You Want Fiber? Okay Give Us 382,500$ Says ISP To A Farmer In Nebraska

[Trik'Stari]

The correct response: we already did, on a contractual basis, in 1996. In the form of tax breaks that your company still receives despite not having fulfilled their end of the agreement.

 

Now shut up, and give me fiber.

[dalekphalm]

You guys...you pay way too much for your internet. 1000Mbps down/200 up for 10 euros per month here in Romania (urban areas) and up to 100 up down in most rural areas... 

Yes, but what is the average yearly income for a Romanian?

 

What is the cost of living, what are the cost of food and rent and other things?

 

Things are cheap in Romania because Romanians don't make a lot of money.

 

Furthermore, how much of a percentage of your monthly income is that $10?

 

According to this source, average yearly income is ~$4500 USD. Many middle class Americans make that much in a single month.

http://www.worldsalaries.org/romania.shtml

 

Yeah it's a bit outdated (2005) but never the less, it should serve as a rough guide.

[ChineseChef]

Yes, but what is the average yearly income for a Romanian?

 

What is the cost of living, what are the cost of food and rent and other things?

 

Things are cheap in Romania because Romanians don't make a lot of money.

 

Furthermore, how much of a percentage of your monthly income is that $10?

 

According to this source, average yearly income is ~$4500 USD. Many middle class Americans make that much in a single month.

http://www.worldsalaries.org/romania.shtml

 

Yeah it's a bit outdated (2005) but never the less, it should serve as a rough guide.

 

Also, everyone forgets that the US is huge, and the population is very spread out (relative to country size).  It is super easy for a country the size of Kansas with nearly 10x the population to have relatively good infrastructure. 

 

Although, on that same note, we did pay the ISPs to do it, and they scammed us all.  So, we could have just as good of infrastructure, we simply don't due to government corruption.

Edited August 12, 2015 by ChineseChef

[Curufinwe_wins]

In much of the US that isn't an unreasonable monthly charge.

Outside of the cities Internet is insanely expensive here.

[Northstorm]

i pay 65$ for 5down and 0.20 up....

 

i was serious 

/\

Jesus fuck, that's insane, like OP said, prices here are WAY different, for $70 you can literally get a 250/250 (and that pretty much a guaranteed speed, not all of that "up to" shit).

I currently pay like $20 for my 30/30 connection

[Yog]

Meet Ceresco, NE:

 

 

Population 889. And keep in mind this guy is not in the teeny tiny town but in one of those farm houses you see outside of town.

[Aytex]

Jesus fuck, that's insane, like OP said, prices here are WAY different, for $70 you can literally get a 250/250 (and that pretty much a guaranteed speed, not all of that "up to" shit).

I currently pay like $20 for my 30/30 connection

im in alabama AT&T dsl

[samuel]

Yeah it's a bit outdated (2005) but never the less, it should serve as a rough guide.

Nope, not outdated at all I think. However, a flagship GPU or anything else imported for that matter still costs the same. Like equippment for ISPs for upgrading to fastest internet. After that, the maintenance costs the same

. My point us that your ISPs are assholes///even bigger than you can imagine.

[Northstorm]

im in alabama AT&T dsl

Denmark here, same as OP.

Bamn, DSL? I'm not even sure that still exists here, like, at all anymore, that's crazy.

[Aytex]

Denmark here, same as OP.

Bamn, DSL? I'm not even sure that still exists here, like, at all anymore, that's crazy.

yea currentley we're waiting for a fiber company but they keep stalling  which is psising me off. we're gonna get 60 down and 60 up for 60$ USD

[Northstorm]

yea currentley we're waiting for a fiber company but they keep stalling  which is psising me off. we're gonna get 60 down and 60 up for 60$ USD

That's actually a pretty good price, but still, relatively seen, it's still more than we pay, but certainly better than DSL.

[EndlessOyster]

Similar situation a week or so ago for me but not as expensive I only came up to £75k ($120k) but thats because the road would of been dug up to install the cabling.
If he owns the land do it him self and just buy and dig a verge up in your own land or try and persuade other people near you to join in as well.

[Razarza]

140$ for 25 DOWN AND UP

not bad

No it isn't, that is terrible, you can get 100/50 with a 1TB monthly cap including your home phone in Australia of all places for much less than that.

[Snadzies]

The only thing I find a little bullshit is them initially saying he would have 50/15 for $100 and then back tracking and charging him $140 for 25/25.

 

I can understand $140 for 25/25 since he is out in the country but he is paying several hundred dollars more a year for, in most use cases, a lesser service than he was initially told.

[BobbyG2]

I pass through Nebraska all the time. Nebraska is pretty much the definition of middle of nowhere. Basically all of those prairie states are (ne, ks, ia, MN, wy etc.)

Like, two major cities each and the rest is all farmland and tiny towns like the one he's by. I'm not surprised it's so expensive for him to get fiber.

[Technous285]

No it isn't, that is terrible, you can get 100/50 with a 1TB monthly cap including your home phone in Australia of all places for much less than that.

Yeah, in the CITY, or at least Suburbs. Not so much in the Rural areas like most of the Riverina (sans cities such as Wagga, Albury/Woodonga, Tumut).

I'm paying $90/month to Westnet for their Home-4 Turbo (300GB/month split as 150GB Peak/150GB Off-Peak at upto 20-24mbps down/3mbps up if the exchange can handle it), but getting 8032kbps down/384kbps up (at my modem and exchange) because Hellstra doesn't see the value in upgrading the exchange in this place of ~300 people unless either the NBN rolls through (fat fracking chance) or the townsfolk pay Hellstra to do an upgrade (another fat fracking chance).

Also, most of the area around this town and along the roads to Wagga and Albury? 95% farmlands with a village here and there like Lockhart (actually, I think Lockhart might be BIGGER population-wise than where I am).

[Mentalguy]

As someone who was a contractor putting in utilities(mostly fiber). $42k isn't bad. It would be buried about 3 foot in the ground because the ISP isn't wanting to pay for the monthly fees to hang it on the power poles, that might not even be there.

 

Just burying the fiber (that was already bought), can cost around $10k per mile, depending on obstacles. Then, when you factor in the cost of fiber, peds, instalation at the house, the ISP could have lost a little bit of money, counting on the monthly payment for the internet to cover it.

[Trik'Stari]

As someone who was a contractor putting in utilities(mostly fiber). $42k isn't bad. It would be buried about 3 foot in the ground because the ISP isn't wanting to pay for the monthly fees to hang it on the power poles, that might not even be there.

 

Just burying the fiber (that was already bought), can cost around $10k per mile, depending on obstacles. Then, when you factor in the cost of fiber, peds, instalation at the house, the ISP could have lost a little bit of money, counting on the monthly payment for the internet to cover it.

That all might be true, but they've already been paid for it. In the form of the 1996 telecommunications act. In which they were given a bunch of tax breaks and incentives to upgrade their networks to fiber.

 

They haven't done it, and congress for some reason has no interest in enforcing it

[Mentalguy]

That all might be true, but they've already been paid for it. In the form of the 1996 telecommunications act. In which they were given a bunch of tax breaks and incentives to upgrade their networks to fiber.

 

They haven't done it, and congress for some reason has no interest in enforcing it

while that is true, that ISP might not have been around in 1996. How would that come into play?

[dalekphalm]

while that is true, that ISP might not have been around in 1996. How would that come into play?

I was going to say, what if the ISP isn't that old of a company? I tried looking up info on Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company and couldn't find any specific dates about how old they were, when they were founded, etc.

[Trik'Stari]

while that is true, that ISP might not have been around in 1996. How would that come into play?

The act applies to all ISP's that currently exist. Or any new ones.. Especially considering the recent title 2 reclassification, which gives fair access to government owned right of ways (the ditch you bury the cable in).

 

It wasn't an agreement with specific ISP's, more of a "if you are an ISP we want you to upgrade your infrastructure, here's some tax payer money, now go do it" and they just never did it.

 

At least that's how I've heard it explained.

[Mentalguy]

The act applies to all ISP's that currently exist. Or any new ones.. Especially considering the recent title 2 reclassification, which gives fair access to government owned right of ways (the ditch you bury the cable in).

Fair enough

[Trik'Stari]

Fair enough

I think it has more directly to do with the IRS in that regards. Basically a rule saying "give any ISP these tax breaks". Considering how lazy and ignorant congressmen are, they probably never thought to include any language to check that the upgrades were actually happening.

 

It's not just the feds being scammed either, local and state gov's have gotten it as well. Apparently someone wrote a book about it.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060131/2021240.shtml

[Admire]

 

That's insane  :huh:

 

 

So you may wonder, what the distance, to the nearest fiber node is?

 

 

But fear not!

 

 

Ended up getting NNTC instead

 

 

25/25 for 140$ That's the price for 500/500 fiber in Denmark. 

 

News Source: http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/08/want-fiber-internet-thatll-be-383500-isp-tells-farm-owner/

 

 

Sure..,,,thats the price of fiber in highly populated areas. But there are still plenty of people who can't get fiber.

 

But if you live in an area of denmark where there is fiber, it's dirt cheap at this point. . My cousin just got a letter that his 40/40 connection has been changed to 100/100 for the same price..He pays about 30 dollars.

 

Pretty sure you would be forced to pay a shitload of money here in denmark as well if they should build a line to a remote area where there are few other customers.

[Rekx]

Sure..,,,thats the price of fiber in highly populated areas. But there are still plenty of people who can't get fiber.

 

But if you live in an area of denmark where there is fiber, it's dirt cheap at this point. . My cousin just got a letter that his 40/40 connection has been changed to 100/100 for the same price..He pays about 30 dollars.

 

Pretty sure you would be forced to pay a shitload of money here in denmark as well if they should build a line to a remote area where there are few other customers.

Well my dad lives out in a remote area and even there they don't take those prices.