What's a 'Connectivity Scorecard' – and how is the US No. 1?

The United States comes out in the top spot of a new “Connectivity Scorecard” that attempts to measure how “usefully connected” nations are rather than just how much broadband access is available.

The study, available at ConnectivityScorecard.Org, was assembled by Leonard Waverman of the London Business School and sponsored by Nokia Siemens Networks. The study’s unique point of view is that it’s not pure technology availability that makes a nation connected; rather it’s how well and widely used that technology is by a nation’s individuals -- and in particular, its businesses.

The scorecard “is essentially a collection of different metrics, but our metrics encompass usage and skills as well as infrastructure,” according to Waverman. “Further, we recognize that the primary driver of productivity and economic growth is the ability of businesses to use [information technology] effectively.”

Due to that focus, some rankings come out “upside down” compared to typical studies. For instance, Korea, generally given kudos for its broadband capabilities, came in tenth. The US, often criticized for gaping broadband gaps, came in first – given credit for deep enterprise skill sets and high levels of IT and network use among businesses.

The highest score on the Connectivity Scorecard was a 10; no nation came close. The US, for instance, scored a 7.71, followed by Sweden at 7.47 and Denmark at 7.18. Scores by nation can be found here. Nations were actually ranked in two categories: resource- and efficiency-driven economies and innovation-driven economies.

The study looked at three distinct economic “pillars” of network use: business, consumer and government. For each area, nations were benchmarked against the best in class in their tier. Low scores reflect gaps in a country’s infrastructure, usage or both. According to survey creator Waverman, the survey results indicate “there is a real opportunity to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how countries measure and enable connectivity. Not even the world’s richest economies can afford to be complacent.”