apple juice

Qwest finally got its act together in my neighborhood, and we’re enjoying some decent speeds. (12mbps) As nice as it is to have two options for broadband instead of one, we seriously lag our european counterparts when it comes to broadband access.

Not only that, but the Verizons, Comcasts and Qwests would have you believe that “we’re number one, U.S.A., U.S.A!”

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Not only do we lag in broadband adoption, the speeds of “broadband” lag significantly, and we pay more for it.

Typically, the lowest price for broadband in the United States, not counting promotions and bundled deals, costs an average of $35 a month for a measly 1 megabit per second connection. Twice this speed is available in Denmark and Canada for lower prices; more strikingly, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Sweden have broadband available for under $20 a month. Additionally, the fastest speeds in the United States are comparatively slow. The common top speed available for residential services in the Unites States is 50 Mbps (and costs $145 a month), while several nations have speeds available that are up to four times faster, for less than $60 a month.

Our best chance is to support the idea net-neutrality and the National Broadband Plan. Of course this plan isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t go nearly far enough in ensuring that Americans will have the same types of access enjoyed by other nations, but it is a start.

Check out this slate article for more info: Denial of Service