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A survey conducted earlier this year by the Pew Research Center found that 7% of Americans lack access to reliable broadband. One reason for this may be how expensive internet access is in the U.S.
"People in the U.S. pay more for slower internet than people abroad," Open Technology Institute policy analyst Claire Park said. "For many consumers, the cost of getting online right now is simply too high and also too complicated."
The Open Technology Institute has been studying the price and speed of internet services advertised within the United States as well as abroad. Its 2020 Cost of Connectivity Report found that the average advertised monthly cost of internet in the U.S. is $68.38, which is higher than the average price of internet access for all of North America, Europe and Asia.
Outdated infrastructure in the U.S. may also be impeding internet access to millions of Americans, and lawmakers have been debating how to increase internet availability and performance.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by srobert on Monday October 11 2021, @02:05AM (23 children)
Converts dollars to yen, yuan, rupees and euros, according to current exchange rates, then does a comparison of costs elsewhere with the "average advertised monthly cost in the U.S.". This is too confusing to be enlightening.
Some of the currencies are used in countries where, according to the official exchange rates, 1 U.S dollar will buy a man's labor for half the day. Moreover, ISP's in the U.S. advertise the special introductory price, not the monthly price you actually pay after you've been with them for a while.
Perhaps a more useful metric would be, "In your country how many hours does a typical working class person work to make enough money buy a month of internet service at the regular price?".
I'm in the U.S. I'd say it's in the ballpark about 2 to 4 hours.
So you guys in other parts of the world, how much time does someone work in your country to get a month of internet service?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Coligny on Monday October 11 2021, @02:25AM
I -in all seriousness- think that’s why the “Big Mac index” is for.
Created by the economist to compare purchasing power between countries.
If I wanted to be moderated by mor0nic groupthinking retards I would still be on Digg and Reddshit.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Monday October 11 2021, @02:58AM (3 children)
I price my labor in beer. In most countries about a case an hour oughta do it.
Internet should be like the roads, common carrier dumb pipe paid for by taxes
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by srobert on Monday October 11 2021, @01:54PM (1 child)
Beer is as good an index as any. So, how many cases of beer for a month of internet service?
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday October 11 2021, @11:59PM
Sure, but I'd prefer the metric of, "If you drink beer while using the Internet in your country, what quality beer would it be for the beer-to-internet cost to be in parity? Please specify a price per bottle, or a brand if you prefer."
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday October 11 2021, @03:44PM
I price my labor according to number of tasks which can be avoided or delayed.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 4, Informative) by deimtee on Monday October 11 2021, @04:20AM (4 children)
In Oz, four hours of minimum wage would easily get you a month of 100Mb(down) / 20Mb(up) internet. Two hours of the average wage, or an hour or so of a professional salary.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by srobert on Monday October 11 2021, @02:08PM (3 children)
I don't know where Oz is, but I pay $70 for 25 Mbps. In Las Vegas, minimum wage is $9.75 an hour. So for someone on minimum wage that would be over 7 hours. I imagine they'd want a slower speed. And the average wage is on the order of $23 / hr, so about 3 hours work for a month of internet.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday October 11 2021, @03:02PM (1 child)
Oz is Australia. Here in Springfield, IL I'm paying AT&T $60/month for 100 mbps. Could have gigabit for an extra ten bucks, but since I'm no longer a gamer I just don't need it.
As to the minimum wage, that is the root of most of the US's problems. Why is it legal to pay so little that someone working full time is eligible for LINK (formerly Food Stamps), housing assistance, and child care? Food, clothing, shelter, child care should be the employer's responsibility, not the government's. Those benefits benefit employers, not employees.
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(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday October 12 2021, @12:03AM
I wonder what the cost parity would be in all the other Springfields (or similarly) [usgs.gov] in the United States.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday October 11 2021, @11:29PM
Australia.
25 Mbps would be a cheaper plan. 2 hours of minimum wage per month. AUD $40, about US $28.
https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Cheapest-Internet-Plans [whistleout.com.au]
Typical internet comparison site for AU plans. Note that all of these plans are mostly available anywhere. The infrastructure is owned by the NBN, who charge ISP's, but not the end customers.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 1) by mjrider on Monday October 11 2021, @06:14AM
That would be 1,5 to 2 hours of work(depending on the chart i use for the average income), and that gives me a 1 gigabit symmetrical.
If i would go the 'yeah, but i also want tv and a mobile subscription and buying them all at the same provider makes it cheaper' route, 1 hour of work
both offers are unlimited in gigabytes per month
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @08:39AM (1 child)
OK - for me, a month of internet at 60.6Mbps down/22.4Mbps up, unlimited data, including VOIP phone and a DTV box (tested just then) is under an hour of my time, or about 10 minutes of my wife's time.
What does that do to your comparisons?
(Score: 2) by srobert on Monday October 11 2021, @02:15PM
It makes me ask, where are you? and is your wage an average one there?
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Monday October 11 2021, @09:04AM (6 children)
Minimum wage is about 1600 a month here (which means about 9 bucks an hour), with 100/20 Internet costing approximately 30-40 bucks, depending on what ISP you prefer.
If you're happy with less, you can get it for as little as 12 bucks a month, but who'd want to exist on 10mbit down, 1mbit up internet?
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday October 11 2021, @03:10PM (2 children)
I was happy with it until I got a 4k TV. 4k needs 25 megs.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Monday October 11 2021, @03:51PM (1 child)
If you would like to be notified when internet service will be offered in your area, please enter your email address in the box below.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday October 12 2021, @12:12AM
Funny you say that, but you can imagine that in a lot of developing nations (and poorer neighborhoods), cellular data service is the primary/only Internet service feasible for many families. A few obvious cases would be homeless people or nomadic types.
(Score: 2) by SDRefugee on Monday October 11 2021, @05:01PM (2 children)
Shit.. I live in Las Vegas, and I have a choice of Cox, CenturyLink or LVNet. With Cox I get 150/10 for $87/mo, with CL, I get 10mbps for $49/mo, and I forget the rate at LVNet, but as I recall its wireless, and costs more than Cox for less speed. The fun part of this equation, is a friend of mine, who lives a whopping 4 whole blocks from me, who WAS on Cox, is now on CL WITH A FIBER CONNECTION at 100/100 and to twist the knife a bit more, he gets that for their $49/mo "Lifetime" plan.. Here I am 4 blocks from him and all I can get from CL is 10mbps for the same $49/mo "lifetime", so I keep feeding the "Three Letter Monster" otherwise known as Cox their $88/mo.
America should be proud of Edward Snowden, the hero, whether they know it or not..
(Score: 2) by srobert on Monday October 11 2021, @10:32PM (1 child)
Well now I feel ripped off. I'm in Vegas paying Centurylink $70 / mo. for 25 Mbps from a fiber optic. How'd did he get the $49 deal?
(Score: 2) by SDRefugee on Tuesday October 12 2021, @04:18PM
I don't know.. He called me up one day to tell me to check with CenturyLink as he'd just dumped Cox. He's not a techie like me, so I had to read between the
lines to figure out he'd gotten fiber. I asked him how much it was costing, and turns out he had been on the same Cox tier as me, that being their "preferred" at 150/10 and $88/mo. He then said he was paying $49/mo on their "lifetime" plan. I IMMEDIATELY called CL and was told the most I could get was 10mpbs DSL. Yeah, right, I'm going to dump 150/10 for 10mbps??? Not in this lifetime, Sparky.. I guess that whopping 4 blocks is the difference between 100/100 fiber and 10mbps DSL.. So damn sick and tired of Cox..
America should be proud of Edward Snowden, the hero, whether they know it or not..
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday October 11 2021, @12:28PM (2 children)
I think your estimate is quite low for the US, at least in my area: Regularly-priced Internet service in my area of the USA goes for $75 a month. For a tipped minimum-wage employee such as a restaurant waiter, that could be as much as 30 hours if their boss is stealing their tips or the customers are assholes who don't tip. For a minimum-wage employee such as fast food and many agricultural workers, that's 10 hours of labor. For somebody working retail, that's typically 6-8 hours. Highly educated professionals make that in about 0.5-1 hours. But there are a lot more people at the lower end of the pay scale than the high end, so I'd pin it at roughly 7 hours of labor to pay for Internet.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Monday October 11 2021, @01:45PM (1 child)
Does your area still, today, have jobs that pay minimum wage? ... and they are still in business?
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday October 11 2021, @02:26PM
Yes: Agricultural and landscaping work mostly in my rural area. Where I used to live in a major city, it was even more common.
The cost of living is low enough that approximately 120 minimum wage hours per month is enough to eke out rent, food, and utilities. Not easy, but possible.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.