Press & PR

The US is falling behind in its provision of broadband against that of other countries, according to reports.

Congress has announced that it will consider alternatives to the way the industry provides access to broadband in an effort to give more people affordable access to high-speed internet services, consumeraffairs.com reported.

In some areas of the US there is no broadband provision at all, senator John Kerry told the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship opened hearings.

"We cannot expect small businesses to fairly compete against more technologically advanced competitors," Kerry said, calling for action to be taken.

Federal communications commissioner Michael J Copps said that this was not "national pride" but a business and competitiveness issue and the current situation was a barrier to innovation and entrepreneurship.

UK businessmen who travel frequently to the US would also benefit from such a move, with VoIP communications enabling them to make cheap international calls back home.

Vonage's V-Plan 2 enables people to make unlimited calls to 25 countries, including the US, for only £7.99 a month.