It might help to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but I pay Eur 204.49 (~ US 260.71) per month for 2048/256 here in Ireland, where our government keep pitching us as the e-hub of Europe. There are a handful of broadband (dsl & wireless.. no cable) available to me, but for an uncapped reasonable speed, that's the best I can do!
Even worse, eircom (the inucmbent, and almost, but not quite monopolistic), created a new tariff band specifically for these destinations, back in 2002.
Band 13 includes those mentioned in the ComReg directive, and cost a whopping Eur 3.60 per minute (at all times). As a comparison, one reseller charges Eur 1.00 to the same desitnation, and the highest premium rate here is Eur 2.90.
So its reasonably clear that Band 13 was created to generate more profit for eircom, rather than protect their customer's interests. There are unsubstantiated rumours from "insiders" that eircom were making Eur 1m - Eur 1.5m profit a month.
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Band 13 includes those mentioned in the ComReg directive, and cost a whopping Eur 3.60 per minute (at all times). As a comparison, one reseller charges Eur 1.00 to the same desitnation, and the highest premium rate here is Eur 2.90.
So its reasonably clear that Band 13 was created to generate more profit for eircom, rather than protect their customer's interests. There are unsubstantiated rumours from "insiders" that eircom were making Eur 1m - Eur 1.5m profit a month.