- Thread starter mattseh
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so that comment sums up reddit or sums up the situation with broadband in the states? if it's the latter, you should have used a better thread title brosephine
but he's right, european socialism works better in this case because good telecommunications infrastrucutre has positive externalities that might outweight the extra cost that a government rollout would probably incur.
but how much speed do people need? i think reliability is more important. i pay for 25Mb broadband but downgraded the line to a more reliable 14Mb and it's perfect for me.
but he's right, european socialism works better in this case because good telecommunications infrastrucutre has positive externalities that might outweight the extra cost that a government rollout would probably incur.
but how much speed do people need? i think reliability is more important. i pay for 25Mb broadband but downgraded the line to a more reliable 14Mb and it's perfect for me.
Not real sure about that socialism works better. The problem is the lack of completion in the states. Most areas are monopolized by only one cable / high speed internet provider, because in order for them to move in to the area and lay the cables they demand that they get exclusive rights.
Because of this it's a real dog and pony show. You're cable internet gets a little faster, and a little more expensive every year in true circle jerk fashion. Your only other options are dialup (lolz) or some form of DSL which suck.
Not much you can do until you destroy the monopolies and allow big providers to compete with similar products in the same area.
I guess you could blame the local governments for signing these deals, yes. However it's either that, or get not cable / high speed at all. It's not unreasonable for a company to want to have some sort of exclusive right to an area that they themselves have to invest a lot of money in.
Pick your poison I guess. Until someone just starts throwing down fiber everywhere I don't see it changing.
I'm completely ok with the speed of my internet (Fios) and the price I pay for it.
Usually when the internet does suck it's because of government created monopolies. Like how in Baltimore City the only provider you can use is Comcast because they signed an exclusive deal with the city.
Usually when the internet does suck it's because of government created monopolies. Like how in Baltimore City the only provider you can use is Comcast because they signed an exclusive deal with the city.
The slight irony being that you chaps in the states have always been miles ahead in terms of technology than here in Uk. We only got fast broadband thanks to our American friends - I know because I had ADSL on a beta trial for a good few years before it was rolled out commercially here, and that was only thanks to an American company. :thumbup:
(Averaged about 4 -5 mb / sec back then... and it was completely FREE!)
Out of interest - are your cell phone networks still fractured to fuck or is there a big player now dominating the whole country?
(Averaged about 4 -5 mb / sec back then... and it was completely FREE!)
Out of interest - are your cell phone networks still fractured to fuck or is there a big player now dominating the whole country?
I would love to have Fios available to me, it will most likely never reach my area though. Like mentioned above, the only internet I have to choose from at my home is from my local cable company or to go through a cell provider and get a hotspot of some sort. Until a month ago, this was absolutely horrific because the highest speed internet they had available was 10MB/down 1.5MB/up. They just moved it up a month ago to 20MB/down without increasing the price (yet). I'm sure they will in the future.
The slight irony being that you chaps in the states have always been miles ahead in terms of technology than here in Uk. We only got fast broadband thanks to our American friends - I know because I had ADSL on a beta trial for a good few years before it was rolled out commercially here, and that was only thanks to an American company. :thumbup:
(Averaged about 4 -5 mb / sec back then... and it was completely FREE!)
Out of interest - are your cell phone networks still fractured to fuck or is there a big player now dominating the whole country?
Not fractured, there are really 3 main cell providers that dominate the industry - Verizon, ATT, and Sprint. Tmobile being a close fourth. ATT almost bought Tmobile in 2011 but the antitrust division of the Department of Justice blocked their bid or else the market would be heavily dominated by Verizon and ATT.
Capitalism > Government > Capitalism+Government Trying to Work Together
Internet falls into the 3rd option, and is just the worst of both worlds. The lack of innovation/efficiency and monopoly control we find in government combined with the price gouging we see in private industry.
Internet falls into the 3rd option, and is just the worst of both worlds. The lack of innovation/efficiency and monopoly control we find in government combined with the price gouging we see in private industry.
Yeah, same could be said with power companies too. We've got affordable solar panel technology available yet my local power company says no because they don't want us hooked back into their grid.