Munin, Keeper of Lore

If you live in a poor area, you can't get good internet.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/04/att-brings-fiber-to-rich-areas-while-the-rest-are-stuck-on-dsl-study-finds/

This is why my net connection is horrible - I'm not in one of those rich areas, and deathstar doesn't care about improving the infrastructure [ and nobody else is interested in providing service at all ]

Apr 25, 2017 at 8:44pmWeb
Show threadMunin, Keeper of LoreApr 25, 2017
In my town, the median income is fairly low because there's mostly retirees on fixed incomes. Social security ain't exactly a high payer.
Show threadMunin, Keeper of LoreApr 25, 2017
Ah, and it looks like I'm in one of the areas identified explicitly as "underserved"
Show threadmalokiApr 25, 2017
@munin my mom is in early retirement, since 15 years or so, she lives way below the poverty line, but not low enough to get extra help... :/
Show thread☤Hermes۞_۟۞凸λgistus☿Apr 25, 2017
@munin Shitty internet in the US baffles me. I live in the Sofia, where the median income is 400euro/month and I can get 100mbits fiber for ~9euro. There are 3 providers in my building with graffiti on the hallway walls and cig butts on the stairs. Relatives in smaller towns get about half the speed for around the same money. I also have 14GB mobile data+unlimited calls for ~10euro. Don't Americans know about market competition? :)
Show threadMunin, Keeper of LoreApr 25, 2017
@hermeslispegistus They absolutely do, and the telcos want nothing to do with it. ;-)
Show threadKatamariChaosApr 26, 2017

@hermeslispegistus @munin In this area...no. Various localities in the US give state-enforced monopolies to ISPs within certain geographical bounds.

The lack of competition means that ISPs get to rest on their laurels with no reason to improve themselves. They also only put infrastructure in the highest-profit areas, because their competitors are barred from undercutting them and building up business in the markets they ignore. Coop ISPs are banned as well.

Show thread☤Hermes۞_۟۞凸λgistus☿Apr 26, 2017
@katamarichaos @munin Sucks for you guys. A quick search suggests my neighborhood has >10 providers, one suggests 15, although I don't know how up to date or accurate that is. Of course not every building is covered by every provider, and not every provider offers fiber. A different search suggests that there are over 50 providers in Sofia in total. Most are probably small neighborhood cable companies, but they are there. Smaller towns obviously have much less of that, but unless you're literally in a rural area, I doubt there's a monopoly you have to worry about.
Show threadErik Fichtner ✅Apr 26, 2017

@munin Yep. Where I am, my choices are: <5mbit ADSL, sketchy point-to-point wifi, WildBlue satellite, LTE cellphone bonding, and RFC1149.

The cellphone is the only one that doesn't crap out when it rains hard. (Go figure.)

There's a Time Warner cable demarc 1/5th of a mile away, but they won't come to me for any amount of money, and there's one plot of land between me and that road that I can't trench my own cable across.