[noir_lord]

Seems strange how bad ISP's are in the US compared to the UK.

I can get 400/35 Fiber to the Home with no datacap (no throttling either) for £54 a month (~$70).

[JumpCrisscross]

> Seems strange how bad ISP's are in the US compared to the UK

UK average fixed-line download speeds in Q4 2017 were about 26 Mbps [1]. The same Q2/Q3 2018 statistic for the United States was over 96 [2].

American broadband is crappy. But in mean technological leadership, it’s ahead of the UK. (At the leading edge, I get 400/35 for $80 in Manhattan.)

[1] http://www.speedtest.net/reports/united-kingdom/#fixed

[2] http://www.speedtest.net/reports/united-states/

[bjt]

I wish they'd do the median rather than the mean. Having a small percentage of people with super high speeds will drag the mean up, but it doesn't change the experience for the typical consumer.

[jdhzzz]

Bill Gates walks into a bar. The mean net worth of bar patrons is > $1,000,000,000.

[CydeWeys]

I'm in Manhattan too, and with FIOS my options are 100/100 for $40, 300/300 for $60, or 940/880 for $80. Admittedly those prices might be first year discounted prices.

[jonathankoren]

What's really strange is how the crappy broadband is continuously justified in the US.

[toufiqbarhamov]

Replace “broadband” with everything from education and healthcare, through infrastructure and a dozen other words, and you’re still right. I don’t understand it either.

[xyzzyz]

Education and healthcare are of high quality in the US, generally speaking. They are just super expensive.

[blattimwind]

The Radio Eriwan joke writes itself.

[toufiqbarhamov]

Oh man, those still hold up too. “In principle yes, but unfortunately nobody here has the education to be sure.”

[sangnoir]

The belief in American exceptionalism isn't limited to just positives.

[blacksmith_tb]

Broadband in the US varies wildly - I'm paying $85 (~ £67) for an 800/800 fiber connection, but I am in a market where Comcast and Centurylink are slugging it out, so we have much better offerings than many parts of the country.

[mikeash]

Depends on where you are. I’m paying $80/month for 940/940 fiber with no cap or throttling. A few miles down the road the only option is slow and unreliable cable through Comcast.