
In the past, OS News
has discussed how U.S. broadband access lags many other countries in terms of cost, speed, and availability. Now,
this detailed report from the New America Foundation tells why. It all comes down to a lack of competition among the carriers, which can be traced back to the days when cable companies were granted local monopolies. The report argues that "...data caps... are hardly a necessity. Rather, they are motivated by a desire to further increase revenues from existing subscribers and protect legacy services such as cable television from competing Internet services." The report's conclusion: don't expect improvements without legislative action.
Member since:
2005-07-08
When we cancelled Comcast phone and TV, they increased the internet charge to $70+ for the 20/4 service. Verizon internet only is also $70+ for an slower 15/5 FIOS service.
For very low income Comcast customers, there is the "Essentials" program for a humble 1mb/s for $10/month that includes modem (thanks to the NBC merger). Not much use for TV streaming or download junkies.
Edited 2013-01-24 17:45 UTC