why isnt the price of Broadband going down?

call

This is suppose to be the future but the Prices keep going up ( well at least in my area , Maryland)

ToshiroOC

Too many broadband companies are failing ATM, and I think that a lack of subscribers is costing the ISP's big time, because cable costs per neighborhood to set up... and if too few per neighborhood sign up, setup costs are pretty high

craig5320

Well can't talk for the US, but my broadband is £24.99 per month 600k and has been since I started on it 18 months ago. I think it's the intial outlay of having to massive upgrade the networks and maintain it, and in some cases install new broadband cable networks. I'm sure as faster technolgies come availble and speeds increase more prices will drop.

toddsmack2k

Just be glad you have broadband! My only option other dial up is sattelite. As it seems no time soon will broadband be offered out here

ToshiroOC

Well toddsmack... look at this site and see if it might help: http://www.d128.com/wireless/ It is about some guy who managed to set up a wireless link between his broadband-capable workplace and his house from OVER 1KM AWAY! Maybe you can get one person in the neighborhood to lease a t1 or something, then everyone ponies up for the gear mentioned here and sets themselves up and splits costs I am currently staring at my pringles can, and wondering...

toddsmack2k

Hmmm. interesting but there is no one anywhere close that i could link off of sadly, that is one of the drawbacks of living in the country

DriveEuro

Too many companies are trying to provide. That is why prices are high. If there were less compaines there would be lower prices.

craig588

I dont think so, we only have one cable isp in our area and they charge us 60$ a month for POS 180/30KBs cable. My friend who lives 2 towns away has like 5 different isps in his area and he pays 20$ a month for 300/120KBs cable

craig5320

It depends where the balance is, more companies may mean more competition and so lower prices, but could also mean less customers per company so they have to charge more to make up the money.

UberLord

This is not Flame Warzone material. Moved

Krazach

Instead of as time goes on, more things are being added, it seems as if more things are going bankrupt and/or not expanding. I used to have @home, and they went out, so I got moved to the even crappier comcast network. I suppose I'm lucky to at least have it in my area, but then again it is still overloaded and severely capped in the up direction (15k/s).

dzjepp

I agree... and on top of the prices, there really isn't much availability, at least in my area. I did find SBC Yahoo! DSL however, it gives me 765kbps for $39.99, its not the best but I had no choice. I was always thinking, the ent. industry wants to launch on demand movie streaming | downloading subscription service, while I wouldn't even be able to stream one of these movies with my connection under 1mbit. I dunno who will sing up for such services - I think you would need a connection with at least 3-4mbit's which is hard to come by nowadays IMO.

krang

It's a slow process to upgrade an area, at least for cable broadband. The cable companies and the tech industry as a whole has had setbacks,ie stockmarket etc, which has reduced profits. Less money means more time needed to continue amping up for faster net service. Satellite systems have also become more competitive. Once you get it you'll never go back.

DriveEuro

Um,.......... I guess you don't know that satellite systems have HORRIBLE pings. And incredibly slow uploads.

craig588

My neighbor got a sattilite connection for his RV and it is basicly a 56k modem. He can barely connect when its stormy out. It's really terrible, using it as a mobile connection is basicly it's only use.

krang

On the satelite thing, I was speaking in context of all cable services. I know at Charter Communications, for instancs, massive growth and acquisions of smaller systems required a huge upgrade. The growth of satelite hurt the bottom line as well as the stock market slump. Consequently, funding to all services has suffered and the growth of broadband has been affected. I don't think that satellite could approach the speed of dsl and cable under most circumstances but I'm not that familiar with satellite, only cable. I do agree with the issue of high prices.

Zardon

NTL UK have dropped their 1mbit line from £50 a month to £34.99 and its a GREAT service. only costing slightly more than AOL 512k. its also on a 20 retention line rate (not the more usual 50).

digitalwanderer

I just signed on with SBC-ameritech last night for $40us/mos for 12 mos & modem & NIC & activation. (Thanks again WyreTheWolf for the hand-holding during me "OMFG I CAN GET BROADBAND!" phase last night! )

Frodo301

I've been asked to beta test a highspeed wireless service for a my local dial up isp this summer. My reward for helping iron out the bugs are free setup/installation and free service for a year after the six month beta. Free is sooo good . I've been with them since about '95, helped them beta x2 and v90 back in the day.

HEYyou

because nothing is changing

it'll be 2 or 3 years before anything major happens. we need to get out of this recession and then once fiber lines start becoming mainstream the price of things will go down, but for now, there is no capital or whatever to spend to finish all the partially layed fiber optic runs that are laying all over the u.s. unfinished.

prices don't just go down

something in the market has to change to drive the prices down

think about it bro-~