U.N.: Broadband Internet Access Booming in Richest Nations
By Ronald Roach
GENEVA
Broadband technology offering fast and cheap access to the Internet is booming in richer countries but is slowly spreading in the developing world, according to a United Nations report issued last month. The report, from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), notes that the spread of broadband was lagging in many European states where telecommunications lines are still controlled by former state monopoly providers. Nevertheless, developing countries lag far behind the wealthiest nations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. One successful project in a developing country was found in India where some 65,000 km (40,400 miles) of cable along the extensive rural rail network has been set up for remote communities, according to the ITU.
