Good points. Average population density of the EU is 117 people per square km. In the USA it is 36. And the variance between regions is much greater in the USA. The Great Plains which includes an area about half the size of the EU has a population density of only 5 people per square km.
Subsidies involved? Density of population? I can't even get fiber directly. I pay Spectrum $80/month for what is at best 100-120 Mbps. We're too far off the beaten path (why we only had dsl initially). The local government did bring a fiber line in several years back, but didn't allow service providers to access it for a long while, then after they did another service ran their own as well....but no fiber lines to individual homes that I'm aware of....might have to ask, tho.
www.toob.co.uk
The State of Oregon is the same size as Great Britain, but has 1/17 the population.
Scotland is not much different to Oregon.
About 3 times more densely populated than Oregon.
But not 17 times though is it? Scotland's population density is twice of USA: 36 vs 70 people per Km^2. Oregon is indeed pretty sparse but remove the two Scottish cities, which are all near the border and the density is not much different to Oregon.
Scottland's population density is 67/square km vs 15 for Oregon. It is even more warped. Take away the coastal area and the rest of the state is very low population. Nearly 80% of it by area is less than 5/square kilometer with half being less than 1. 53% by area is owned by the federal government. No one can live there. Scottland's lowest densities according to wikipedia are the Scottish Highlands and some islands at 9 per square km.
The infrastructure in many western states is spread out over an enormous area, relative to the number of people that actually subscribe to the services. Scotland is 1/3 the land size Oregon with 1,000,000 more people.
As long as you accept those excuses there is not much hope for an improvement.
I agree with you. However, the Transcontinental railroad was done by private companies with surrepticious funding of government bonds. Even then it would not have provided a profit, but railroads formed a supposedly separate construction firm which profited greatly in the construction. As odd as it seemed the financial benefits of that railroad didn't payoff for a long time. The railroad construction firm made off like bandits literally.
Is Starlink an option there? I think it's northern US states at the moment, but they are expanding that over 2023. $110 per month, but a $599 one off setup fee for the hardware and install. Quite a few people in remote areas of Aus are signing up for this and reporting excellent speeds with minimal dropouts;
It is but there is a long waiting time. He is on the list waiting for approval which should be sometime next year. They do have an "RV" service now which has quick lead time but is more expensive.
Compare tax bills
There are two reasons. First, it's treated like an unregulated utility, prices are not subject to gov't oversight. Second, lack of competition which enables the supplier to behave like a regional monopoly. The more jaded give a third reason : greed.
Portland can be, uh, special
. I prefer my part of Oregon (Oakridge).My mother on James Island, SC (across the street from the much higher taxes City of Charleston) pays $270 for about the same thing. I unfortunately live in the City of Charleston and must say that the Public Service District that services my mother's home (trash pickup, recycling, etc does a better job for less money than the City of Chas does for meWe pay $250 a month for Internet+TV+Voice service! And it is going up to $280 soon.
