No Kidding? FCC Chairman Says Broadband Market Isn’t Competitive

[Ichingcarpenter]

Or.... no shit sherlock.



Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday that Americans don’t have enough choice when it comes to high-speed broadband providers and the government needs to do something about it.

More than half of Americans have only one choice of providers that can offer 25 Mbps download speeds, adding, “[T]here is simply no competitive choice for most Americans.”

Wheeler’s conclusion might seem like a no-brainer for most Americans who’ve shopped for lower-cost high-speed broadband service only to find they have just one pricy option. But it’s actually a fairly radical statement at the FCC, which hasn’t previously expressed an opinion on whether the U.S. Internet market is competitive.

Wheeler didn’t offer any new proposals Thursday. But his conclusion that the U.S. broadband market isn’t competitive could have serious implications for decisions the FCC makes this fall, as the agency considers whether to let the nation’s largest cable and broadband provider, Comcast*, grow larger, as well as deciding how to regulate Internet lines to prevent discriminatory behavior.

http://recode.net/2014/09/04/no-kidding-fcc-chairman-says-broadband-market-isnt-competitive/

[Laelth]

1. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[hobbit709]

2. And water is wet.

[BlueJazz]

3. This is from a Tech site >>

"Here in a America we tend to think we are the best at everything and have the best of everything. However, our egos prove to be too big- as a country that prides itself on innovation and claims to have some of the greatest technology, we certainly seem to have one of the slower internet connections. Not only do we have a turtle-like internet connection when compared to places like Japan and Korea, we also seem to have one of the more expensive mbps (megabytes per second) rate at $3.33."

[pipoman]

4. And rural customers pay 3 times what people

In cities and towns pay plus get extremely limited band width. I live 1 mile from a town of 20,000. I live in between this town and the local airport. Last year AT&T dug up my front yard to bury a large fiber optic line to the airport.They will not let me on without paying $6200 upfront plus monthly subscription. There simply is no option to access huge parts of the Internet. The most band width available is 10 gig per month for $100 via a pokey satellite connection. ..