Speed Matters report resonates with press, blogs

In the United States we value fast cars, fast food and fast Internet. Well, two out of three isn't bad.

Last week, NBC Chicago compared the speed of American Internet connections to an overmatched little railroad engine pulling a large haul:

"Sometimes waiting for your Internet browser to load is alittle like watching "The Little Engine That Could."

Why is NBC Chicago comparing our Internet connections to a beloved children's book?

Speed Matters third annual study on Internet download speeds was released last week and the results are in: The United States made little progress since in the last year to improve the speed of our Internet connections.

And the press and blogs have taken notice.

USA Today summed up the results of the report:

"The average Internet download speed in the USA is 5.1 megabits per second, though consumers' online experiences can vary dramatically, depending on where they happen to live... On balance, speeds in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were faster. Speeds in the South and in rural areas were markedly slower."

In a CNET article about the report, CWA President Larry Cohen makes the case for why speed matters:

"Every American should have affordable access to high-speed Internet, no matter where they live. This is essential to economic growth and will help maintain our global competitiveness. Unfortunately, fragmented government programs and uneven private sector responses to build out Internet access have left a digital divide across the country."

Several other media outlets and bloggers cited the new report as evidence for the U.S. lagging behind other nations including: Chicago Sun Times, The Christian Science Monitor, LA Times, PC Magazine, Life Hacker and GigaOm.

Want to learn more about the report? Watch this short video that Speed Matters put together to explain the results:

At the end of the story, The Little Engine That Could did make it over the mountain successfully. Let's hope U.S. Internet Speeds will as well.

Exactly how slow is your Internet Connection (NBC Chicago)

2009 Report on Internet Speeds in All 50 States (Speed Matters)

Internet speeds vary across USA, leaving a 'digital divide' (USA Today)

U.S. lags other nations in Internet Speed (CNET)

Digital divide: Internet-access speed varies across Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)

How fast is your Internet connection? Top US speeds revealed (Christian Science Monitor)

15 U.S. states with the fastest broadband Internet speeds (LA Times)

In Broadband, U.S. Lags Korea by 15 years (PC Magazine)

How fast is your Internet connection? (LifeHacker)

Want Fast Internet? Don’t live in the sticks (GigaOm)