So I haven been going through and approving/rejecting banner ads from my CPM provider and have been observing some depressing (from the stance of living in the U.S.) trends. Many of the ads are for cable TV, broadband internet and digital phone packages being offered by telcoms here in the U.S. and in various countries in Europe. Since the ads so boldly advertise their rates as if they are something to be proud of I have come to one conclusion. We are getting screwed here in the U.S. For instance the European ads commonly promote their bundles as costing 30 Euros per month (about $38.00 US). Here in the U.S. on the other hand Verison has been very heavily promoting their TV/DSL/phone package as being cheaper than cable at $97 U.S. (about 76 Euros). Now keep in mind that DSL is way slower than U.S. broadband cable, which compared to broadband Internet in Europe is painfully slow in and of itself. Now keep in mind that since the last telecommunications bill Congress passed in 1996 we have been paying all kinds of surcharges to fund the development of the next generation of the Internet, which we have not seen. Based on the ads I'm seeing, it is obvious that the telecoms here in the U.S. are robbing us blind because nobody is standing up to them and there is no true competition here. Making matters worse, our rates are climbing rapidly every year without the faster speeds and better service we were promised in 1996. The next time you see some idiot politician talk about the Internet being a set of tubes that get clogged, remember you are paying him to be an idiot via you cable bill. Personally speaking seeing what things cost in Europe vs what they cost in the U.S. it is because of clueless politicians who receive big campaign donations from the telecoms, I'm paying about three times as much for one for my service as I should be (around $140 per month) and getting 1/10 the broadband speeds as my European friends.
I pay 9$ for a Cable Internet Conexion of 256 k.b band waiting to get fiber at 512 k.b and same price
I pay around $50 per month for broadband cable and normally get around 1-2 mbps down and 350 kbps up. For basic cable TV and cable broadband we pay around $100 per month plus $50 per month for our Vonage digital phone (primary line plus secondary fax line). We then spend another $50 - $100 per month on international calling to Russia and around $100 per month for two cell phones. On top of this I still have web hosting fees for my websites. All told we (my wife and I) spend somewhere around $400 - $500 per month on telecommunications and this is likely to go up another $100 as I'm needing to switch to a dedicated database server for my primary website.
Geez, I thought you were talking about the U.S. until I looked at your profile. Really this isn't much worse than some areas in the U.S.
Paying $60 a month for 1500/256 kpbs connection here in Australia. Don't have cable TV. Just digital free to air. Col
Phone is $29/mo flat rate including Vmail etc etc. BTW it is not as good as a regular land line connection. Not impressed really. cable/broadband is $50 something per month. So $79 - $89 beans per month.
network with tons of people in a condo....*evil grin* Cheap. I'm trying to kill my tv watching, so I hope to pay nothing.