Why Is Broadband More Expensive In the US Than Elsewhere? 569
mrspoonsi writes "The BBC reports "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?...'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. 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."
Re:Probably Obama. Or the Tea Party. (Score:0, Funny)
Precisely this. The illusion of "choice" and "capitalism" is strong in the USA.
Then you get down to the nitty gritty.
In the town I live in, precious few grocery stores aren't the HEB brand. There is no real competition for them and they gouge.
In the neighborhood I life in, I can't get FiOS and the AT&T DSL options are a joke (they won't bother putting in capacity). So if you want anything but *shudder* dialup, your options are Warner, Warner, or... Warner. Zero competition, price gouging accordingly.
The communications market is so "deregulated" that monopolism takes over, with deliberate barriers to entry placed by noncompete agreements and dirty tactics. And yet so many people think anarcho-libertarian, "laissez faire" deregulation will somehow make their lives better in every aspect.
"Life" a verb now?
Re:Why? (Score:2, Funny)
Literacy is a statistic manipulated to justify more money to the teachers unions.
Math? Ditto
Science? Ditto
Life expetancy? If you don't count immigrants, we win.
Infant mortality? Are you counting countries that require a baby to live past 2 weeks and weigh more than 7 lbs to count as a "person"?
Median household income? So second next to norway is you ignore the statistically irrelevant tax haven. Ooops
Labor force, no, we don't have forced labor.
Exports per capita? See above.
Gross exports? Fair
Incarceration? Fuck Yeah!
Yup, we pay for the defense of NATO and the 5 eyes nations. Fair point. Wonder how NATO, as an agregate stacks up.