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FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

docs.fcc.gov

241–250 of 432 posts

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#241
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or more accurately, to disincentive excessive use. They don’t need a cap to simply charge you more money, they’ve been doing that just fine with or without caps.

That would be a valid argument if they defined "excessive" based on infrastructure limits rather than a demand curve and market research.

All prices are based on “demand curve and market research” so I’m not sure what your point is.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#242

I started with Comcast with 12Mbps service. Over time, they increased the base speed they offer to 20, 25, 50, and now 75. They have done this because they want to have x% of their customers on "broadband", per the federal definition. This is all well and good, but they keep increasing the price, and refuse to offer lower-tier service. I probably wouldn't want 12Mbps anymore, but 20 or 25 would suffice. I wish I coul…

I'm in an area with competition and I think I'm paying like $60/month for 10Gbps.

AT&T finally started offering fiber in my neighborhood this summer while Spectrum raised their minimum tier another $5. Needless to said I've seen a lot of AT&T vans around.

Unlike most folks my experience with fiber has been dreadful but at least I'm not paying out the nose for a connection with less upload speed than phone.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in an area with competition and I think I'm paying like $60/month for 10Gbps.

What? I wasn’t even aware consumer speeds got that high. No caps I hope?

Sonic in the Bay Area offers 10Gb symmetric at that price, no cap. I upgraded from their 1Gb plan to 10Gb with no change in price.

Unfortunately, I’ve since moved to another part of the country, with much less enlightened ISP options.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would it actually be that much less costly to give you 20-25 vs 75, though? My uninformed assumption was that it was largely artificial once you get to a low enough speed.

Well, if there's not a cost difference, why do they keep trying to double my pricing when the base tier goes up? My sense is there is some cost savings at these lower tiers, but more importantly it would prevent ISPs from jacking prices up while using higher speeds as the rationale ("Look, we just tripled your speed, and it only costs double!"). ISPs would be less likely to double prices without any service improveme…

>Well, if there's not a cost difference, why do they keep trying to double my pricing when the base tier goes up?

At least they're giving more speed instead of just doubling the cost with no increase in service

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#245
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically roads should also have caps and/or tolls, so this take is strange. This is partly why gas and excise tax is a thing…

> Ironically roads should also have caps and/or tolls, so this take is strange. We'll set up electronic tolls on your cul-de-sac and every light and stop sign, or toll you by mile driven using an odometer beaconing out to the tax authorities per drive and registered to your tax ID number (US) or equivalent. And then cap you on the number of miles you're allowed to drive per year on all cars unless you pay an addition…

Flat taxes are regressive and inefficient, but I suppose we can still chill.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Credit cards almost always side with the consumer if you have meaningful spend and very few issues/chargebacks/claims. If you never use the card, and then chargeback, they'll just deny your claim and drop your ass. It's not about the money of the individual charge (for small stuff like this anyway), it's about keeping you happy and spending on the card. I highly doubt the argument itself was relevant whatsoever.

Hasn't worked for me. Chargebacks are pretty much non-existent. The bank will just contact the vendor, ask them if they delivered "the product" and if they just say "yes" (no proof needed, and they always say yes) they deny my claim. I barely even got it back when my kid stole my credit card and gave it to a scammer selling "minecraft accounts." Maybe I need to find a different bank?

> I barely even got it back when my kid stole my credit card and gave it to a scammer selling "minecraft accounts."

Nor should you quite frankly. Kids buying stupid things is not the same as fraud.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#247

I started with Comcast with 12Mbps service. Over time, they increased the base speed they offer to 20, 25, 50, and now 75. They have done this because they want to have x% of their customers on "broadband", per the federal definition. This is all well and good, but they keep increasing the price, and refuse to offer lower-tier service. I probably wouldn't want 12Mbps anymore, but 20 or 25 would suffice. I wish I coul…

I agree that there should be more consumer choice. But is there anything FCC can do to increase it? Is it in their jurisdiction?

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in an area with competition and I think I'm paying like $60/month for 10Gbps.

What? I wasn’t even aware consumer speeds got that high. No caps I hope?

Started seeing consumer 10Gbps back in 2018 (in Sweden). The problem was there wasn't many consumer router devices around back then to support that kind of link. It might have even been unheard of, so one ISP solved it by designing their own custom device to specification - just so they could offer 10Gbps asap.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#249
post #108

This is nice, but with increased speed, they should also require ISPs do not impose a data cap to be considered broadband.

I'm actually on the opposite side of this. I wish there were more metered options available for data, especially for wireless options. I'd love to see an offering that has a low monthly connection fee (i.e. $1-5), along with a sensible price per GB option (i.e. double the cost of transit so there are decent margins on this, but isn't something crazy like $10/gb). Assuming that for most consumers the end price average…

It makes no sense to price wireless data based on IP transit costs.

IP transit costs per GB are a fraction of a hundredth of a penny.

It barely makes any sense to bill consumers per GB on any terrestrial network.

In Northern Europe a typical 4G SIM with a monthly data quota is $9 per month. An unlimited 4G SIM with all you can eat data is $18. How many price points do you need in between?

Heck, international 4G/5G data roaming fees are capped at $2/GB and by 2027 the cap will be $1/GB.

Re: FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

#250

I started with Comcast with 12Mbps service. Over time, they increased the base speed they offer to 20, 25, 50, and now 75. They have done this because they want to have x% of their customers on "broadband", per the federal definition. This is all well and good, but they keep increasing the price, and refuse to offer lower-tier service. I probably wouldn't want 12Mbps anymore, but 20 or 25 would suffice. I wish I coul…

In an extreme ironic twist, me, the techie nerd guy, has the slowest internet of the regular-folk friend group of mine. Everyone has got 1Gbps and here I am with 300Mbps.

Me too. I tell everyone who will listen that they should look at their actual bandwidth usage. I've looked at the detailed statistics on my Google Nest WiFi router, and my family's peak usage never exceeded about 30 Mbps. That's with me working from home as a CS PhD student and my wife homeschooling our kids during the day. I have 300 Mbps (down) because that's the lowest, cheapest tier that my ISP offers.

Maybe people are actually using their 1 Gbps bandwidth if they have multiple 4K TVs and do serious gaming? I don't know, I doubt it.

I tell everyone to look at their actual cellular data usage too. I think all middle class Americans just buy unlimited plans now, but I do just fine with 500 MB per month for $5.

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