SME-large-firm broadband gap (OECD)
Difference in high-speed broadband (≥100 Mbps download) adoption between small (10–49 employees) and large (250+ employees) firms in OECD Member countries — median.
Time series (% of firms with high-speed broadband)
| Year | Small firms | Large firms | Gap (pp) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 41.86 | 69.40 | 27.54 |
| 2021 | ~48 | ~78 | ~30 |
| 2022 | ~53 | ~82 | ~29 |
| 2023 | ~57 | ~84 | ~27 |
| 2024 | 59.97 | 87.59 | 27.62 |
Why it matters
Both sides are rising. The gap is essentially flat at ~25–28 pp across five years. This is the single best argument that AI-readiness infrastructure is diffusing but not converging — and that SMEs as a class are slipping in relative terms.
Underpins sme-connectivity-divide and a floor-effect on H2_u-curve-of-value.
Source: OECD calculations on OECD ICT Access and Usage Database, accessed July 2025. Figure 8.