[ale] A bit of a bandwidth/services/price rant..

[Alex LeDonne]

On 2/19/07, Mike Harrison <meuon at geeklabs.com> wrote:
> My point is, the people on this list are either IT professionals
> and/or their technology addiction is a major factor in their lives.
> None of us are stupid (compared to the average person), and should
> be gainfully employed or self-employed (students being, of course, an
> exception). Most of us are saving lots of cash using FOSS software and
> OS's..
>
>    So why are we so cheap when it comes to internet services?
>

Well, I was on Charter and became frustrated both with QOS and TOS, so
I moved to more expensive but more permissive TOS of Speakeasy DSL.
QOS has turned out to be much better as well. So I personally am not
so cheap when it comes to my internet service.

But what frustrates me (and, I think others) is that as far away as
Korea and as close to home as Boston, fiber to the curb is real. I pay
$55/mo for 1.5M/384K (maybe 768K up, I'd have to double-check) DSL,
but a metro area Verizon customer can get 15M/2M FiOS for $50/mo.
BellSouth hasn't demonstrated a business plan that includes
wide-ranging fiber rollouts, and the current telco environment doesn't
support a competitor doing so.

I know I just want to pay for bandwidth, and have the provider stay
out of my hair (unless or until something untoward happens on my
bandwidth). I don't know what the premium is for business class FiOS,
but I know I'd probably pay it.

-A