You may want to check "Internet World stats" you can google it but it shows you the statistics of broadband penetration by region for sure and maybe Japan if yo click on the country. Best wishes Bolanle -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Famiglietti Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 6:07 PM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-L] Benkler, Bandwidth, and the State of the Internet in Japan Hey all! I've been doing some writing about the Political Economy of Web 2.0 and happened across this recent piece by one of the giants of Network political economy, Yochai Benkler: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/04/recovery_prescription_build_... In it, he calls for a massive public program to build communications infrastructure in the United States. He makes a reference near the beginning of the piece to Japan, where 100 Mbit connections to the home have apparently been common place for awhile now. Here's my question. The basic premise of Benkler's thought is that widespread cheap computational power and bandwidth should lead to a decentralized network full of horizontally collaborating smallholders. Is this what has happened in Japan? Does anyone know of any work on the current state of the Internet there that might address this question? Is Japan a FOSS paradise? Or have the forces Nicholas Carr describes in his "Big Switch" lead to greater centralization? The Japanese case seems like it ought to provide some great evidence on this one way or another, but I never see any referenced. Can anyone get me started? Thanks. - Andy -- - Andrew Famiglietti PhD Candidate Bowling Green State University Bowling Green Ohio _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/