Millions of Internet users are paying high prices for slow connections

[pcnthuziast]

By global standards I have some of the slowest internet on earth and it's ATT DSL. Steam gets me the best results and I can dl about 3gb per hour, but that is a best case scenario and I don't get that absolute saturation anywhere else. Oh and I pay the ridiculous rates listed.

 

[wiyosaya]

So you think these prices are the result of the defeat of nn? I've been paying 35 dollars a month for 10mb for like 15 years, no change. I want spectrum gigabit but their fiber stops 1500 feet down the road at a sub division. They gave me a quote to a few months ago of 12 grand to run it to my house. The reality is you can't force the company to run fiber all over the place when it's not profitable. If you did, then what would that do to everyone's monthly bill? Would the government subsidize the 100s of millions of dollars worth of fiber ran down every partially developed rural road? You don't know the true costs associated with providing tech support, field techs, maintenance, etc etc. And neither do I. The age of the tech may be the most negligible aspect of the monthly price. It may be cheaper to maintain fiber. Nothing changed with nn, and nothing changed after it.

He's not blaming NN. He is saying that ATT pays lobbyists to lobby lawmakers to pass laws that prevent municipalities from setting up a "public" internet service which would be inherently cheaper than ATT. In other words, ATT lobbies to keep their monopoly intact. It really has nothing at all to do with NN.

 

[wiyosaya]

Actually it is cheaper than you think to run fiber and hookups to homes. Spectrum is getting kicked out of New York including my area in Upstate for not fulfilling promises to supply rural areas with High Speed after accepting grant money from the state.

A local Rural Electric Company (REA) has been running fiber like crazy down all of their poles and will be offering prices to every home in their service area for 100m and 1G at $50 and $80 dollars respectively and they are still projected to make their money back for the entire investment in less than three years.

We have been getting taken advantage of by big telecom for so many years we have lost perspective of how egregious it is.

It is cheaper. Those quoting astronomical prices just don't want to run it.

 

[Lionvibez]

I pay in Romania 6$ per month for 300mbps fiber and I really do get 300mbps on speedtest.
For 4$ more you can get 1gbps speed, so that is 10$ for 1gbps. If you don't believe me, please see prices here: https://www.digiromania.ro/servicii/internet
39 Lei is ~10$.

This information is already known.

Problem is no one is going to leave the US to live in Romania for that connection.

 

[yeeeeman]

Not for the connection only, but for other things, yes.