Why is broadband more expensive in the US?

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24528383

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).

(continued, backdoor tax for the NSA?)

[JimC]

Ours is more expensive than the UK, but less than the US...

[Pappa]

Cheese is more expensive in the US too. Which is weird, because almost everything else is cheaper.

[cronus]

Cheese is more expensive in the US too. Which is weird, because almost everything else is cheaper.

Could go the other way. Sudden changes in fortune are not unknown for the times.

[Clinton Huxley]

Obama?

[subversive science]

Lack of competition. Most US broadband subscribers either have one or two providers from which to choose.

[Clinton Huxley]

It's all those libertarians digging up the road and laying their own personal cable so they don't have to share. And gunshot damage to the local exchanges.

[mistermack]

Capitalism only works when the market is huge, the competition is fierce, and there are loads of sellers competing for your custom. But modern capitalism favours the big organisations, who can squeeze the life out of small start-ups.

Somehow, we need to make life harder for the big organisations, and favour the small. Otherwise, you end up with virtual monopolies, with prices being fixed in back rooms, or over scrambled phone lines..
Or just by monitoring each other, without any need for contact at all.

[tattuchu]

Cheese is more expensive in the US too. Which is weird, because almost everything else is cheaper.

Yes, good quality cheese is very expensive here. Come to think of it, even poor quality cheese is expensive here.

[mistermack]

Cheese is more expensive in the US too. Which is weird, because almost everything else is cheaper.

Yes, good quality cheese is very expensive here. Come to think of it, even poor quality cheese is expensive here.

But you still have a monopoly in spray-on cheese, you lucky people.

[Clinton Huxley]

You could use spray-cheese in a modified 3d printer to make whatever cheese shape you wanted.

[tattuchu]

Lack of competition. Most US broadband subscribers either have one or two providers from which to choose.

There is no competition around here. We have one cable provider, and only one. Typical internet/TV package will cost you close to a hundred dollars a month, more if you want premium channels. I have only basic internet, not even the highest speed, which costs for forty-two dollars a month. That's enough. When I get offers in the mail for bundle packages, I throw them in the fucking trash.

[tattuchu]

Men's haircuts, loaves of bread... it is surprising how much more expensive some things are in the US than the UK.

How much do haircuts and loaves of bread cost elsewhere? A good loaf of bread around here costs about four dollars. A fresh artisan loaf at nearby Panera Bread can cost twice that, but it's a larger than normal sized loaf.

[subversive science]

Lack of competition. Most US broadband subscribers either have one or two providers from which to choose.

There is no competition around here. We have one cable provider, and only one. Typical internet/TV package will cost you close to a hundred dollars a month, more if you want premium channels. I have only basic internet, not even the highest speed, which costs for forty-two dollars a month. That's enough. When I get offers in the mail for bundle packages, I throw them in the fucking trash.

Our only broadband provider is cable. Some places in the region have a choice between cable and fiber, but the latter depends on whether Verizon has built the infrastructure in a particular service area. And, this is in and around DC.

[mistermack]

Men's haircuts, loaves of bread... it is surprising how much more expensive some things are in the US than the UK.

How much do haircuts and loaves of bread cost elsewhere? A good loaf of bread around here costs about four dollars. A fresh artisan loaf at nearby Panera Bread can cost twice that, but it's a larger than normal sized loaf.

Fuck, that is a lot for bread. About three times the UK price, I'm guessing.
I have a bread machine, so it's the price of flour that I take note of.

1.5 kg cheapest is about fifty pence here in the UK. Strong bread flour is about a pound.
I can't imagine why the price of flour would be high in the US. So why don't people just buy a bread machine? With those bread prices, it would be a no-brainer.