# How much do you pay for broadband?



## Thank The Cheese (Jan 15, 2007)

I was bored today and decided to look at what USA citizens are paying for their broadband internet. I was shocked at how darn cheap it was! 

Not only is it cheaper per month, and faster (relative to price), but I can't seem to find out what the download limits are. Either ISP websites are purposely making it difficult to find out what the DL limit is, or there is no download limit for the USA, which would blow my mind. 

What do you pay for your Internet access, and what do you get for it?

My stats:

*Provider:* Internode
*Pay:* $80 per month
*Speed:* 22Mbps (9-10Mbps average)
*Type: *ADSL2+
*Download Limit:* 40GB per month


Are Aussies getting ripped off?


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## Lt Major Burns (Jan 15, 2007)

i'm still on 512k.  it's next to free, and no d/l limits.  i'll upgrade next year i reckon.


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## Thank The Cheese (Jan 15, 2007)

well my 22Mbps is a bit nuts. I think 512 is the most common speed in AU, at least it was last year, may be different this year. but even 512k in AU is $40/month with 8GB d/l limit. 

so...we're getting screwed, clearly


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## bobw (Jan 15, 2007)

Comcast 6Mbps for $42.95 month.


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## minckster (Jan 15, 2007)

Time Warner NYC $60/mo 5Mbs/394Kbs. $45/mo in bundle with cable. Free upgrade to 8Mbs/1Mbs coming. No explicit d/l limits (I haven't seen those in years).

It will get cheaper once TWC-NYC has to compete with FiOS. I can't wait!


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## ora (Jan 15, 2007)

Swisscom/Bluewin ADSL, 3.5meg, 60chf ($56),

Seems expensive to me but minimal choice where I am it seems.


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## chemistry_geek (Jan 15, 2007)

Comcast Cable.  I think is 6Mbps, I can download about 900KB/s consistently, and I have VOIP (voice over IP - good-bye old ma' bell!!! - no more funky communications/access charges) - about $67/month.  No long distance charges, phone conversations are VERY clear!  The entire phone system in the condo is connected to a special cable modem, and my Mac  has a standard Motorola broadband Surfboard SB5120 cable modem.

And don't forget Skype, especially if you have an iSight camera!  That works really well too!


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## Thank The Cheese (Jan 15, 2007)

interesting, so download limits aren't the norm in the USA? They're very normal over here. I have seen many sneaky ISPs (Telstra and Optus are the biggest offenders) who offer amazingly cheap deals for broadband, but then hide in the fine print that there is a 500MB download limit. 

That sort of thing really makes me mad, as an average user may not understand how little that is.


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## bobw (Jan 15, 2007)

No download limits for Comcast.


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## andychrist (Jan 15, 2007)

Verizon DSL, 3360 KBits/Sec by 736 KBits/Sec, $30/mo (on top of basic monthly phone service), unlimited d/l.  Apparently Verizon is delivering 6 Mbps elsewhere, dunno if it is at the same price.   Time Warner also offers RoadRunner in this area at a higher speed (and price) but its service was terribly unreliable back when I was using it a few years ago...

Here's a good site to check out everything about all the various ISPs in America.


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## caribooyj (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm on satellite up- and down- link, started with a package for CAN-$60.00/month but the speed was too low. Now with speeds of "up to" 1.5MB it costs me $150.00/month. Installation was $700.00 a few years ago. It is expensive, but it allows me to do business consulting work from home without a regular phone line... without the set-up it would mean a 2 hour commute daily, rent for office space, etc... and I still wouldn't have internet and phone for private use. Cheap if you look at it that way!
The connection is very stable and reliable but the promised speeds of 1.5MB are seldom available. I often run speed tests and my average is 1.0MB. Uploads are painfully slow: 2 to 3 times the speed of a 28kBM modem connection.
I do know the provider has a limit on downloads, but I have never run into problems and I download a lot. Its difficult to get exact numbers on the FAP (fair access policy - downloads).


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## mw84 (Jan 15, 2007)

I pay £47.50 a month with Telewest (blueyonder). For that I get 4MB broadband no download restrictions, the 'essential' tv package which consists of over 60 channels and regular phone line rental.


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## Rhisiart (Jan 15, 2007)

512k (I have no choice as I live out in the country and I am told that the wiring is at full stretch and to even get that speed is nothing short of a miracle).

I have a download limit, but can't remember what it is.

I pay GBP £23 a month (AUD $60 or USD $45). However, if I shopped around  I could get a cheaper deal.

I may even do this.


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## mdnky (Jan 15, 2007)

Cox Cable
7M down, 512K up, no-limit -- $29.95/mo


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## Satcomer (Jan 15, 2007)

Cox Cable

$41.99 per month (with digital  cable)

Down 10M +
Up 2M +


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## Ferdinand (Jan 16, 2007)

I'm not sure what we pay, but I have Telekom Austria, 2919,09 kbit/s. download and upload I have no clue... Download limit: none


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## pds (Jan 16, 2007)

Oversubscribed ADSL 512/128 without limits (except the number of hours in a day) costs us $50 in Egypt. But hey, I pay $10 a month for electricity and $0.80 for a gallon of gas and can take my wife to a nice restaurant for $15 a plate, so it all comes out in the wash.


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## Giaguara (Jan 16, 2007)

&#8364; 40 / month with Smart
4 M up / way less down, no download size limits.


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## Qion (Jan 16, 2007)

pds said:


> Oversubscribed ADSL 512/128 without limits (except the number of hours in a day) costs us $50 in Egypt. But hey, I pay $10 a month for electricity and $0.80 for a gallon of gas and can take my wife to a nice restaurant for $15 a plate, so it all comes out in the wash.



...$0.80 a gallon? I'm moving to Egypt. 

Hay dios mio.

Oh, and I'm on FiOS at about 40 dollars a month, so 5MB down/3 up.


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## rubaiyat (Jan 24, 2007)

TransACT + Grapevine > VDSL @ 1mbs 10GB/mth + 15GB/mth offpeak > ~A$76 / mth but includes my cable TV, ISP and telephone. Calls to TransACT customers are free.

Australia has to be right down there with 3rd world countries because of the semi-monopoly created by our Government so they could sell the public asset of Telstra back to the public for a fortune, whilst simultaneously maintaining a totally crap service. 

The joke is on the country folk who get enormous government subsidies to keep them along with the rest of the country in late 20th century telecommunications. They'd rather have the notion of a free handout than real competition that might give them what they want.


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## fryke (Jan 24, 2007)

Gia: Did you mix up the up/down rates or do you _really_ upload much faster than you download? Strange... I've got the same service as Ora myself. Pretty content with it, too. It's 3.6 Mbps down, 0.6 Mbps up IIRC. Compared to other countries' services, we're ripped off, of course, but that's how the lack of competition works here. We pretty much only have one cable service (Cablecom) competing with Bluewin's ADSL, since all other ADSL services have to buy from Bluewin (Swisscom). At least we don't have monthly download size limits. That'd *really* put me off.


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## Esquilinho (Jan 26, 2007)

From Clix, Portugal:
DSL 12 Mbps download speed
20 GB download limit
+ phone line with free calls to the whole country from 9pm til 9am

All for &#8364; 29,90 ($38).


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## Yesurbius (Jan 26, 2007)

ISP: SHAW
Type: Cable
Package: Extreme-I
Downstream: 7-9Mbps (depending on time of day - package rated for 7Mbps)
Upstream: 1Mbps (rarely drops below that)
Quota: 100GB / mo
Price: $49.99 / mo (CDN)

There is a new package they started offerring, but its too expensive for me: 25Mbps Down / 1Mbps Up, 150GB transfer per month for $99/mo.


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## PBear (Feb 26, 2007)

GCI WirelessNet
Up to 256/56Kbps - $49.99/mo. -Single Use
2 email addresses
5 MB of storage/per email account
Free Email Guard anti-virus & spam protection with each address
5 MB of web space
2,048MB included monthly throughput, 1¢ per MB charged when going over the monthly throughput.


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## Durbrow (Feb 26, 2007)

Comcast users: Does anyone know why I am paying more than $79 a month for Comcast ISP (no cable TV)? Is it because I live in California and Comcast rates vary regionally?


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## thisbechuck (Feb 27, 2007)

Provider: Stanford
Pay: $50,000 per year
Speed: 100Mbps
Type: Gigabit Fiber?
Download Limit: None

Yeah it's pricy, but I don't see anyone else here with those speeds! Haha, of course, that $50k does go to pay for a bit more than just internet...


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## wicky (Mar 15, 2007)

BeThere.co.uk -- The offer is 24meg down / 1.3meg up, but I don't actually receive that (of course)!

I actually get a pretty constant 16 down / 1 up..... fantastic!!

Price: £24 pm + £4 pm for a static IP.


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