
our nation's economy is missing out on hundreds of thousands of
good jobs created by broadband investment.

Although the U.S. is the only industrialized country without a
national broadband policy, the good news is that this is about
to change. The Federal Communications Commission is hard at work
on a National Broadband Plan, due to Congress in February 2010.
And the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture are busy
evaluating the first round of applications for the $7.2 billion
in stimulus funds available for broadband projects.

With broadband's vast potential to spur innovations in
education, health care, energy conservation and more, we must
make a serious nationwide effort to bring high-speed connections
to all Americans.

Our new report is an important step in this direction, for it
paints a detailed picture of which Americans have access to
high-speed broadband and which Americans are being left behind.
Read our new report and learn more about the importance of
universal high-speed broadband access:

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/_74Xy-s1jj1i/

Our new report finds that 18 percent of Americans connect to the
Internet at speeds that do not even qualify as basic broadband,
according to the FCC definition of 768 kbps download. And only
20 percent have speeds that compare to those in South Korea,
Japan, or Sweden.

Slow Internet speeds and the digital divide are still holding
our country back. The Speed Matters report will serve as an
important tool to help the American people stand up and demand
fair and equal access to high-speed broadband.

Only then will we finally break out of the digital divide and
get our country up to speed.

Thanks for your support,

Beth Allen
Speedmatters.org 
Online Mobilization Coordinator

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