How Much Do You Pay For Broadband Access?

[marshabar1]

Have you ever heard of Navigant Economics? Me neither until they issued a study of what it cost for the ARRA to subsidize rural broadband access. They looked at three rural areas, in particular Southwest Montana, Northwest Kansas and Northeast Minnesota. For info purposes, the median household income in the areas is $40.1 -$50.9K and median home prices run from $94 to $189K.

How much would you guess it cost to provide broadband access to those in the unserved areas? Hold onto your seats tightly now. The bill came to $349,234 per household. Now go back up and look at what I called “for info purposes.” How many multiples for houshold income does that equate to? How can it cost more than the house costs and by how much? I guess the real question is not “how?” but “why?” The “why” comes easy to me here. It was “government money.” In other words, it was the tax payer’s hard earned dollars being squandered again.

Montana was well served I reckon. Though it is by no means unserved or underserved, with more than seven (7) broadband providers in that area, a whooping 1.5% of the households had no wired access. Factoring in 3G, there were a grand total of seven (7) households who had no access to broadband. This is where this whole subject goes over the cliff. The cost of each additional house covered in Montana came to $7 million per household? You could probably buy the entire state of Montana for that kind of scratch.

But no problem right? The total cost of this fiasco was around $7.2 billion. Chump change to the chumps on Capitol Hill making such stupid economic cost analysis decisions. Or did they even bother? After all, it’s only “government money. What a disgusting thought process that is.

hubpages.com/hub/How-Much-Do-You-Pay-For-Broadband-Access

Disgusted yet?

[djAdvocate]

$50/mo. Comcast.

[cme1201]

37.95 ATT DSL fast access

Cold and callous response I know. I heard about this program a while ago, not really a well thought out program for the limited return.

The money has been spent, nothing to do but pay the bill when it comes do.

[swamp]

The very rural area I live in has been a recipient of federal grants to provide high speed internet to areas where it would not be profitable for the companies to go on their own.

And I pay $130 a month for cable/phone/internet with Time Warner Cable. I live in the civilized area of this rural area.

[wyouser]

want to expand that a bit....as in what might it cost to install the equipment needed to actually make digital cell phones work out here? Analog worked nearly everywhere...but digital leaves one in dead zones anytime one leaves town. LOL but when Ma Bell was allowed to sell the local sytem without an upgrade and leave town we were left with a "used 1945 analog switching system that would not allow internet hookup (didnt change till 1999) Oh well, this part of the country claims Dick Cheney which probably made us ineligibile for out landish govt givaway programs

[wyouser]

costs us about $49.00/ mo

[teppe2]

$54.99 for Verizon FIOS, internet only

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We have allegedly high speed DSL through AT&T ~ bundled with our phone. I think it's around $40ish per month.

[handyman2]

Our cost for local, unlimited long distance and high speed DSL by fiber optic cable is $64.00 per month. Although the DSL is not always high speed.

[mmhmm]

So many things are done online these days. I see the day when most government interactions will be done exclusively online (taxes, driver's license renewal, etc.). Doing so will do away with some of those dreadful government positions so many find disturbing. In order to get there, however, everyone must have access.

[swamp]

Jul 12, 2011 7:23:00 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

So many things are done online these days. I see the day when most government interactions will be done exclusively online (taxes, driver's license renewal, etc.). Doing so will do away with some of those dreadful government positions so many find disturbing. In order to get there, however, everyone must have access.

My BIL was recently laid off. To collect his unemployment, he had to do it online. He lives out in the ass end of nowhere and doesn't have access to high speed internet, so he had to drive the 20 miles to our house to file his weekly claim.

[Value Buy]

Jul 12, 2011 8:20:21 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jul 12, 2011 7:23:00 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

So many things are done online these days. I see the day when most government interactions will be done exclusively online (taxes, driver's license renewal, etc.). Doing so will do away with some of those dreadful government positions so many find disturbing. In order to get there, however, everyone must have access.

My BIL was recently laid off. To collect his unemployment, he had to do it online. He lives out in the ass end of nowhere and doesn't have access to high speed internet, so he had to drive the 20 miles to our house to file his weekly claim.

ASS END OF NOWHERE.
Had to drive 20 miles.....oh, the horror!
If he lived in the ass end, one assumes, he would have probably had to drive more than 20 miles to physically file for unemployment anyway, unless the Government was wasting money with a physical location in the ass end of nowhere

[mmhmm]

Yeah, swamp. There are a lot of underserved areas of the country with regard to high speed internet access. Until these areas are brought up to speed, there's no way for them to benefit from the use of the internet (as opposed to driving for miles and having to do so at the proper time to access services). It just makes sense to see these areas brought onboard, as far as I'm concerned. Even if they don't have their own computers, they could have a place (like a library) that would give them access.

[mmhmm]

If unemployment insurance is brought onboard (along with other necessary services), Value Buy, he would not have had to drive 20 miles and use all that gasoline. There are so many things that could be done online if everyone was assured access.

[floridayankee]

Jul 12, 2011 8:20:21 GMT -5 swamp said:

My BIL was recently laid off. To collect his unemployment, he had to do it online. He lives out in the ass end of nowhere and doesn't have access to high speed internet, so he had to drive the 20 miles to our house to file his weekly claim.

Does he have a phone? NetZero still offers 10 hours of dial-up per month for free. Sure beats the cost of that couple gallons of gas he sucked down driving to your house every week.

[floridayankee]

Jul 12, 2011 8:36:59 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

There are so many things that could be done online if everyone was assured access.

Even the most remote locations always have the option of satellite internet access, do they not?

[Deleted]

I hate to say it but something like this we DESERVE to have to pay for. Year in & year out we see ample proof that the government is an insanely poor money manager. Actually it's hard to express how bad they are at managing programs. If we were talking about a person here & they spend $1,000 per person we would all be making fun of them for being so stupid. Yet here the government went above that amount $349 TIMES & I really doubt that anyone here is surprised. That's like taking a statement like "insanely poor money manager" & multiplying it by 349 times & well there just aren't any expressions that we can use to express how insane that it.

Yet we as a people want more government programs, more government supervision, & more government involvement in our every day lives. Our government has proven that it doesn't even run government well & here we are saying they should expand out into other things. Yes, I do think we deserve to pay for this & for every other thing the government touches that they screw up. Pay for it to the point that we are living on bread & water & our children & they're children are living on bread & water to pay for government screw up. Each of us is responsible for our actions & the only thing that I can think of that makes the government look less inept is if you compare it to our decision to want more government involvement in anything in our daily lives.

[swamp]

Jul 12, 2011 8:28:57 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Jul 12, 2011 8:20:21 GMT -5 swamp said:

My BIL was recently laid off. To collect his unemployment, he had to do it online. He lives out in the ass end of nowhere and doesn't have access to high speed internet, so he had to drive the 20 miles to our house to file his weekly claim.

ASS END OF NOWHERE.
Had to drive 20 miles.....oh, the horror!
If he lived in the ass end, one assumes, he would have probably had to drive more than 20 miles to physically file for unemployment anyway, unless the Government was wasting money with a physical location in the ass end of nowhere

You used to be able to call in, but not anymore. All filings have to be done online.

[swamp]

Jul 12, 2011 8:40:28 GMT -5 floridayankee said:

Jul 12, 2011 8:20:21 GMT -5 swamp said:

My BIL was recently laid off. To collect his unemployment, he had to do it online. He lives out in the ass end of nowhere and doesn't have access to high speed internet, so he had to drive the 20 miles to our house to file his weekly claim.

Does he have a phone? NetZero still offers 10 hours of dial-up per month for free. Sure beats the cost of that couple gallons of gas he sucked down driving to your house every week.

They can get dial up, but I don't know if it will work for filing unemployment claims, it may be too slow. I have no idea.

Anyways, their son is starting college in August and they will have to suck it up and get satellite high speed internet. I don't think they can afford it, but that's one of the choices you make when you choose to live out in the boonies.

[floridayankee]

Jul 12, 2011 9:11:58 GMT -5 swamp said:

They can get dial up, but I don't know if it will work for filing unemployment claims, it may be too slow. I have no idea.

Anyways, their son is starting college in August and they will have to suck it up and get satellite high speed internet. I don't think they can afford it, but that's one of the choices you make when you choose to live out in the boonies.

That's the whole point I'm making here. We already have access to the internet whether it's via a crappy dial-up service or an expensive and, at times, questionable satellite service. Free internet access isn't a right never mind free high speed internet access. To guarantee this, than you'd also have to call computer access (ownership or rental) a right.

I'd love "free access" but I'm smart enough to realize that "free access" provided by the feds will end up being gawd-awful expensive.

[handyman2]

My neighbor who lives in the boonies like me has satellite internet and before we got fiber optic cable service I considered it. The problem with the satellite system around here at least is that when a storm with lightning moves in the satellite connection goes off and you have to start over.

[deziloooooo]

Jul 12, 2011 8:40:28 GMT -5 floridayankee said:

Jul 12, 2011 8:20:21 GMT -5 swamp said:

My BIL was recently laid off. To collect his unemployment, he had to do it online. He lives out in the ass end of nowhere and doesn't have access to high speed internet, so he had to drive the 20 miles to our house to file his weekly claim.

Does he have a phone? NetZero still offers 10 hours of dial-up per month for free. Sure beats the cost of that couple gallons of gas he sucked down driving to your house every week.

That is what I was thinking, while dial up is a pain after one has hi speed, it's what many of us did for so long and if he doesn't have a computer, well, time to get one..oops, he is unemployed, ok, should have had one before he lost his job..I wonder if he had looked into filing by phone, many states have that option too, unless they did away with it..

[deziloooooo]

Jul 12, 2011 13:32:28 GMT -5 handyman2 said:

My neighbor who lives in the boonies like me has satellite internet and before we got fiber optic cable service I considered it. The problem with the satellite system around here at least is that when a storm with lightning moves in the satellite connection goes off and you have to start over.

So you start over again, don't think lightning is 24/7 ..it happens , so start over..[sheesh, possible we have gotten to soft ]

[deziloooooo]

While I thought the stimulus was a good thing..we were in desperate times when it was implemented, I was a afraid that there would be waste, anything that large in such a short period of time , there is no way around waste..

It seems that where many shovel type projects would be the answer, infrastructure, roads, bridge repair, etc, the problem is, these type programs take a long time to get off the ground unless it is a War time demand, I am thinking Roosevelt , his programs in the 40's, ship building, factory building, transferring from civilian production to War production, and the stimulus was needed quickly according to those who were in charge, and with so many layoffs of civilians, police, fire, education, a lot of $v were spent to keep those people working..they were needed as most of us felt they were necessary, so by working, less unemployment to be paid but it didn't get the infrastructure rebuilt, at least to the point we hoped though some of those jobs are being done..
by keeping some of those people working, taxes were paid, whether in local sales taxes, federal gas taxes and possible in some income tax paid if workers , especially in two members of a family working and not paying out the unemployment by states and then when the weeks had expired going to the federal to borrow funds for the increases.

That unemployment is still high, and businesses not rehiring in the #'s needed, even though most businesses are back to profitability of where they were before the collapse, they have found they don't need the workers they had before, over 7 million not rehired and yet businesses as profitable as before, possible this is the new reality as I said before, never again will we have the 4/5 % unemployment that was considered the norm..who knows what the new norm will be and how long before the populace understands and accepts the new norms as normal..I guess a few administrations , IMHO, thus the next few POTUS and administrations to suffer and pay the price till those new norms are accepted by the populace.

[floridayankee]

Jul 12, 2011 13:32:28 GMT -5 handyman2 said:

My neighbor who lives in the boonies like me has satellite internet and before we got fiber optic cable service I considered it. The problem with the satellite system around here at least is that when a storm with lightning moves in the satellite connection goes off and you have to start over.

I had the same issue with satellite TV. But, I still get outages with brighthouse. My bossman has verizon fiber optic and he has more trouble than I do. Either way, the fact remains...we already have access to internet all over the country. Because one may not like their choices or be able to afford the best choice does nothing to negate that fact. The reason private industry hasn't built up high speed networks in the boonies is because it is extremely costly for very little benefit. The OP drives that point home.

[sheesh, possible we have gotten to soft ]

Not only possible, but highly probable.

[Deleted]

I am thinking Roosevelt , his programs in the 40's, ship building, factory building, transferring from civilian production to War production, and the stimulus was needed quickly according to those who were in charge, and with so many layoffs of civilians, police, fire, education, a lot of $v were spent to keep those people working..they were needed as most of us felt they were necessary, so by working, less unemployment to be paid but it didn't get the infrastructure rebuilt, at least to the point we hoped though some of those jobs are being done..

And yet I posted an article a while back that said that they main reason that the economy was so bad, so long was BECAUSE of President Rosevelt's programs. Short term they were a good thing or at least appeared to be. Long term they delayed our recovery by 4 to 6 years longer than the rest of the world. Sometimes it good to fact the music & get the punishment over with so that you can go on & get back to normal.

Do I agree with the article, I don't know. I do know that a lot of pretty smart people did agree with it. It's pretty hard to try to look back & say "had we done this, that would have happened" because you just never know for sure.