Why so expensive, America?

[MOBIUS]

Why is broadband more expensive in the US?

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?

Men's haircuts, loaves of bread... it is surprising how much more expensive some things are in the US than the UK. Now home broadband can be added to that list.

The price of basic broadband, TV and phone packages - or bundles as they are known - is much higher in American cities than elsewhere, suggests the New America Foundation think tank, which compared hundreds of available packages worldwide.

Looking at some of the cheaper ones available in certain cities, at lower to mid download speeds, San Francisco ($99/£61), New York ($70) and Washington DC ($68) dwarf London ($38), Paris ($35) and Seoul ($15).

More...

Sometimes it appears that capitalism sucks when it's allowed to be deregulated...

[Dinner]

They're natural monopolies and despite the Republican mantra that deregulation is always good, well, deregulation has been horrible when it comes to cable. With no competition and no regulation the bastards just jack up the price to absurd levels.

[Felch]

My guess is that the cost of providing a service that involves underground cables hooking up people's homes might be directly related to population density. The USA has a much lower population density than the UK, France, or South Korea. City folk wind up subsidizing the suburban and rural customers.

[C0ckney]

possibly. what are prices like in canada?

[Felch]

The article has a graphic showing that Toronto is just a bit cheaper than DC.

[rah]

I'm in a suburb of chicago and I only pay 45 a month for the top speed tier.

And yes pop density is big. My daughter who lives in the city got a package that includes basic cable and high speed internet service for only 45. But she's in a high rise that negotiated a decent package with their provider.

[C0ckney]

The article has a graphic showing that Toronto is just a bit cheaper than DC.

there's another showing that canada has cheaper broadband overall.



so it seems that it partly population density and partly the effects of not regulating a monopoly and allowing them to overcharge.

[The Mad Monk]

Canada is still nearly twice as much as its next nearest comparator, and the Canadian hinterland is much emptier than ours -- fewer people to subsidize, if they even bother to lay cable. How is satellite up there?

[Sava]

If it doesn't cost more, how would companies make "profit".

[C0ckney]

Canada is still nearly twice as much as its next nearest comparator, and the Canadian hinterland is much emptier than ours -- fewer people to subsidize, if they even bother to lay cable. How is satellite up there?

i don't think you can say that, on the one hand that a lower population density raises costs due to infrastructure costs, and on the other, that fewer people in an area (i.e. lower population density) lowers costs.

[C0ckney]

but you may have a point about the different types of infrastructure.

[Sava]

Doesn't seem like density is the issue. They are comparing cities... not city versus suburban or rural.

And New York, one of the densest cities in the world (in more ways than one) has some of the highest costs.

[The Mad Monk]

That is true only if you assume the density in each case is consistent. My observation would be that it gets very lumpy as it goes down, so the decision on where or if to lay cable becomes simpler -- many more places simply aren't worth it.

[PLATO]

Doesn't seem like density is the issue. They are comparing cities... not city versus suburban or rural.

And New York, one of the densest cities in the world (in more ways than one) has some of the highest costs.

I think that he is assuming that the costs of a network would be spread across the entire network. New York may be helping pay for internet in Wyoming if they have the same supplier.

[The Mad Monk]

x-thinker'd

My own house is a good example of that. I live about three miles west of the nearest incorporated town, and the next one is about nine miles to my west and much smaller. There are homes all around me, but are separated by distances of 100 yards to at least a quarter mile. "Cable" ends about a half mile to my east. I could ask them to extend it, but I would be footing the installation cost myself. Not worth it.