If there’s one thing the OECD broadband rankings generate – it’s chatter. Whether the rankings paint an accurate picture of global broadband rankings – well that’s another thing altogether. Today at a panel hosted by the Free State Foundation the question was whether or not these rankings even matter. Fair question.

The discussion was moderated by Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation. He had to bust out the shot clock at times as his guests were a seasoned group of experts who had a lot of interesting things to say – not just on the rankings, but on the future of broadband and innovation in the U.S.

They included Ambassador David Gross, former U.S Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State, Rob Atkinson, Founder and President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Link Hoewing, Assistant Vice President, Internet and Technology Issues, Verizon, and Christopher Guttman-McCabe, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA.

A couple observations (NOTE: full footage of the discussion – including a robust Q&A – will be posted on NextGenWeb on Monday) … there was “violent agreement” on the fact that the OECD rankings in no way capture America’s leadership on broadband – or to be a bit more modest they mischaracterize a U.S. broadband market that is ripe with competition and innovation. Ask any of the 1,400 broadband providers competing vehemently to deliver their services to the consumer. There was good dialogue on the way countries like South Korea, Japan and Sweden approach broadband – and part of that dialogue focused on the OECD’s notion that what works in one country should automatically be applied to others. There are too many ways to debunk that notion to include in one blog, but a few brought up by the panel included discrepancies in market size, geography and generally methodologies used by the OECD to capture this data.

America boasts more broadband users and has the most competitive market of any nation on the globe. So as the discussion grows on developing a national broadband strategy, at least the panelists today agreed that facilitation of that progress is essential as we move forward with bringing the broadband promise to even more people. There’s no sense in looking backwards – sorry, OECD rankings. No offense.

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