Those trying to control the ‘supply’ are the ones to blame.–PC Pitstop.
Who is Keeping You From Gigabit Internet
by Fox Van Allen for Techlicious
Are you frustrated by the low speed and high cost of your cable Internet connection? It’s a common problem. Us Americans pay some of the highest prices for broadband Internet service in the world, and yet, our speed lags behind a number of other countries including Latvia, Romania and Denmark. So what’s the holdup? Who – or what – is responsible for the slow state of U.S. Internet?
One thing’s for sure: The problem isn’t technological. The nation’s largest cable conglomerate, Comcast, first demonstrated its ability to deliver gigabit speed over hybrid fiber-coaxial cable all the way back in 2011. And yet today, four years and millions of dollars in taxpayer-paid subsidies later, Comcast is proudly touting its ability to offer half-gigabit service for a beyond insane monthly fee of $399.95 (with 3-year contract required).
Comcast points the finger of blame at us, the customer, suggesting we simply don’t want faster Internet. “The issue with such speed is really more about demand than supply,” Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen wrote in an editorial published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “As consumer demand grows for faster speeds, a competitive marketplace of wired and wireless broadband providers will be ready to serve it.”
Of course, it’s silly to suggest that us broadband customers don’t want faster speeds. The want and need is there. The average U.S. connection speed is now just 11.5 Mbps, well under the 25Mbps needed to provide content to the emerging 4K TV market. Many Americans don’t even have speeds capable of delivering standard HD video content over Netflix or Hulu, simply because they can’t afford it. Comcast’s prices for high speed Internet starts at $40 per month for just 3 Mbps. Some don’t even have the local infrastructure required for next-generation speeds, held hostage by a local cable monopoly that doesn’t want to cut into its profits to invest in it.
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This excerpt appears with the permission of Techlicious.
