In France...

[fistfullofsteel]

There are no such things as "laws that favor competition". Only the absence of regulation favors competition. More laws always equals less competition.

is laisser faire your middle name and is thomas jefferson your hero

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

is laisser faire your middle name and is thomas jefferson your hero

LOL. Nah, I'm not French. If I were, I would have surrendered to Wodin already.

Jefferson? nah. I actually think more highly of Ben Franklin.

 

[fistfullofsteel]

LOL. Nah, I'm not French. If I were, I would have surrendered to Wodin already.

Jefferson? nah. I actually think more highly of Ben Franklin.

thoughts on adam smith then. do you follow ben franklin's 12 rules of management?

 

[Hiatussin]

Every kid I know has had internet in his room since they were 10 in 1995 or something... They were surprised you had internet? I find that odd

From what I understand about Germany (the only country I have first hand experience with) the cable companies were not multi bilion dollar powerhouses at the time the Internet became more widely available.

Cable TV in the states dates to the 60s, whereas when I was last in Germany, there was little cable.

When my German relatives came to the States in 2002, they were shocked that we had the Internet IN OUR HOUSE. So the answer to your question (at leat pertaining to Germany) is

(1) The cable companies did not have the resources to snap up ISPs

AND

(2) The Internet was not as widely available to individuals as fast as it was in the states, so it was not perceived as the same kind of competitive threat.



WODIN,

There are no such things as "laws that favor competition". Only the absence of regulation favors competition. More laws always equals less competition.

 

[Razorguns]

Any chance some of those rates are subsidized by the government? Happens a lot when government views technology as a necessity for progress in society.

What's the penetration numbers for internet access there? Some of those numbers may be misleading. I know when doing Asian numbers, people would count 1 community internet access in a high-rise, as "everyone" in the high-rise having internet access.

Therefore, the numbers get skewed. I know in England, internet access (dsl) is still overly expensive and available in few areas (and completley non-existent in rural areas).

If $50/month is the going rate here for inet, with clear competitive market forces in check -- then that's the price where companies can meet demand still make enough profit to make it feasible. Not much one can bitch about such a pricing system. Obviously if someone could've offered it cheaper -- they would've.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Every kid I know has had internet in his room since they were 10 in 1995 or something... They were surprised you had internet? I find that odd

well, they were from berlin, so who knows? They were older though - 50something, so who knows if maybe it was just a generational thing? But they said even their kids were surprised.


Razorguns - there could be subsidies as well as geographical issues. As you know, much of the US is rural and there is little economic incentive to run fiber optic cable there. Or put up cell phone towers. Our economy encourages people to move to more densely populated areas.

 

[anthrax]

WTF is doing Ralph Nader?

Same thing happens with flight tickets

The price in the Us and Canada are way more expensivce than in Europe because of the lack of concurrence

The antitrust laws are BS