US comes top in broadband and cloud report

The World Broadband Association has put out a listing of the top performing countries in the cloud and broadband sectors, in which the US comes out on top.

The Broadband and Cloud Development Index tracks the development and overall performance of the two sectors across 21 countries from five continents. In terms of its methodology, it generates a score based on access, usage, application, and potential. The results of the study were announced at Network X, taking place this week in Paris.

The US came out top trumps in the report, which cited an increase in government funding in broadband since the pandemic, and stated that it is ‘the clear global leader in the cloud market.’

Second was China which the report says stands out as the only country to achieve a top ranking despite having a GDP per capita well below the index average. Similarly, the report says that it has benefited from government and industry initiatives that have propelled the cloud and broadband markets there.

Germany was singled out as performing less well relative to its overall economic standing, ranked 12th with a ‘below-average’ score in broadband, with a rate of 6% FTTH broadband penetration, which it says is on a par with levels in India and South Africa. The report says that its performance in broadband is a concern given it is the fourth-largest economy in the world. Other advanced European markets the report deems to have below-average broadband penetration scores include Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy

Brazil was also highlighted as a notable entry considering it is a developing market, with a particularly high FTTH broadband penetration rate of 35%, though due to other challenges ranks 17^th overall for broadband.

“With the outsize role that the internet will play in the coming decade, it is critically important for governments to act more decisively to support the development of high-quality broadband infrastructure,” said Martin Creaner, Director General, WBBA. “Our report found that across all the countries, a 10% increase in fixed broadband penetration will lead to a 0.77% increase in GDP per capita.

“There is therefore a need for cloud providers and broadband providers to collaborate more at the industry level to support harmonisation of relevant standards and product certification, which the WBBA is working hard to facilitate. This will support the development of new converged broadband cloud infrastructure and business models, enabling the next phase of digital growth.”

Dr Li Zhengmao, Chairman of the Board, World Broadband Association, added: “Although broadband is increasingly seen as critical infrastructure alongside utilities such as electricity and water, the provision of broadband infrastructure is more complicated because access alone is not enough. A more nuanced view needs to be developed to encourage stakeholders to support and invest in next generation broadband infrastructure to enable the digital applications and services vital to economic growth and social development.

“We hope that the findings of the BCDI and the key discussions from the BDC will help to galvanise all in the industry to overcome their differences and accelerate the roll out of critical broadband infrastructure.”

The ‘cluster 1’ countries ranked in the report are below:

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