I was reading my local paper and came across this article about broadband access and cost in Japan versus the US.

Apparently, "Broadband service [in Japan] is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. Japan has the world's fastest Internet connections, delivering more data at a lower cost than anywhere else, recent studies show."

How did this happen? Well, two things contributed to this rapid improvement in internet infrastructure.

First, Japan has a relatively newer wiring setup because of the destruction of Second World War.

However, that alone wasn't enough. Japan's "Internet system in 2000 was slower and more expensive than what existed in the United States."

So what happened? "Japanese politicians...decided to 'unbundle' copper lines. For just $2 a month, upstart broadband companies were allowed to rent bandwidth on an NTT copper wire connected to a Japanese home. Low rent allowed them to charge low prices to consumers -- as little as $22 a month for a DSL connection faster than almost all U.S. broadband services."

Classical economists would say that government involvement and interference would limit the innovation and lead to all kinds of problems. What happened in Japan? Answer: "The opening of Japan's copper phone lines to DSL competition launched a 'virtuous cycle' of ever-increasing speed."

So, classical economists on GoodWillHinton, what say you? and should the US follow Japan's lead and require unbundling of the telecommunications wiring?