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> This stat says the USA is on the lower end of density Yes, but America's population isn't evenly distributed across the entire dry surface area. The populati
by arcticbull 3y ago
> This stat says the USA is on the lower end of density
Yes, but America's population isn't evenly distributed across the entire dry surface area. The population is clustered tightly in cities like it is in many other countries, it's just that the cities are further apart from each other. [1]
The better metric, IMO, is the percentage of people who live in urban vs rural areas. [2] The US is 85.8% urban, which is right in line with other developed countries. Spain is 81.5%. France is 88%.
With this in mind, the expensive part would be the trunk line but America has that. [3] It's missing the last mile, especially in urban areas.
[edit] For the record I don't think it's stupidity, I think deregulation, a lack of competition and a laissez-faire policy attitude allowed a few large players to chronically under-invest in infrastructure. And of course the perennial regulatory capture, with some 16 states literally banning municipal ISPs or making it difficult to set up. Good, cheap fiber to the home is available in Chattanooga, for example, thanks to a city-run utility. They sell city-wide 25Gbit FTTH (!!). [4] That model is illegal in states like Missouri, which itself ranks 43rd in broadband coverage.
[1] https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2021/geo/population-distribution-2020.html https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2021/geo/popul...
[2] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/urban-vs-rural-majority https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/urban-vs-rural-majority
[3] https://www.technologyreview.com/2015/09/15/166239/first-detailed-public-map-of-us-internet-backbone-could-make-it-stronger/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2015/09/15/166239/first-det...
[4] https://epb.com https://epb.com
- phpisthebest 3y agobut connectivity is also not a problem in the denser areas. I live in a medium sized city in the midwest, I have access to 3 Wired Broadband Providers, including 1 Fiber, with a 2nd fiber provider rolling out in the area and could be accessible to me in the next 18-24 mos... hell even my former home, in a town of 1500 people, I had access to 1 wired Broadband, and 1 Fixed Wireless, and I just learned that a fiber provider has plans to complete wire most of the rural areas of the county by 2025... Deregulation is not the problem, government corruption is.
- dgfitz 3y ago> For the record I don't think it's stupidity, I think deregulation Corrupt legislation is 100% the problem. You have it completely and hopelessly backwards https://baltimorebrew.com/2016/10/18/city-set-to-approve-10-year-renewal-of-comcast-cable-monopoly/ https://baltimorebrew.com/2016/10/18/city-set-to-approve-10-...
- nkingsy 3y agoYes. It is a strangely regulated deregulation/privatization through corrupt legislation. Seems we all agree here and your comment is needlessly insulting.
- vel0city 3y agoIt's hard to compare housing styles and density when you only have a binary choice of "urban" and "rural". One form of "urban" areas could have extremely different costs per customer to service than the other. Think dense condos and townhouses versus every house with 1-3 people on nearly acre lots. Both are often considered "urban".
- zeroonetwothree 3y agoUS “urban” areas are much less dense than many other countries. Imagine servicing a building with 100 apartments vs 100 detached homes spread out over a square mile.
- SomeoneFromCA 3y agoAgree. True "urban" starts at roughly 5000/sq.m density.
- crote 3y agoMany countries have had the trunk lines installed for over two decades now. During the dotcom bubble massive fiber trunks were installed in railway and highway rights-of-way - just in time for wavelength-division multiplexing to become economically viable and make most of them redundant.