When you hear the Net Neutrality folks claim that America is lagging the world in broadband adoption, remember this.

So what’s driving America’s progress in broadband deployment? For starters, the continued flood of broadband investment ($24 billion this year alone, according to the TIA) and the rapid deployment of “smart” networking technology are obviously having an impact.

Equally important, look at one of the key issues driving this investment: federal regulations don’t hamstring emerging technology. But with Net neutrality undermining that restraint, it also threatens the country’s progress in deploying affordable new broadband.

Yes, there’s much more to be done but as the Insead report shows, a light touch regulation is one of the factors that can help keep us on the right track