[Kosh]

If you pay $20 or $25 per month for Dial Up

My parents pay about $10 for Dial-up thank you very much.


But $55+ per month is way overpriced.

Upgrading to fiber optic lines is a start, but it won't make the companies charge less, for that you need competition.

Actually, upgrading to fiber optic lines just gives those greedy bastards another excuse to charge more.

The reasoning for the high prices simply comes down to corperate greed.

[Kamikaze]

Originally posted by Liberator
For instance, I pay $55 for Broadband and Basic Cable.

In Japan $55 is the cost of a 100mbps fiber optic connection.

[Unknown Target]

I pay 40 bucks for DSL and some other number around there for satellite. I live on a US owned island that's almost 3rd world tho, so it's an exception.

Anyway, sorry Ether, but

The US doesn't want everyone online. The government likes the digital divide. Otherwise people might learn something, spark independent thought. Then what would happen?

That is freaking paranoid. Not everything is a conspiracy.

[Kosh]

It does sound paranoid, but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.


People who said the CIA was behind the coup in Iran that installed the Shah were labelled as being paranoid. Then 40 years or so after it happened we find out that the CIA was in fact behind installing the Shah. That is just one example, but there are probably others.

I pay 40 bucks for DSL and some other number around there for satellite.

That's what D$L costs around here too.

[EtherShock]

It's just that I don't trust the government.

Originally posted by Kosh
The reasoning for the high prices simply comes down to corperate greed.

And also lack of competition, they kind of go hand-in-hand.

[Kosh]

It's just that I don't trust the government.

It is loaded with lawyers, why should anyone trust the government?

[EtherShock]

I don't know, but people do.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Unknown Target

That is freaking paranoid. Not everything is a conspiracy.

I wouldn't say it was myself, although from a purely abstract perspective it would be a good way to go about it.  Partially because it would require both foresight and co-operation across multiple governments of different political ideologies.

Bit like how Mugabe is trying to prevent a cohesive or solid opposition in Zimbabwe by forcing people (from slum towns; i.e. those most likely to form a vocal discontented group) to move from one place to another.

But it's far, far, far more likely it's simply due to the size of the Us telecomms infrastructure and the cost of upgrading the whole thing.

[EtherShock]

Originally posted by Unknown Target
That is freaking paranoid. Not everything is a conspiracy.

*Makes note to use sarcasm tags often*

[Unknown Target]

You do that But notice how others that replied to my post thought that it wasn't inconcievable?

[achtung]

Iv'e got DSL with 512 dl and 256 up for $34 a month, although the freakin constant disconnects and the fact that whenever someone calls the house it runs the risk of cutting me off kind of evens it out to the $55 a month thing IMO.

But It is good to see they ran fiber optic cable to my house and stopped there because now I get to laugh at the people that live above me

[Kosh]

But it's far, far, far more likely it's simply due to the size of the Us telecomms infrastructure and the cost of upgrading the whole thing.

It probably costs a lot more to occupy a foreign country than it does to upgrade the infrastucture.

[EtherShock]

Originally posted by Unknown Target
You do that But notice how others that replied to my post thought that it wasn't inconcievable?

Oh it's easy to turn anything into a conspiracy. They're quite entertaining. I could say that hot dogs coming in a 10 pack and buns coming in packs of 8 is a conspiracy to make you endlessy buy hot dogs to use up the rolls as well. ^_^ I think I found a site once where you could create a conspiracy theory. Anyway, I learned my lesson how dangerous my frivolous rants can be.

The truth is no one wants to pay to upgrade the lines, and there are still rural areas where dial up is the only option. It's really sad. Wireless is OK if you need a connection somewhere on the go, but everyone should be wired. You can buy a value computer now, but can't afford to connect to the net at reasonable speeds? I stress competition is the key to end the divide. It's just really hard to break down the wall. We need another trust buster, even though these aren't textbook monopolies. It starts with reinstating open access lines.

Btw, when the FCC considers something, you can post on their message board. I forget what this move is actually called, but supposedly, they actually take these posts into account when making decisions. Mostly industry pros voice their opinions, I believe, wouldn't hurt to have America speak out. Then we could at least test to see if they actually take this stuff into account.

[Turnsky]

this means that tasmania doesn't suck in terms of internet access.. woo!

[kode]

there's a difference between "not sucking" and "sucking less" though.

[Turnsky]

Originally posted by kode
there's a difference between "not sucking" and "sucking less" though.

tasmania's considered a regional area, save for hobart, which is metropolitan.. and has broadband access as such...
*hugs his adsl modem and gets third degree burns from it*

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Kosh



It probably costs a lot more to occupy a foreign country than it does to upgrade the infrastucture.

Probably, but you also get pretty explosions, land and large amounts of natural resources for your money.

Er, if one were to use a theoretical model of course.

[EtherShock]

This is worth a shot.

The FCC main site - like you really needed the link to this. Scroll down to file a public comment.

The alt link to the comment page

I should probably start getting involved in this, since I am going into media. I hate the FCC.