The OECD this week released its annual broadband statistics for the 30 OECD countries. The release notes that Canada ranks at the top of the G7 countries in terms of broadband penetration. A closer examination of the data, however, reveals that that good news masks far more disturbing trends. As recently as 2003, Canada ranked second in the OECD in broadband penetration. In 2004, it slipped to fifth and last year it dropped to eighth. This year, Canada dropped another spot to ninth and it is safe bet that it will drop out of the top 10 by next year.
Not only is Canada dropping in comparison to other OECD countries, but Canada's growth rate ranks second worst among all OECD countries. The OECD chart lists the countries alphabetically, but it is much more revealing to examine both overall rank and growth rates.
