martymefurst

Comcast, Time Warner: The Broadband Salad Bar

I get a little tired of the Asia comparison. There are a hundred reasons that some places in Asia might have faster and cheaper broadband, and off the top of my head I'd say the main reason is that we had it first. Just as some people shelled out $5,000 for an HDTV set a few years ago when a better one can be bought at WalMart for $500 today, early adoption has a price tag. Legacy equipment that hasn't yet paid for itself is not going to be replaced unless it's broken. Another reason: regardless of the brand, where is the hardware made? (Hint: it's a four letter continent beginning with the letter A.) What about labor costs? Something you don't think of when watching a Youtube clip is how much work went into bringing you the experience and keeping it all reliable. Finally geography, and the economy of scale - there are rural people in Asia, sure, lots of them... but do they have access in the same way that people in Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, or Singapore are accustomed to having? Or at all? I doubt it. Meanwhile only a tiny percentage of Americans live outside of the reach of a cable TV system, giving a resident of Tupper Lake, NY the same experience and priceline as someone in Manhattan. I think Americans should be pretty grateful for what we have.