Back in the 1990s a lot of Americans wasted a lot of bandwidth worrying about the Digital Divide.

Americans were wealthy. We could afford PCs and fast networks. Those poor black and brown people were being left behind by the future. There were even proposals that Americans tax themselves so that poor people could get broadband faster.

Now, a decade later, the digital divide is back.

And this time Americans are on the other side of it.

Our broadband networks now stand 13th in the world, behind those of our trade rivals. Chinese, Japanese and Koreans are being offered speeds and prices we can only dream of. Asian cellular networks are years ahead of those here, and mobile broadband is common. In the most remote parts of Africa, cellphones are being turned into makeshift phone kiosks, or simply rented on a per-call basis, so folks can stay in touch with markets and the growing world economy.

Meanwhile, a decade of growing monopolism in this country means broadband take-up is now below the rates elsewhere. Cellular networks are two years behind those in Asia. You pay more to get less bandwidth than people in most of the world, and the situation is getting worse.

Bottom rail on top now. How does it feel? And when are we going to get mad enough to do something about it, starting with breaking up the Bell monpolies and requiring wholesaling of capacity?