Maybe you saw a TV ad from Earthlink or NetZero touting $9.95 a month Internet service as a better deal because, after all, it’s the same Internet no matter who your ISP is, right? True, if you also don’t mind driving 20 mph on the Autobahn.
Mark Goldston, the CEO of NetZero and Juno, is aware that the $9.95 a month offer won’t appeal to the “iPod generation.” This service level is so reasonable because the download speed is so slow it only allows for the most basic Web functions, such as e-mailing and minimal browsing and does not have the bandwith for streaming video or music.
According to a July report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the average monthly price of broadband is $34.50 a month. For those who choose the $9.95 dial-up option, that comes to a savings of about $300 a year for users who can live without video or Internet radio.
So, why would anyone in the United States still use state-of-the-art 1990 technology?
Well,
• Broadband is relatively expensive in the United States. Sometimes we pay double or more than the cost of services in Asia and Europe – and we get less in return. For instance, South Korea has household access at 100 Mbps for about $25 per month—a speed and price that U.S. providers can’t touch.
• Users aren’t aware of or don’t use functions that require more bandwidth. For example, they don’t need to log in for a distance learning class or stream live video or maybe they are just generally intimidated by technology. Americans often don’t know what they’re missing and that is why pressure is growing to make U.S. Internet technology more competitive with the rest of the world.
Other reading:
KCoDE wants to hear from you. Maybe you know someone who a) Can’t live without broadband or b) Doesn’t use the Internet much, if at all, and doesn’t care.
Do you think broadband will become as much a part of our daily lives as telephones and television? Is it already? We’d love to hear from you. Post a comment below.
Tags: 1990s, bandwidth, broadband, browsing, dial-up, digital, Earthlink, gigabit, hang-up, Internet, KCoDE, Knight Center, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Korea, NetZero, South Korea, Yugo
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Digital news, Knight Center, OneCommunity, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
