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[MetatronM]

I think I pay $75 for 50/50 internet with FiOS here in NYC. I'd have to go check the bill to be sure about that price, though.

It used to be 50/25, but they just upgraded the upload speed to match the download in the last month or so.

EDIT: Actually, I think it might be less. Might be $60-something.

 

[clav]

I am shocked.

 

[theechrisfox]

My apartment complex only allows Comcast. I wish Internet was still a privilege instead of a necessity. Its still being priced up like a privilege.

 

[genjiZERO]

It'll be interesting in the future where internet is the new healtcare crisis. You'll hear pundits talking about how, "Our internet is the best in the world!".

 

[Funky Papa]

It'll be interesting in the future where internet is the new healtcare crisis. You'll hear pundits talking about how, "Our internet is the best in the world!".

Haha.

Ha.

 

[Daniel B·]

There might be a technological solution: Steve Perlman's (founder OnLive / WebTV) pCell (formely known as DIDO) - possibly a major "breakthrough" in mobile communications (Venture beat article).

I remember reading about this when he originally revealed his work on DIDO and my take on it was, assuming it doesn't have any unforeseen flaws and isn't killed by lobbyists (grrr), that it could provide high speed internet anywhere with LTE coverage and provide "real" competition in the market.

 

[King Cobra]

I currently have 150/20 with Comcast and I am paying 110/month. I'm happy with it.

 

[Earendil]

Where I live you have 2 choices, xfinity or century link, at a max of 50 mbps for 50$ a month.

If you don't like it you don't get Internet.

I never will understand how the government allows stuff like this to happen.

I have 1 choice: CenturyLink at 3Mb. And it costs $50 per month. The only other option is a wireless internet service that only works when the weather is perfect.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I still think the postal service should be modernized as a broadband provider, and, in addition, provide every American an official email address (with security certificates and all).

When the postal service was originally conceived, mail was the primary means of long distance communication and commerce. That role has shifted somewhat over the centuries, and the internet now fulfills a lot of the roles that the postal service originally had (though of course the actual shipping of goods and official, physical documents remains). Making these updates to the postal service is keeping in line with its originally intended societal function.

 

[Somnid]

I still think the postal service should be modernized as a broadband provider, and, in addition, provide every American an official email address (with security certificates and all).

When the postal service was originally conceived, mail was the primary means of long distance communication and commerce. That role has shifted somewhat over the centuries, and the internet now fulfills a lot of the roles that the postal service originally had (though of course the actual shipping of goods and official, physical documents remains). Making these updates to the postal service is keeping in line with its originally intended societal function.

Interesting idea. I generally just support broadband as a public utility. We should all pay a tax and get some minimum form of internet access.

 

[LeleSocho]

People bitching about US speed/price, dreaming about EU speed/prices all when i live in the 3rd-4th major city in my G7 member EU state paying 50€ a month for a mere 7Mbps down and 0,3 Mbps up.
And right now they are rolling out "all new optic fiber" which is 30down/5up.


Then i see this and i cry...

 

[RevoDS]

Canada has long had the worst infrastructure, far below the US, but we've actually been catching up in recent years. Since the CRTC forced companies to share their infrastructure (the very policy they talk about in the article quoted in the OP), we've had several independent ISPs competing on price, driving them down quite fast.

And the larger companies, since they can't compete as much on price, have started competing on quality of service, offering reasonably priced unlimited service where we used to have very low caps (up to 100GB was standard until last year or so). In Quebec, the incumbents have even started deploying FTTH networks in many areas in order to attract more consumers (unfortunately, they aren't yet forced to share their FTTH networks with indie ISPs).

Most of the larger regions of Quebec now have access to some kind of FTTH connection with many having a choice of at least two ISPs offering it, with the exception of the island of Montreal where they're waiting because it's so much bigger of an investment than the other areas due to its large population...

Times are good for the Internet up north, you guys should adopt the same policies; it really seems to work.

 

[-Horizon-]

I cry every time.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

TW in NC here. I'm apparently paying for "Turbo" which is probably in the $70 range (it's bundled with phone so not sure exact cost of just the RR) and I get 21/2, which is about as Turbo as a Yugo.

 

[Nesotenso]

We should pray that Google fiber spreads in more markets. Whoever brings FTTH services to a market, it will pressure existing duopolies to get with the program and improve their service.

 

[SoulClap]

Times are good for the Internet up north, you guys should adopt the same policies; it really seems to work.

Situation still seems pretty shitty in Ontario.

 

[AstroNut325]

This could have something to do with the the size of the US.

I live in Germany and it blows my mind that Texas would be easily the biggest country in Europe.
I know there could be more competition in the States but it's pretty hard to bring high speed internet to every corner in such a huge country.

This is a bullsh!t excuse. What's stopping rollout in major cities where 80+% of American live? And what do you think connects all the cell towers across the country?

 

[BuggyDClown]

When gaffers from outside the US start posting their speeds and what they pay for them it makes me want to cry. I live in LA county and we have Time Warner only. No real option.

Could be worse. You can get 300mbs for 65$ here now. Just got mine a couple months ago, not too bad IMO.

 

[TrounceX]

1.5mbs DSL here in rural Minnesota. Inconsistent as fuck and drops completely for several minutes every night, lagging me out of games. Absolutely no incentive for them to improve because there are no other options. I get 4g verizon at 20mbs but the data caps are ridiculous

 

[Keasar]

Canada has long had the worst infrastructure, far below the US, but we've actually been catching up in recent years. Since the CRTC forced companies to share their infrastructure (the very policy they talk about in the article quoted in the OP), we've had several independent ISPs competing on price, driving them down quite fast.

And the larger companies, since they can't compete as much on price, have started competing on quality of service, offering reasonably priced unlimited service where we used to have very low caps (up to 100GB was standard until last year or so). In Quebec, the incumbents have even started deploying FTTH networks in many areas in order to attract more consumers (unfortunately, they aren't yet forced to share their FTTH networks with indie ISPs).

Most of the larger regions of Quebec now have access to some kind of FTTH connection with many having a choice of at least two ISPs offering it, with the exception of the island of Montreal where they're waiting because it's so much bigger of an investment than the other areas due to its large population...

Times are good for the Internet up north, you guys should adopt the same policies; it really seems to work.

Having a state that actually enforces private companies for the better of the people is great. Canadians really are our long lost Scandinavian brothers.

 

[Son of Sam]

Comcast has never given me the speeds i pay for, ever. I'm so sick of them.

 

[speculawyer]

There is some disagreement about that conclusion, including from Richard Bennett, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a critic of those who say Internet service providers need more regulation. He argued that much of the slowness is caused not by broadband networks but by browsers, websites and high usage.

What an epic douche. Yeah, because those Europeans, Japanese, and Koreans are all using different browsers, web sites, and rarely use the internet.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

God bless the UK and its ever growing competitive market.

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

Every where Google fiber goes into, rates drop and speed increases from other internet companies.

 

[iceatcs]

It is massive rich country and I think it is the main cause the problem that easy to monopoly.

 

[Hrothgar]

This is a bullsh!t excuse. What's stopping rollout in major cities where 80+% of American live? And what do you think connects all the cell towers across the country?

This, the size of the country in no way excuses the abysmal coverage in urban centres.

 

[FinalStageBoss]

I have time Warner and I'm getting 300/20 for 70.
I would definitely call them.

I've called many times and they tell me they don't offer those speeds in my area. If I had another option here I would've canceled long ago.

 

[biggersmaller]

1.5mbs DSL here in rural Minnesota. Inconsistent as fuck and drops completely for several minutes every night, lagging me out of games. Absolutely no incentive for them to improve because there are no other options. I get 4g verizon at 20mbs but the data caps are ridiculous

I've lived in a bunch of cities in MN.

Minneapolis was dial-up era so that doesn't count. Wayzata was pretty good (Comcast). Plymouth was crap (Comcast). Winona was utter shit (Charter). Maple Grove was crap (Comcast). Brooklyn Park was good (Comcast).

I now live in Rogers. It is fucking amazing. I've never had internet like this. 60 Mb is what I'm paying for and 60 Mb is undoubtedly what I consistently and reliably get.

That said, I obviously have to post this:

 

[Pics_nao]

Is Google Fiber still a thing? Google needs to come in and save us all

 

[alstein]

Are ISP lobbies too stronk?

(my country is way way worse lol, 30Mbps will cost $180 a month)

Yes. They have outright bought some state legislatures such as NC. They have attempted in GA as well.

They also have funding from the Koch bros through ALEC.

 

[Tenck]

Hahahahahah rent a modem for $100? Rent? And you pay it every year?

Ahahahaha that's hilariously sad. I consider my internet to be very expensive at €50 for 60Mbps but it's fantastic compared to the US.

That's pretty bad deal actually. I pay $15 less than you and close to double your speed. I own the equipment too.

 

[Schlep]

Just re-upped with Verizon yesterday for 25/25 and extended cable (Preferred pack) for $79.99. Not the best speed or TV package, but not a bad deal considering what I've seen other people paying. Only ridiculous part is $12/month for a cable box.

The ones I feel sorry for are all the poor souls in this area relegated to Charter.

 

[DonDraper]

I'm with TWC and pay $40 for 15/1. I just got a letter though about them raising speeds at "no cost" and that I just need to upgrade my modem. So now I'll be getting 50/5 for the same price. Yay?

 

[ss_lemonade]

I pay like 40-50 a month for 25mb from comcast. Still expensive, but at least that's quite an improvement to when I was still in the Philippines 2 years ago where we were paying like close to the same for 1.5mb.

It's improved a bit a now according to some friends there but still terrible when you think about it. You can get 6mb speeds for close to $70 now

 

[Schlep]

Is that just internet and not a promo rate? Rough part about living in FiOS territory is it's dumb to not get TV. Their base internet (25/25) is $49.99 1st year, $69.99 2nd year. You can get the same internet with basic cable for $69.99, or what I got was $79.99 because of ESPN/Fox Sports.

All that to say I would've loved to cut if I had a $40 rate on just internet.

 

[Kickz]

In other news, Richard Bennett is an idiot.

What a fuckin moron indeed

 

[itsgreen]

80/8 cable internet, w/ tv cable, w/ land line phone, 55 euro (70$)

 

[djplaeskool]

My apartment complex only allows Comcast. I wish Internet was still a privilege instead of a necessity. Its still being priced up like a privilege.

Seriously.
$70 in bandwidth surcharges alone last month.
$70.

 

[Kickz]

CenturyLink guy was canvassing my neighborhood and came by the other day asking me to switch from Comcast to their cheaper and shittier service. He promised that in 3-6 months they would possibly roll out fiber to my neighborhood (ofcourse caveat here is neighborhoods with more CenturyLink customers would have priority). Anyways I told the douche to take a hike and let me know when they actually get the fiber here.

 

[Dominican Power]

100mb that costs 10€ a month (Finland)

Sorry =D

WHAT THE FUCK????????????!!!!!!!



Fuck this country.

 

[fader]

dont know if this has been posted on GAF

In a blog post Tuesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he wants the commission to include online-only TV services in the rules that regulate MVPDs, essentially making the term “technology neutral.” Such a change, he said, would allow more competition from emerging players in the streaming marketplace.

link

I had my doubts about Wheeler after learning he was an advocate and former employee of cable companies but idk, he seems to be making the right moves.

 

[jmood88]

It is amazing to me that people actually believe that if you let these huge companies do whatever they want that it'll lead to the best situation for consumers. It makes no sense whatsoever. Time after time we are shown that when left alone, corporations will take advantage of everything possible but there are people in this country who somehow believe that good things will happen.

 

[jmood88]

In NC a town called Wilson started a community ISP over a public fiber optic network named Greenlight that cost less and had better speeds than Time Warner Cable or Century Link. Shortly after the telecoms got a new bill passed that makes it much harder to start municipal ISPs because it's too hard for them to compete.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/08/27/4101819_wilson-asks-fcc-to-override-nc.html?rh=1



It's okay to provide power, water, gas, and other utilities for your towns, but not telecommunication.

Man, this shit makes me angry. I hate that our government is so beholden to these fucking corporations.

 

[clav]

dont know if this has been posted on GAF


link

I had my doubts about Wheeler after learning he was an advocate and former employee of cable companies but idk, he seems to be making the right moves.

Previous chairs were all talk, but they ultimately did nothing. Wheeler has yet to show he's different until he produces results.

If Wheeler starts mandating ISPs that do not pass the broadband spec test to reduce their prices to affordable rates, then I will change my opinion about him. Right now, nothing has changed.

It is amazing to me that people actually believe that if you let these huge companies do whatever they want that it'll lead to the best situation for consumers. It makes no sense whatsoever. Time after time we are shown that when left alone, corporations will take advantage of everything possible but there are people in this country who somehow believe that good things will happen.

But who is going to fund the politician's campaign without the corporations?

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

Freedom!

 

[fader]

Previous chairs were all talk, but they ultimately did nothing. Wheeler has yet to shown he's different until he produces results.

If Wheeler starts mandating ISPs that do not pass the broadband spec test to reduce their prices to affordable rates, then I will change my opinion about him. Right now, nothing has changed.


But who is going to fund the politician's campaign without the corporations?

right i mean i still have my doubts i about him. He helped fund Obama's campaign and now he is in charge of FCC... And the fact that he use to work as a lawyer for cable companies still has me at guard.

 

[Biker19]

It falls into perspective that being online only for games on consoles would be a bad idea, because not everyone has perfect internet, let alone no internet at all.

Right but that's what we need in America. We can't GET competition because the companies have paid off the government to allow monopolies abd duopolies.

Which definitely needs changing.

 

[Jimothy]

As if it wasn't already shitty enough, TWC throttles the shit out of my connection whenever I watch YouTube or try to load a gif. The only way I can reliably stream stuff anymore is go on my phone, but of course that jacks up my data so now I just tend to avoid streaming stuff or loading gifs. America

 

[Vicetrailia]

right i mean i still have my doubts i about him. He helped fund Obama's campaign and now he is in charge of FCC... And the fact that he use to work as a lawyer for cable companies still has me at guard.

On guard? He simply can't be trusted, peroid.

 

[clav]

right i mean i still have my doubts i about him. He helped fund Obama's campaign and now he is in charge of FCC... And the fact that he use to work as a lawyer for cable companies still has me at guard.

He's essentially pushing cable agenda because right now AT&T and Verizon have lagged in their network upgrades where as cable has benefited with the enhancements of DOCSIS 3.0 (and soon 3.1).

DSL for many areas does not satisfy the broadband definition requirement, so there's an ongoing battle to not change the regulation. He's doing so at risk for cable companies to up their standard speed packages, which some have been increasing their basic tier speeds in certain areas.

Verizon halted FiOS, which meant they essentially cherrypicked areas for deployment and said fuck you to everyone else. Same with AT&T with Uverse who is probably now hoping the deployment of G.fast will solve their speed problems in a cost effective way.

However, pushing for speed doesn't mean that will translate to pricing, which I'm sure you and many on GAF complain daily.