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The Problems with Broadband in America
Tenken writes "Salon has an article about the state of broadband in America. After seeing what many other countries have accomplished with their broadband markets, namely Japan, Korea, and (gasp) even Canada, the current state of affairs in the U.S. is looking pretty dismal. I'm sure I'm not the only one tired of paying $45 a month just for cable internet." From the article: "Across the globe, it's the same story. In France, DSL service that is 10 times faster than the typical United States connection; 100 TV channels and unlimited telephone service cost only $38 per month. In South Korea, super-fast connections are common for less than $30 per month. Places as diverse as Finland, Canada and Hong Kong all have much faster Internet connections at a lower cost than what is available here. In fact, since 2001, the U.S. has slipped from fourth to 16th in the world in broadband use per capita. While other countries are taking advantage of the technological, business and education opportunities of the broadband era, America remains lost in transition."
What do you pay for gas? What do they pay for gas? What's more important to the US, gas or the Internet? I say we're making up for the fact we pay much less for fossil fuels than they do. I'm willing to pay a little more for broadband access.
We won the war, wiped out 90% of about 250 of their top cities, dropped two atomic bombs, and forever pacified and ENTIRE FUCKING RACE OF PEOPLE. We wrote their constitution, and built their economy from the ground up.
WE WON AND NO AMOUNT OF MY INTERNET PIPE IS BIGGER THAN YOURS WILL EVER CHANGE THAT.
So there. Tell him that next time you're on the phone.