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Then explain why there's no EU-comparable regional service in areas of the US with far greater density, like any of the top ten metro areas. Even the cell carri

by irons 16y ago

Then explain why there's no EU-comparable regional service in areas of the US with far greater density, like any of the top ten metro areas. Even the cell carriers have large roaming-only gaps and dead zones, not just in the unpopulated western US, but on major freeways in California. Using national population density to explain the extraordinary relative suckage of US broadband is a straw man argument.

kgermino 16y ago
There are some regional carriers but they're not necessarily well known. Not to mention that at&t, among others, have spent crap-loads of money lobbying to make it more difficult for smaller companies to get spectrum.
metageek 16y ago
>Then explain why there's no EU-comparable regional service in areas of the US with far greater density Because nobody wants regional service? There used to be regional service that was cheaper--I remember my parents signed up for it when they first got cellphones, around 2003--but it lost out in the marketplace, because people would cross a state line and be shocked by the roaming fees.
- hapless 16y ago
  There are a lot of regional carriers left. I believe MetroPCS, the carrier in the article, may be one of them, since I'd never heard of the firm. Edit: http://www.metropcs.com/coverage/ http://www.metropcs.com/coverage/ Their coverage maps indicate real coverage of a few metro areas, and roaming onto national networks. It's just that regional carriers aren't a whole hell of a lot cheaper than the big national guys. Who wants a 10% discount for 1/100th the coverage area ?
jessriedel 16y ago
I agree that the empty space in the western US distorts the population density, so just claiming sparse densities doesn't answer the question well. But isn't it obvious that there is are far fewer regional services in the US because Americans travel within the US more the Europeans travel within Europe? Lots more of the smartphone-carrying population travels from New York to California than from Spain to Poland. Honestly, do you have any ideas about what causes these high prices other than density? The competition among the providers is pretty healthy, as far as I can tell.

by irons 16y ago

kgermino 16y ago

There are some regional carriers but they're not necessarily well known. Not to mention that at&t, among others, have spent crap-loads of money lobbying to make it more difficult for smaller companies to get spectrum.

metageek 16y ago

>Then explain why there's no EU-comparable regional service in areas of the US with far greater density Because nobody wants regional service? There used to be regional service that was cheaper--I remember my parents signed up for it when they first got cellphones, around 2003--but it lost out in the marketplace, because people would cross a state line and be shocked by the roaming fees.

hapless 16y ago
There are a lot of regional carriers left. I believe MetroPCS, the carrier in the article, may be one of them, since I'd never heard of the firm. Edit: http://www.metropcs.com/coverage/ http://www.metropcs.com/coverage/ Their coverage maps indicate real coverage of a few metro areas, and roaming onto national networks. It's just that regional carriers aren't a whole hell of a lot cheaper than the big national guys. Who wants a 10% discount for 1/100th the coverage area ?

jessriedel 16y ago

I agree that the empty space in the western US distorts the population density, so just claiming sparse densities doesn't answer the question well. But isn't it obvious that there is are far fewer regional services in the US because Americans travel within the US more the Europeans travel within Europe? Lots more of the smartphone-carrying population travels from New York to California than from Spain to Poland. Honestly, do you have any ideas about what causes these high prices other than density? The competition among the providers is pretty healthy, as far as I can tell.