Friday, March 26, 2010: It is a saying that technology fosters fight among states for their development and IT infrastructure. And presently, in the race for the top slot for home Internet and phone systems, it seems Uncle Sam is falling behind. The US has fallen two places to fifth in overall ranking, a clear sign the country has to place more in network infrastructure if it desires to keep pace with the likes of Sweden and Singapore, reports The Economic Times.

In a paper on “network readiness” by Insead business school and the World Economic Forum, which was published yesterday, the US, which apprehended the top slot in 2006, is now trailing Denmark and Switzerland.

“The US has to be more important in taking action,” said Soumitra Dutta, a professor of business and technology at Insead and the report's co-editor. “It’s a global race right now. It’s a problem of speed.”

President Barack Obama has ambitious plans to accelerate the country's broadband network, and programs to spend nearly $16 billion to overhaul America’s Internet systems to lure more Americans towards broadband use. Other countries are investing heavily in network expenditure. China, for instance, is encouraging private investment in the market, and India also has plans to spread high speed broadband networks across the length and width of the state.