It has nothing to do with running fiber optic lines to rural areas. Those places either pay higher prices for their connections, have no connection at all or have only one major provider with a local monopoly granted by local and/or state governments.
Hmm I am paying 89.99\month on Comcast for cable TV + 50Mbps internet.
That said what world do you live within when regulated monopolies are defined as free market?
Local monoplies are obviously a factor. But it is a factor created primarily by geographical constraints. South korea is the size of indiana with a GDP 7 times more than indiana. So obviously their networks are going to be much better than indiana's. You should expect them to be 7 times better/cheaper. Imagine if Russia had as good of an infrastructure as we did. It would cost an insane amount since there are so many areas with low population density that basically have to be subsidized by the urban users.
I live in a metro area that has approximately the same GDP as all of South Korea but in an even smaller area. My broadband is still expensive and shitty.
Have to say it.
It's all Bush's fault.
Well, him and the Republicans de-regulated everything when he was in office and this is what America got, never un-did it and deserves to be screwed.
good god. The thread topic is great. why do we have shit coverage and expensive.
but wow..from bush to Sarah palins fault? really?!
hahahaha god damn.
I would think the reason would be from a mixture of greed (ie the company's want profits and people are willing to pay), and cost of expanding it
Most of the country is rural. to lay out high speed internet is very expensive. so its concentrated around big cities. I do question why its still expensive in town and why we still lag in speeds.
That's not reasonable and a lot of people don't think it is, because internet access is now an essential utility. My business would collapse without it. Most in the country if they had no internet access would fall apart in short order. It is an essential necessity.This seems to have hit the nail on the head. The cost is high because people are willing to pay it. Cry brothers unite and lay down your wallets until the price drops to half. The big businesses would either reduce prices or go out of business or both, and the slack would be taken up by small firms across the nation....maybe.
Hoping that Google Fiber Bunny comes to my town soon...
Uno
No matter how hard the telcos/cablecos try to push their lies about population density, the high prices are the direct result of monopoly, or duopoly if you're lucky. My parents have a choice between Comcast and Wide Open West (thank god for the latter). ATT at their house can only provide 1.5Mbps if it doesn't rain so it's not really a viable alternative. Where I live I get to choose between Comcast and *drumrolls please*.... ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta... 768Kbps ATT DSL. Some quality choices right there. Anybody having any sort of doubt about the effects of this monopoly/duopoly should start frequenting www.dslreports.com . Telcos/Cablecos have a history of fighting muni deployments trying to stop it from ever becoming a reality, but if they fail to stop it through legislation, the inevitable result is they always, always lower prices because they have to compete on price with the muni internet/tv. It's a really disgusting state of affairs when these conglomerates legislate their profits.
10-28-2013
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/1...utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Why Is Broadband More Expensive In the US Than Elsewhere?
"The BBC reports "Home broadband in the US costs far more than elsewhere. At high speeds, it costs nearly three times as much as in the UK and France, and more than five times as much as in South Korea. Why?...'Americans pay so much because they don't have a choice,' says Susan Crawford, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama on science, technology and innovation policy. We deregulated high-speed internet access 10 years ago and since then we've seen enormous consolidation and monopolies, so left to their own devices, companies that supply internet access will charge high prices, because they face neither competition nor oversight."
As FCC Commissioner vote to approve Comcast-NBC Merger. Wait four months, go to work as a Comcast lobbyist.Four months after approving the massive transaction (Comcast/NBC merger), Attwell Baker will take a top DC lobbying job for the new Comcast-NBC entity, according to reports.
The response of groups like Free Press was expected in its anger, but not without merit. "No wonder the public is so nauseated by business as usual in Washington—where the complete capture of government by industry barely raises any eyebrows," said Free Press' Craig Aaron. "The continuously revolving door at the FCC continues to erode any prospects for good public policy. We hope—but won't hold our breath—that her replacement will be someone who is not just greasing the way for their next industry job."
FUck me too. i want the Google Fiber bunny to come to my town.