EksoMusic.com: The Social Network and Community For Music Fans - View Single Post

02-16-2007, 01:48 AM

"Basement" <wvandekamp@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:45d4b8e8$0$329$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
>I found this quite interesting. How are you americans thinking about this:
>
> quote Slashdot:
>
> "When It Comes To Broadband, U.S. Plays Follow The Leader says a story in
> IWeek. Their thesis is that, while broadband access in the United States
> rose from 60 million users in March 2005 to 84 million in March 2006, the
> US is well behind countries like England and China. Indeed, what you may
> not realize is that the U.S. ranks a surprisingly poor 12th in worldwide
> broadband access, a situation which could threaten its ability to maintain
> its technological lead. The federal government is no help: the FCC has
> almost no data on the rate of hi-speed adoption, or of what the speed and
> quality of those services are. Broadband is more expensive here than in
> other nations, as well, almost 10 times as expensive by some estimates.
> The cost and poor quality of service aren't from population density,
> aren't from lack of interest, and are not from lack of technical know-how.
> So, what is holding us back?

Try living in Australia. We only just got ADSL2 (24mbps) broadband in the
last 12 months or so, and it is only available in capital cities (and only
some suburbs in those cities). This 24mbps is the maximum speed - actual
speeds vary greatly depending on usage in the neighbourhood. The fastest
ADSL the rest of us can get is 1.5mbps (with some 8mbps plans now being
offered, but not many). I have what is considered in Australia as a hardcore
plan (1.5mbps, 50 gig a month download) and it costs me AU$79.95 per month
(around US$63 per month). If I was able to get ADSL2, this plan would be
AU$89.95 for the same data volume. I have been on this plan for a few years
now and it is no longer offered. The closest plan my ISP (one of the leaders
in Australia) currently offers is 1.5mbps, 25 gig download, AU$69.95. An
8mbps plan is AU$99.95 per month with 40 gig included download (which I
would chew through in a couple of days at that speed).

Then there are the people that can't get ADSL at all (more than about 5km
from the nearest exchange). Australia is very sparsely populated across a
great distance, so there are a lot of households in this situation. They
might be able to get wireless or ISDN, but the majority have dialup, which
is worse than being taken roughly from behind by Hitler's corpse.

At the end of the day, if you live in a capital city in Australia you can
get decent broadband but at a hefty price.

What's the state of affairs in other countries? What type of plan are you
all on?

02-16-2007, 01:48 AM	#4 (permalink)
Richard Kelly Guest n/a posts () gifts	Re: broadband "Basement" <wvandekamp@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:45d4b8e8$0$329$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl... >I found this quite interesting. How are you americans thinking about this: > > quote Slashdot: > > "When It Comes To Broadband, U.S. Plays Follow The Leader says a story in > IWeek. Their thesis is that, while broadband access in the United States > rose from 60 million users in March 2005 to 84 million in March 2006, the > US is well behind countries like England and China. Indeed, what you may > not realize is that the U.S. ranks a surprisingly poor 12th in worldwide > broadband access, a situation which could threaten its ability to maintain > its technological lead. The federal government is no help: the FCC has > almost no data on the rate of hi-speed adoption, or of what the speed and > quality of those services are. Broadband is more expensive here than in > other nations, as well, almost 10 times as expensive by some estimates. > The cost and poor quality of service aren't from population density, > aren't from lack of interest, and are not from lack of technical know-how. > So, what is holding us back? Try living in Australia. We only just got ADSL2 (24mbps) broadband in the last 12 months or so, and it is only available in capital cities (and only some suburbs in those cities). This 24mbps is the maximum speed - actual speeds vary greatly depending on usage in the neighbourhood. The fastest ADSL the rest of us can get is 1.5mbps (with some 8mbps plans now being offered, but not many). I have what is considered in Australia as a hardcore plan (1.5mbps, 50 gig a month download) and it costs me AU$79.95 per month (around US$63 per month). If I was able to get ADSL2, this plan would be AU$89.95 for the same data volume. I have been on this plan for a few years now and it is no longer offered. The closest plan my ISP (one of the leaders in Australia) currently offers is 1.5mbps, 25 gig download, AU$69.95. An 8mbps plan is AU$99.95 per month with 40 gig included download (which I would chew through in a couple of days at that speed). Then there are the people that can't get ADSL at all (more than about 5km from the nearest exchange). Australia is very sparsely populated across a great distance, so there are a lot of households in this situation. They might be able to get wireless or ISDN, but the majority have dialup, which is worse than being taken roughly from behind by Hitler's corpse. At the end of the day, if you live in a capital city in Australia you can get decent broadband but at a hefty price. What's the state of affairs in other countries? What type of plan are you all on?