[Discuss] Competition of broadband

[blu at nedharvey.com (Edward Ned Harvey)]

> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Dan O'Donovan
> 
> In the UK I could get all you can eat BB ADSL at 20Mb (advertised) speeds
for
> ?75 == $117 a YEAR (including setup costs).
> 
> Here in the US I (can only) get comcast's $60 a month 'deal' which
includes TV
> (which I don't have). I can't get a cheaper deal, and the internet speeds
are
> often lousy. 

Of course there's a flipside to everything, and here it is.  By lowering
costs to consumers, of course you're benefitting the consumers and reducing
the benefit to the providers.  The providers are then not as willing to
extend out to rural areas as they otherwise would have been.  (They also
employ fewer people, which is a separate issue that often carries political
implications.)  And when you don't service as many people, you don't get in
some cases the same economies of scale - which means they don't grow their
backbone quite as much, etc etc etc.  Simply a less developed infrastructure
overall.

There's always a balance somewhere between two extremes, which is almost
always subjectively positive or negative based on your individual
perspective.