Because these access companies DO NOT COMPETE with each other. Without that competition we all get the shit end of capitalism. The landlines all have their own fiefdoms. Wireless is balkanizing based on tower placement, and satellite is for rural areas that don’t rate wired connections or cell towers. The politicians can point to all this and say we have options, but really you’re lucky if you have two options.
Indeed, the US has a major lack of fixed-line competition and lack of regulation. Starlink doesn’t really help with that, at least in urban areas.
I’m not familiar with the wireless situation. You’re saying that there are significant coverage discrepancies to the point where many if not most consumers are choosing a carrier based on coverage, not pricing/plans? There’s always areas with unequal coverage but I didn’t think they were that common.
Here in NZ, the state funding for very rural 4G broadband (Rural Broadband Initiative 2 / RBI-2) went to the Rural Connectivity Group, setting up sites used and owned equally by all three providers, to reduce costs where capacity isn’t the constraint.
Because these access companies DO NOT COMPETE with each other. Without that competition we all get the shit end of capitalism. The landlines all have their own fiefdoms. Wireless is balkanizing based on tower placement, and satellite is for rural areas that don’t rate wired connections or cell towers. The politicians can point to all this and say we have options, but really you’re lucky if you have two options.
Indeed, the US has a major lack of fixed-line competition and lack of regulation. Starlink doesn’t really help with that, at least in urban areas.
I’m not familiar with the wireless situation. You’re saying that there are significant coverage discrepancies to the point where many if not most consumers are choosing a carrier based on coverage, not pricing/plans? There’s always areas with unequal coverage but I didn’t think they were that common.
Here in NZ, the state funding for very rural 4G broadband (Rural Broadband Initiative 2 / RBI-2) went to the Rural Connectivity Group, setting up sites used and owned equally by all three providers, to reduce costs where capacity isn’t the constraint.