Presumably, that's the difference in the price of labor (and potentially regulations around setting it up). Marginal cost for data transfer is pretty cheap (I

Presumably, that's the difference in the price of labor (and potentially regulations around setting it up). Marginal cost for data transfer is pretty cheap (I remember seeing something like $.03 per GB). Most of the cost of a telecom is in getting the rights required to set it up (fcc rights/land rights/ etc), and start-up labor (building poles/burying cable/building towers/etc). Running it is (by comparison) fairly cheap day to day. Also, a reduction in start-up costs means more players can be in the game -> more competition -> lower prices.