The charts below are stunning - if your mind can even fathom moving beyond the mindless dictum: 'America is the greatest country in the world.' Not that I am unhappy at all; nope, the chant is just stupefyingly mindless. Does look like rip-rip-rip off-off-off is the name of the game.
"Americans pay so much because they don't have a choice," she says below. Is that the story of the past decades: that the corporization of America limits choice. Cereal boxes might be different (not really) but it's the same crap inside. Can you get a decent salami in Eastern Washington? Pullman doesn't have one bakery, that is, a thing actually baking bread, real bread, not merely stacking industrialized, soft cardboard. Then, of course, there's politics... those two, is that really a choice?
But I am not unhappy at all; nope, it is just so stupefyingly stupid; when you know what we can have, so easily, so goodly.
But I am not unhappy at all; nope, it is just so stupefyingly stupid; when you know what we can have, so easily, so goodly.
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27 October
2013 Last updated at 20:55
ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24528383
The price of basic broadband, TV and phone packages - or bundles as they are known - is much higher in American cities than elsewhere, suggests the New America Foundation think tank, which compared hundreds of available packages worldwide.
Looking at some of the cheaper ones available in certain cities, at lower to mid download speeds, San Francisco ($99/£61), New York ($70) and Washington DC ($68) dwarf London ($38), Paris ($35) and Seoul ($15).
This research echoes the findings of another report earlier in the summer by the OECD, which compared countries in terms of their broadband-only prices. Across all 10 download speeds and capacities, it consistently ranked the US near the bottom.
For instance, at high speeds of 45 Mbps and over, the OECD report has the US ranked 30th out of 33 countries, with an average price of $90 a month. With phone and TV thrown in, plus some premium channels, these packages often cost $200.
Although there are several national companies, local markets tend to be dominated by just one or two main providers.
"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."
Two-thirds get their broadband via their television cables, she says, because the DSL (digital subscriber line) service provided by phone companies over copper lines can't compete with cable speeds, while wireless and satellite services are subject to low usage caps.
San Francisco seems to be particularly expensive.
Mitch Evans pays $200 a month for internet, TV and unlimited voice phone calls. "I guess I've just become used to it after 23 years here in the Bay Area. I know the cost of living here is very high, but for me it's a small price to pay for such a beautiful and wonderful place to call home."
Buck Wallander, a recent arrival in the city, pays $120 a month for a television and broadband package provided by Xfinity/Comcast, plus $7 a month to "rent" the modem.
"That's like a rental car company charging customers an extra $7 fee per month to include the steering wheel."
Elsewhere in the US, there is a patchwork of other options.
In Kansas City, Kansas, residents are enjoying a high-speed fibre network, supplied by Google, at a price of $70 a month for a gigabit (1,000 Mbps) internet-only service. And there's a slower 5 Mbps download speed for free for seven years to those who pay $300 up front. Google now has Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, in its sights, too. Verizon also has a super fast fibre network, Fios, available to 10% of US households.
About 150 cities across the US have internet access supplied by public utility companies. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, electricity company EPB became an internet service provider four years ago. After expanding its existing fibre network which it used to control the grid, it now offers a one gigabit service for $70 a month.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24528383
Why is broadband more expensive in the US?
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?
Men's haircuts, loaves of bread... it is surprising how much more expensive
some things are in the US than the UK. Now home broadband can be added to that
list.The price of basic broadband, TV and phone packages - or bundles as they are known - is much higher in American cities than elsewhere, suggests the New America Foundation think tank, which compared hundreds of available packages worldwide.
Looking at some of the cheaper ones available in certain cities, at lower to mid download speeds, San Francisco ($99/£61), New York ($70) and Washington DC ($68) dwarf London ($38), Paris ($35) and Seoul ($15).
This research echoes the findings of another report earlier in the summer by the OECD, which compared countries in terms of their broadband-only prices. Across all 10 download speeds and capacities, it consistently ranked the US near the bottom.
For instance, at high speeds of 45 Mbps and over, the OECD report has the US ranked 30th out of 33 countries, with an average price of $90 a month. With phone and TV thrown in, plus some premium channels, these packages often cost $200.
"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.
Although there are several national companies, local markets tend to be dominated by just one or two main providers.
"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."
Two-thirds get their broadband via their television cables, she says, because the DSL (digital subscriber line) service provided by phone companies over copper lines can't compete with cable speeds, while wireless and satellite services are subject to low usage caps.
Mitch Evans pays $200 a month for internet, TV and unlimited voice phone calls. "I guess I've just become used to it after 23 years here in the Bay Area. I know the cost of living here is very high, but for me it's a small price to pay for such a beautiful and wonderful place to call home."
Buck Wallander, a recent arrival in the city, pays $120 a month for a television and broadband package provided by Xfinity/Comcast, plus $7 a month to "rent" the modem.
He says he had little choice in selecting a provider
because the only other cable television company was directv, which didn't offer
any internet service. His internet speed is "entry-level" with a cap on usage.
He says he's pretty satisfied with the service but resents leasing the modem.
"That's like a rental car company charging customers an extra $7 fee per month to include the steering wheel."
Elsewhere in the US, there is a patchwork of other options.
In Kansas City, Kansas, residents are enjoying a high-speed fibre network, supplied by Google, at a price of $70 a month for a gigabit (1,000 Mbps) internet-only service. And there's a slower 5 Mbps download speed for free for seven years to those who pay $300 up front. Google now has Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, in its sights, too. Verizon also has a super fast fibre network, Fios, available to 10% of US households.
About 150 cities across the US have internet access supplied by public utility companies. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, electricity company EPB became an internet service provider four years ago. After expanding its existing fibre network which it used to control the grid, it now offers a one gigabit service for $70 a month.
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