The hole is the whole U.S.

Intel plans on mass producing WiMax chips and going into rapid deployment, offering end-user speeds far in excess of what U.S. phone outfits provide with DSL.

The problem is that's the speed limit for most backhauls. Go to most WiFi hotspots, or most home networks, and DSL is the backhaul platform. We're talking 1.5 Mbps, max.

Now Intel's faster speed will resonate in many Asian markets, where speeds of 6 Mbps and more are common. For many such markets, the speeds offered by WiFi seem slow, and cellular broadband even slower. If you can get the same speed, with mobility, you've got a sale, and that's just what Intel plans to offer.

This is yet-another example of just how backward the U.S. technology infrastructure has become in a very short time. Most of us can't handle the backhaul necessary to get the benefits of WiMax. Phone and cable operators won't provide it, and they're dead set on preventing anyone else from providing it either.

Which means China and Korea and even India are going to have better Internet connections than your little American Johnny or Joanie Real Soon Now. And when they grow up, they'll be living on the wrong side of the Digital Divide.