Via reader "irihapeti", here's an interactive map from the FCC displaying broadband coverage across the US, a vivid illustration of Philip Rosedale's point that few Americans have a meaningful choice between competing broadband providers -and why the FCC's proposed ending of net neutrality, the regulation that prohibits ISPs from charging extra for different Internet sites and services, is so concerning .
You can adjust the Minimum and Maximum number of providers on the map interface, which is an important way of indicating how likely a given area is to be hurt by the end of neutrality. An area with many providers -- five or more is a pretty good bar -- probably has enough competition that local consumers can easily switch their provider, if their current one starts adding extra fees for specific Internet services, or throttles them. (For example, let's say, broadband-heavy virtual world/social VR/MMO usage.) As you can see in the screencap above, folks in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and a few other big/wealthy cities will probably be fine if net neutrality goes away. (Though notably and ironically, people in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Bay Area may not do as well.)
Less than five competitors, the option to switch gets increasingly difficult -- two or less, and switching is probably next to impossible.
How many Americans have two or less broadband options? Here's how many:
So yes, most of us. Irihapeti puts it succinctly:
It simply reinforces the market dominance of the existing ISPs by allowing them to gain extract more revenue from their existing customer base, to deploy against new entrants into 'their' areas what does rectify the issue is that the infrastructure owner be required to be a broadband wholesaler and not a broadband retailer. This actual solution which does work in practice from a customer's pov, is rejected by the current USA Congress and Administration in line with their political view that the marketplace is a zero-sum environment zero-sum is a tenet of monopolism. Which many in the current USA climate accept as normal and a good thing. Monopolists play this card quite well (and always have done), selling monopoly to the libertarian-leaning general public as freedom.
If you buy the argument of Ajit Pai, Trump's appointee to head the FCC, that ending net neutrality will enable more competition, services, and pricing options, this map is a good way of checking if you are taking a personal risk by accepting that gamble. Everyone else may want to contact their Congressperson.
If you have a cell phone, or at least wireless, its looks fairly good.
Posted by: puppehsusa | Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 01:45 PM
do you have a unlimited data broadband plan for your smartphone ? I do. How about your tablet ? Your laptop ? Your desktop ? I do. All for $NZ95 a month ($US65 about), and the provider chucks in a landline as well.
even better, at family gatherings our house gets overrun by children and teenagers and their parents all bearing smart phones and tablets, which connect to our wireless broadcast router, for all the data they care to eat. Same when I go to their houses. Its great.
Same also when we go out now to restaurants, shops, cafes, bars, shopping plazas, etc. More and more of them let us connect our smart devices to their broadband wireless broadcaster, for no charge. The owners of these businesses provide it as a service to their customers as their broadband plans are uncapped and unthrottled for a fixed monthly price also.
I remember the olden days when it wasn't like this. It sucked
Posted by: irihapeti | Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 09:04 PM
I don't have unlimited data for my mobile here in the UK, but I do get facebook or WhatsApp messaging as part of my plan which doesn't count against the data cap or I can use wireless for any mobile phone internet usage which doesn't count against my data cap.
Here in the UK free wireless is widely advertised in cafes, restaurants and bars.
I can connect any device to my home wireless at no extra cost, I use an iPad, iMac, mobile phone and even a NOW TV box to stream to my television via wireless. The NOW TV box was a bone of contention but I caved in there because I can't get the channel that shows Game of Thrones on Cable television.
Posted by: Ciaran Laval | Friday, December 01, 2017 at 09:35 AM
I feel I must point out that the map says, "Data as of: 06/30/14". So this map is over 3 years old, and that's a long time as these things go.
But losing net neutrality will indeed suck.
Posted by: Joe Max | Friday, December 01, 2017 at 07:52 PM
had the broadband infrastructure improved considerably over the last 3 years then the issue of how to provide it would not be in question
Posted by: irihapeti | Saturday, December 02, 2017 at 07:35 PM