As Bruce Sterling says:

It’s Official: The Once High-Tech USA Has Been Reduced to Luddite Hillbillies

Here’s the more stodgy summary:

European countries and Singapore have surpassed the United States in their ability to exploit information and communication technology, according to a new survey.

The United States, which topped the World Economic Forum’s “networked readiness index” in 2006, slipped to seventh. The study, out Wednesday, largely blamed increased political and corporate interference in the judicial system.

U.S. Loses Top Spot in Global Tech Study, By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer, 28 March 2007

Remember, this happened while U.S. telcos were busy reconsolidating into Ma Bell, rather than deploying real broadband (countries such as Japan and Korea have speeds 10 times faster than in the U.S., and available to everbody).

-jsq