The basic truth about internet access that cable & phone companies don't want you to know

[MindMover]

A new report about the state of broadband connectivity around the world reveals some good news and bad news about policy in the United States. The good news is that in a handful of cities, Americans are enjoying world-class speeds:


And the prices are pretty darn affordable:


This achievement is really impressive when you consider that Chattanooga, Kansas City, and Lafayette aren't even remotely as dense as Seoul or Hong Kong or Tokyo, which get similar speeds. When we put our minds to it in this country, we can do great things. And what works for Chattanooga could work even better in bigger cities like Chicago or Miami.

But there's a catch. The American cities that are delivering best-in-the-world speeds at bargain prices are precisely the cities that aren't relying on Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Time-Warner, etc. to run their infrastructure. In Kansas City, Google built a state-of-the-art fiber optic network largely just to prove a point. In Chattanooga and Lafayette, the government did it. At the moment, the US federal government could issue 5-year bonds at a 1.58 percent interest rate and make grants to cities interested in following Chattanooga and Lafayette down that path. But it doesn't happen, because while broadband incumbents don't want to spend the money it would take to build state-of-the-art fiber networks, they are happy to spend money on lobbying.

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/31/7137457/broadband-speed-chattanooga-kansas-city-lafayette

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/upshot/why-the-us-has-fallen-behind-in-internet-speed-and-affordability.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

https://medium.com/backchannel/jammed-e474fc4925e4

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/10/fcc-reportedly-close-to-reclassifying-isps-as-common-carriers/

If only certain corrupt officials would get out of the way ...

[msongs]

1. let's appoint even more corporate toadies to government boards regulating the internet ntg

[steve2470]

2. good thread ! nt

[Journeyman]

3. Thanks. Lot of useful information . . .

[Fred Sanders]

4. Do not let anyone mention the possibility of putting a.....gasp....consumer on one of these powerful

boards, how would the corporations control them?

They will build proper new networks as soon as the amortization period has expired on the overpriced and surprisingly already antiquated networks they installed a few years ago, using tons of borrowed capital at ridiculous interest rates. Fucking captains of industry fucked the pooch on that one and are making the country pay for their fucking lack of vision.

India and Brazil have more robust Internet access at fractions of the price in America.

Idiots in America, yet they are worshipped as heroes. Strange system ya got there. You deserve the Internet access you let them build for you.

Enjoy. Watch out for all the backdrop privacy issues. Screwed the pooch on that too.

[MindMover]

5. You are a thinking person Fred ...nt

[dumbcat]

9. "...how would the corporations control them?

With money?

[Enthusiast]

6. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

There really is no good excuse for this bullshit.

[NewJeffCT]

7. What pisses me off

I live in Connecticut, which is a densely populated state, and one of the wealthier states. Yet, my choices for high speed internet are AT&T UVerse (which was just bought out by Frontier Communications) and Metrocast. I had never even heard of Metrocast before moving to this part of CT, but everybody in my town that has it says they suck. No Verizon FIOS, no Google Fiber, not even Comcast, Cox, Cablevision, Time Warner, etc. So many places have little to no internet competition - just one, maybe two, options.

You'd think that with a densely populated & wealthy state, these corporations would be lining up to provide better & better internet for the people - but,no, they seem to have their town by town monopoly, or two corporation monopoly...

[AllyCat]

16. Only two options where we live as well.

Both are awful.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Why should they try to do better?

It will cost them money. There is no competition so they are free to provide whatever speed they want at whatever price they want. Too few people are aware that the US has shitty internet connections and speed because they are used to what they have, and of course, we are #1 in the world for everything in their minds.

I have told many people that we have worse internet access than many other countries, even some countries in Africa have better connections. But few of those people believe me.

[Omaha Steve]

10. Century link is building a state-of-the-art fiber network with 1 gig speed in Omaha & 9 other cities

https://www.centurylink.com/fiber/

CenturyLink expands its gigabit service to 16 cities, delivering broadband speeds up to 1 gigabit per second

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) today announced that symmetrical broadband speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) are available now to residential and business customers in select locations in 16 cities through its ultra-fast fiber network. Thousands of customers can begin enjoying the benefits of gigabit speeds and hundreds of thousands of residential and business customers will also have access to these advanced fiber services within the next 12 months... Read More

https://www.centurylink.com/fiber/news/centurylink-expands-gigabit-service-to-sixteen-cities.html

Residential and Business
Columbia, Mo.
Denver
Jefferson City, Mo.
Las Vegas
Minneapolis-St. Paul
Omaha
Orlando
Portland
Salt Lake City
Seattle

Business
Albuquerque, N.M.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Phoenix
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Spokane, Wash.
Tucson, Ariz.

[steve2470]

12. thanks for that info, will be great to have it here nt

[Worried senior]

13. Centurylink, our provider

just got DSL in our area a few years ago and the speediest it is not. Beats dial up and satellite by a lot though.

[Omaha Steve]

14. It will be a long time before the fiber gets to us

Are you in a fiber upgrade city?

I'm happy with Cox Cable at 50 Mbps for $50 a month for now.

[Worried senior]

15. No

We are rural NE WI so very lucky to get the DSL.

[Generic Other]

19. I pay them for high speed

and it never delivers. Ever. They actually refuse to provide what I pay for actually throttling down the speed so I can supposedly watch a whole Youtube video without the spinning circle. That 1 gig promise is BS coming from CenturyLink. It took them weeks to get DUers access to this site last summer. Their advertising should make them liable for lawsuits.

[BlueJazz]

11. And what's more, the advertised speeds are not the norm. True, some DUer's may buy ...

a service that claims "Speeds up to 60 mbs" and get pretty decent speeds. The rest of us get close to that top spend on the 30th of February.

You can check your speed here. > http://www.speedtest.net/

[JCMach1]

17. Now, can we discuss the horrific wireless phone system too... I could surf the net 3g on safari

in Kenya...

I often only get EDGE in most Florida cities... WTF!!! Yet, they are charging for your monthly high-speed quota.

[dembotoz]

18. the good news is that folks are finally starting to undeRstand internet speed is important

the bad news is the let em eat cake attitude by many carriers

some cable carriers seem to get it
charter 60/4 for 60 bucks for example

some carriers do not
time warner-whose demise can not happen soon enuf.....

and att wants to lie to folks about uverse being fiber to the home when it is obviously not....but as long as a new iphone comes out with some new dodad every couple of months--their profits are safe....don't expect salvation from them

[ChiciB1]

20. I Have DISH For TV, But Verizon For PC...

and land line phone! Yes, some of us still have them. I have reasons as to why it's needed at my house.

I need to come back later and check out these links!

[SunSeeker]

21. K & R & bookmarked!

[Tommymac]

22. Shout this from the mountaintop. (Where is Moses when you really need him?)

K & R & TW & FB