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  1. #1

    U.S. Internet Users Pay More for Slower Service

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...r-service.html

    "The FCC’s National Broadband Plan of March 2010 suggested that the minimum appropriate speed for every American household by 2020 should be 4 megabits per second for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. These speeds are enough, the FCC said, to reliably send and receive e-mail, download Web pages and use simple video conferencing. The commission also said it wanted to ensure that, by 2020, at least 100 million U.S. homes have affordable access to download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 50 Mbps.

    Such rates wouldn’t be difficult. Comcast Corp. is already selling its 100-megabit service in the richest American communities, though it costs $200 a month. In a sense, the FCC adopted the cable companies’ business plan as the country’s goal. The commission’s embrace of asymmetric access -- slower upload than download speeds -- also serves the carriers’ interests: Only symmetric connections would allow every American to do business from home rather than use the Internet simply for high-priced entertainment.

    Other countries have different goals. The South Korean government announced a plan to install 1 gigabit per second of symmetric fiber data access in every home by 2012. Hong Kong, Japan and the Netherlands are heading in the same direction. Australia plans to get 93 percent of homes and businesses connected to fiber. In the U.K., a 300 Mbps fiber-to-the-home service will be offered on a wholesale basis. "

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer chrisisvacant's Avatar
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    Lame, the source article seems to be missing.

  3. #3
    It would seem that the expense of having a better high speed national internet service available to all would be far far less expensive than the insane amounts of money that will be spent on entitlements which will not contribute towards economic growth.
    Most people would rather die than think, and most people do. -Bertrand Russell
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  4. #4
    Fluffy Kitten Pendulous's Avatar
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    Not really news here. We know we pay too much for shitty service. And inconsistent. I've never had an ISP with a consistent connection.

  5. #5
    Herald of the Titans Theodon's Avatar
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    I think there is a problem with the url being cut down in length and it not translating over when you click on it.

    Click Here
    for the source article. The OP can do the same thing on his/her post too, or a mod can slap the post and probably fix it.

    On the topic of your internet over there: It would seem that Google's initial steps in to the ISP market aren't really shaking things up much in terms of the other providers getting their act together. I wouldn't be surprised to see Google owning the internet, for all intents and purposes, within the next decade over in America.
    Last edited by Theodon; 2012-12-31 at 06:08 PM.
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  6. #6
    I use internet with 30 MB of speeds per month. It cost an average of 65-75 dollars. If I wanted 100 MB. It would cost a hundred dollars a month. They really need to make service more affordable. I know people in the UK that run speeds of 100 mb. Paying a tiny tiny fraction of what we actually pay for here.

  7. #7
    This just in "Big-ass country that requires massive amounts of infrastructure to support has to pay more for service that's not as good as what a tiny ass country that requires less than a 1/10 of the support has"

  8. #8
    Banned This name sucks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Theodon View Post
    I think there is a problem with the url being cut down in length and it not translating over when you click on it.

    Click Here
    for the source article. The OP can do the same thing on his/her post too, or a mod can slap the post and probably fix it.

    On the topic of your internet over there: It would seem that Google's initial steps in to the ISP market aren't really shaking things up much in terms of the other providers getting their act together. I wouldn't be surprised to see Google owning the internet, for all intents and purposes, within the next decade over in America.
    Canada too please. Ours is possibly even shittier because of the lower population density.

  9. #9
    Bloodsail Admiral ovm33's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sialanne View Post
    This just in "Big-ass country that requires massive amounts of infrastructure to support has to pay more for service that's not as good as what a tiny ass country that requires less than a 1/10 of the support has"
    This pretty Much.

    I live out in the country. The closest population center, a town of 6000, is 6 miles away as the crow flies. 7.5 miles if you actually follow the roads. I get around 250k/sec downloads. I pay the exact same as a friend who lives in that town and gets 5MB/sec downloads. Upon learning this I called my ISP. Basically they said... it's never going to get better as it would cost them about 125k to upgrade the lines to my homes road. For the 6 people on this road, they just wouldn't see a return investment.

    TLDR: I'm screwed. And not the kind leaving you sleepy and wanting a smoke.
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  10. #10
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    Sialanne is correct, unfortunately. The US and Canada have a much harder time putting in a comprehensive fiber optic infrastructure due to the sheer size (and things like mountain ranges) that they have to deal with. South Korea, on the other hand, is not only physically only the size of Kentucky but it has a MUCH higher population density, which means you don't have 200 mile long stretches where there are only 20 people being serviced. That "100 million homes" referenced is basically their way of saying "Urban centers", and keep in mind that it's a minimum target. If Google Fiber really takes off, then hopefully a lot of people will be on that instead.

  11. #11
    I pay $47 for comast

    My speed atm.



    I get speeds between 3 and 6.5 mb/s usually. I was pleasantly surprised.

  12. #12
    Pandaren Monk Shamburger's Avatar
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    That's what 67$ gets you in Mississauga ON, (a stones throw from Toronto)

    Super Shitty

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Shamburger View Post

    That's what 67$ gets you in Mississauga ON, (a stones throw from Toronto)

    Super Shitty
    Wow... there is a big difference between us. I pay $20 less and get almost 20mb more down and almost 9 more up. I live in an urban area though.

  14. #14
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    I used to pay £27 a month in my house 1 mile from my current location and I received 1mb internet (because of lack of infastructure).

    I move precisely 1 mile up the road, and now pay £30 a month for:



    What's up with the stupidly high upload speed?

  15. #15
    I have a 20mb connection from comcast and it allows me to stream movies from hulu/netflix/tubeplus and several other lesser known sites so it's all I need.

    Of course there is still issues with pausing and whatnot because most of the servers I download from limit the amount of data they send to a single device, but that can be avoided in most cases by putting the video on pause for a minute or so to give the download a head start

    I will agree that a 3mbit connection is to slow for the purpose of streaming anything with a decent quality picture and internet companies should be required to offer a basic 6+mbit starter package for under $30 monthly and do away with anything lower completely.

  16. #16
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    £5/month in London, UK.

    Soon as you go up to Yorkshire (even in the cities) though the speeds plummit to 1/10 those I get in London .

    How come America has such expensive internet? Is it just not as subsidised as UK or something?
    Last edited by mmocccd4d485ac; 2012-12-31 at 07:12 PM.

  17. #17
    I pay between 50-60 dollars a month for this:



    I live in a rather rural town of apparently 10k people (which I doubt that) in SE Indiana along the Ohio River. Closest urban areas are Cincinnati OH (60 min drive), Louisville KY (60 min drive) and Indianapolis (about 90 min drive).

    Not sure the actual amount, but I pay 170 for tv/phone/internet together.

    Edit: As you can see, mine is slower than more than 50% of the US.

  18. #18


    40-50$ by month in Quebec. Yeah its bad.

  19. #19
    Fluffy Kitten Pendulous's Avatar
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    Please don't turn this into a Speedtest spam. We have a thread for that.

  20. #20
    lol Bell internet. I have a triple play package from my local provider for TV/Internet/Phone, it's about $130 month, of which my internet service is maybe $40 of that, gets me 20mbps down and 2.5mbps up and it's pretty consistent plus it includes wifi downtown.

    Pretty much in Canada if you're not on something like Shaw you're getting fucked...

    But for the most part, the problems detailed in the article aren't about "rural services." So the "our country is so big!" problem isn't really holding water at all. Fiber to the home isn't a monumental task, just costly upgrading all subscribers from copper to fiber. The infrastructure exists in almost all major metropolitan areas and has done for years, it just costs money to extend a fiber run to your home from the POP.

    But Fiber isn't the only thing, you don't need full Gigabit connectivity, even basic high speed at 10-20mbps is more than a normal person would need and standard coaxial service can provide upwards of 250mbps no problem using DOCSIS 3.0 and channel bonding, without any necessary changes to the services the home already receives.

    The real reason Americans, and to a lesser extent Canadians pay so much more, is because the people providing the services essentially own monopolies...
    Last edited by Tradewind; 2012-12-31 at 07:47 PM.
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