Fast Broadband = Fast Money

Coren explores the findings reported in a new study, conducted jointly by Ericsson, Arthur D. Little and Chalmers University of Technology in 33 OECD countries, that sought to quantify the isolated impact of broadband speed.

The results of the study showed that doubling the broadband speed for an economy increases GDP by 0.3%. While that may not seem like much at first glance, it corresponds to more than one seventh of the average annual OECD growth rate in the last decade. Furthermore, the study reports that for every 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration, GDP increases by 1 percent.

According to Coren, broadband will significantly change the ways in which a whole host of sectors do business, with an impact similar to that of the interstate highway system, providing "infrastructure that radically improves the exchange of valuable goods (or services and ideas) leading to explosive economic growth over time."

"As broadband becomes ubiquitous, and faster, everything from retail to government services may find ways to reinvent itself, especially in knowledge-based sectors where such speed and efficiency can enhance competitiveness."