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> such as tax funding Comcast and others got exactly that. They got federal/state/local money to wire up the country with high speed internet and then fell sho

> such as tax funding Comcast and others got exactly that. They got federal/state/local money to wire up the country with high speed internet and then fell short when they hit the rural areas that needed it most. Not only that but certain cities gave them exclusivity agreements so that there couldn't be competition for X years.

enraged_camel 10y ago
>>and then fell short when they hit the rural areas that needed it most. Why do rural areas need the Internet the most?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- jpitz 10y ago
  Because urban dwellers have choice when it comes to selecting an isp.
  - enraged_camel 10y ago
    Umm, no? American ISPs/cable companies are notorious for form get regional monopolies. In most places in the US, people really have only one option for ISP. You might think the situation is different in cities, but that is the case only on the surface. The fact is that in dense urban settings, many apartment buildings form exclusive partnerships with cable providers such that residents must sign up with that provider of they want cable/internet.
    - jlgaddis 10y ago
      And then there are places -- like the rural areas mentioned above -- where my parents live. They have zero options.
    - jpitz 10y ago
      In all of the suburban and urban areas I've lived in and near, it has been the case. In the rural area I live now, my options are crappy satellite or expensive 4g. /anecdote
- amazon_not 10y ago
  > Why do rural areas need the Internet the most? Because rural areas do not have the same concentration of services that urban areas have. In urban areas you can visit offices/shops close by to get things done if you don't have the Internet. In rural areas you have to travel X miles to get a single thing done if you lack online access.
- michaelt 10y ago
  They don't need the internet the most - they need subsidy the most. At least, if you make the assumption that rural area = lower population density = higher installation cost per capita = expensive or nonexistent service = bad. Of course, by the same logic city apartments should have excellent internet service because of the low installation costs. I gather this is not always the case, so the assumptions above over-simplify the issues somewhat.

enraged_camel 10y ago

>>and then fell short when they hit the rural areas that needed it most. Why do rural areas need the Internet the most?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
jpitz 10y ago
Because urban dwellers have choice when it comes to selecting an isp.
- enraged_camel 10y ago
  Umm, no? American ISPs/cable companies are notorious for form get regional monopolies. In most places in the US, people really have only one option for ISP. You might think the situation is different in cities, but that is the case only on the surface. The fact is that in dense urban settings, many apartment buildings form exclusive partnerships with cable providers such that residents must sign up with that provider of they want cable/internet.
  - jlgaddis 10y ago
    And then there are places -- like the rural areas mentioned above -- where my parents live. They have zero options.
  - jpitz 10y ago
    In all of the suburban and urban areas I've lived in and near, it has been the case. In the rural area I live now, my options are crappy satellite or expensive 4g. /anecdote
amazon_not 10y ago
> Why do rural areas need the Internet the most? Because rural areas do not have the same concentration of services that urban areas have. In urban areas you can visit offices/shops close by to get things done if you don't have the Internet. In rural areas you have to travel X miles to get a single thing done if you lack online access.
michaelt 10y ago
They don't need the internet the most - they need subsidy the most. At least, if you make the assumption that rural area = lower population density = higher installation cost per capita = expensive or nonexistent service = bad. Of course, by the same logic city apartments should have excellent internet service because of the low installation costs. I gather this is not always the case, so the assumptions above over-simplify the issues somewhat.