Mexico in slow lane of information highway

Experts have compiled endless reports and statistics showing that Mexico's monopolies are hobbling its ability to compete in a global economy. To date, the nation's political parties have shown little appetite to confront the business elites that fund their campaigns. But the evidence keeps coming.

Consider high-speed Internet access.

The most recent statistics by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that Mexico ranks dead last among the 30 member countries for broadband penetration.

The country has 3.5 subscribers for every 100 inhabitants, according to an OECD report. That trails nations such as the Slovak Republic (5.7) and Turkey (3.8), whose economies are much smaller. Denmark leads the pack with 31.9 subscribers per 100 residents. The United States has 19.6 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, while the OECD average is 16.9 subscribers

High-speed internet access in Mexico is pricey and dominated by Prodigy. That's the provider owned by telecom mogul Carlos Slim, whose firms also control the vast majority of the nation's land lines and cell phones. Slim is the world's second-richest man with a net worth estimated at $53.1 billion.

Posted by Marla Dickerson in Mexico City