Yet Another Study Shows US Broadband Pricey, Uncompetitive A new report from the Open Technology Institute states what most of our readers know all-too-well: the United States lags behind numerous developed nations on broadband speed and prices because a notable lack of meaningful competition in most markets. The study took a look at broadband speeds and prices in 24 US cities and around the world, ranking cities based on both price and speed. They found what every other objective study has found: the US is lagging behind while busily pretending its a world leader in the space.

A chunk of the study is focused on finding the best back for your buck at prices under $40. Cities like Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris and Bucharest lead many of the lists, with San Francisco and Kansas City (home to Google Fiber) the only US cities that make much of a dent in many of the comparisons. The study notes that while ISPs have made some significant strides in improving speeds, price hasn't been invited along for the ride. "...Many of the improved plans are at the higher speed tiers, which generally are the most expensive plans available. The lower speed packages---which are often more affordable for the average consumer---have not seen as much of an improvement according to the data we have collected." That's not including hidden fees and usage caps, which the study states can now be found on 34.2% of all US broadband connections (and slowly growing). The study is also quick to highlight how the leaders in the broadband space are now local governments themselves, who've been forced to deploy faster broadband services where uncompetitive, comfortable duopolies couldn't be bothered. "In general, our research shows that these locally-owned networks tend to deliver better value to their customers when compared on a price-per-megabit basis to competing cable and telecom providers in their own cities," states the report. While Google Fiber and municipal broadband efforts are making a notable dent in pricing (and clearly public conversation about issues like broadband competition), the study makes it repeatedly clear we still have a lot of work to do on competitive pricing. As FCC boss Tom Wheeler has been making clear lately, three quarters of the US public have only one provider even capable of offering 25 Mbps in their neighborhoods. "Our findings show that the average cost of plans in nearly every speed tier we selected is higher in the U.S. than in Europe, and seven of the nine U.S. cities surveyed for the report have average prices that are higher than the median for plans offered between 25 and 50 Mbps download speeds," notes the report. "We found similar results when comparing the average speed of plans ranging from $35 to $50, and the average data cap for mobile broadband plans ranging from $35 to $45." "Our findings show that the average cost of plans in nearly every speed tier we selected is higher in the U.S. than in Europe, and seven of the nine U.S. cities surveyed for the report have average prices that are higher than the median for plans offered between 25 and 50 Mbps download speeds," notes the report. "We found similar results when comparing the average speed of plans ranging from $35 to $50, and the average data cap for mobile broadband plans ranging from $35 to $45."







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Most recommended from 31 comments



jseymour

join:2009-12-11

Waterford, MI 5 recommendations jseymour Member Heads Firmly Buried



I have friends, relatives and colleagues all over the planet--particularly in Western Europe. They're living well enough.



What we pay, here in the U.S., for what we get, is, quite frankly, an embarrassment. That applies not only to broadband, but to subscription TV and wireless service, as well.



They have Net Neutrality, too:



Maybe some of you like the U.S. being some kind of tech backwater?



Jim I can't figure out whether some of you truly believe what you're writing, have some vested interest in the U.S. broadband status quo, or both.I have friends, relatives and colleagues all over the planet--particularly in Western Europe. They're living well enough.What we pay, here in the U.S., for what we get, is, quite frankly, an embarrassment. That applies not only to broadband, but to subscription TV and wireless service, as well.They have Net Neutrality, too: Europe Votes For Net Neutrality In No Uncertain Terms Maybe some of youthe U.S. being some kind of tech backwater?Jim

cb14

join:2013-02-04

Miami Beach, FL ·Localphone

·Zadarma

·Verizon Wireless

·callwithus

·T-Mobile

·AT&T U-Verse

·Callcentric

3 recommendations cb14 Member I cannot believe this. The discussion around US broadband reminds me the discussion about US health care- all those shills and idiots claiming US superiority. Everyone who ever lived abroad or at least speaks a few languages knows the truth. You just need to go and check the ISP offers in different countries. US broadband is absurdly expensive and in half of the country does not even deserve the name.

And what has the US broadband price to do with gas prices in London? If you live in London, you drive a small car with minimal consumption or use public transportation. What do you do here if you cannot afford the internet price? Hang out for hours in the library together with all the low income kids waiting for a computer? Or what if you cannot get broadband at all?

And this nonsense" countries are smaller, people live in apartment buildings, blabla"

I live in an extremely densely developed part of the country, comparable to the most densely populated areas in the world. The high speed broadband from Concast is absurdly expensive, to get something half way affordable I have to settle for 12 down from ATT U verse. And I am damned lucky, you go just a block outside of the dense metro area and you only have crappy DSL. Yes, here in SE FL, not in the middle of rural Montana.

In the Netherlands, they decided back in the nineties to connect most household with fiber optics. Over the years they actually tore up street by street ( I watched it), laying down the cable. And I mean 6+ feet down.

Is it a surprise that they are way ahead of the US and have far lower prices? Mr Matt

join:2008-01-29

Eustis, FL 2 recommendations Mr Matt Member ISP's should be regulated! If one thinks punitive pricing was not employed before dial-up internet service became, consider AOL. Subscribers were charged a fixed amount for an allocated number of hours of connect time and then an amount per each hour of connect time if the subscribers allocation was exceeded. That business model continued until generic ISP's forced AOL stop charging for connect time because of competition.



The current crop of land line and wireless ISP's have virtually no competition. ISP's, particularly wireless ISP are gouging customers by setting outrageous prices for exceeding the subscribers allowance. $15.00 per Gigabyte is usurious. If the subscriber exceeds their allocation by 1 MB during a billing period they will be charged 999 times the actual usage or $15.00 leaving the other 999 MB on the table. A great way to screw customers.



On the other hand if ISP's charged $0.15 per MB the maximum amount the customer could leave on the table is $0.15. By employing that pricing model the wireless ISP's would leave themselves subject to further scrutiny since all wireless connections are not created equal. It turns out under wireless terms of service agreements require customers to agree to be charged for retransmissions due to poor wireless connections. Imagine downloading the same file to the same destination and because one connection was better than the other connection the usage shows different usage per session. Pay more for a crappy connection then a good connection.



There is no way for subscribers to tell their actual usage because many ISP's meters are totally inaccurate. Most systems do not have a method for measuring data throughput. Imagine turning off your modem while on vacation, during an entire billing period and returning to find accrued usage on your bill.