Two major reports recently released provide evidence that the protection of net neutrality is critical.

The Connectivity Scorecard is an annual industry-funded study that grades each country based on their online infrastructure. It measures the raw broadband infrastructure itself, as well as the policies and its behavioral consumer use. The U.S., who was in the top spot when the report was first released in 2008, scored a 7.77 out of 10 while Sweden scored a 7.95, indicating the lack of technological development in the U.S. while other countries have improved.

The Connectivity Scorecard attribute U.S.’s lower score to “an inattention to boosting average upload and download speeds at consumer homes, a lack of penetration across the entire country and a decline in graduation rates, showing a less-educated population capable of wielding broadband connectivity effectively as a tool.”

The other significant report comes from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC reported that between 14 and 24 million American citizens still lack access to broadband. Evidently, the U.S.’ goal of universal availability is not being met in a timely fashion.

“We pay far too much for far too little, and the lack of meaningful competition among Internet service providers leads to delayed investment and slow technological progress. Now that the FCC has taken the first step of acknowledging America’s broadband problem, we hope that it will advance policies to will reverse this decline though the promotion of real competition and true consumer choice." – Free Press Research Director, S. Derek Turner

Read more about the reports.