I’ve not weighed in too much on this topic but with the news below I figured I’d put in my two cents.

DSLReports that Cablevision will be offering subscribers 101-Mbps download service, a new US record. That’s fast enough to download an HD movie in less than 10 minutes. The package, known as “Ultra,” will launch on May 11 and will cost $99.95 a month. Upload speed is 15 Mbps and there are no monthly limits. Cablevision is also doubling the speed of its Wi-Fi service, which is available free to subscribers using hotspots across the Northeast.

OK, for those of you who think your 3-5Mbps download speed on Comcast or Charter (or any other high speed Internet provider in Michigan) is fast, you might want to think again.  The cable companies want you to think it’s fast.  The fact is, the United States lags significantly behind in broadband deployment NOT because cable companies don’t have the means to provide it, but because they refuse to make the investment and they don’t want to take away revenue they get from advertisements on cable TV.  When it comes to high speed Internet, the United States ranks at the bottom worldwide for both speed and coverage.  Even poor and developing countries offer faster service over a wider area than the US does.  Cablevision has finally seen the light and deployed a world competitive broadband package with super fast download speeds for the same price I am paying right now for what I would consider to be pretty shitty service using old and outdated cable lines on a network that caps my speed at 5Mbps download.  I could pay more for 10Mbps service but that would be another $40 a month for really not much better speeds.  Not even remotely worth considering.

Broadband as a medium that consumers actually use is headed in the direction of what Cablevision is now providing but it’s going to be a VERY long time before the rest of the cable companies follow suit.  It’s going to be up to private investors to push things along or it will be up to the government to make it happen.  I’m sort of an unwilling fan of the later option.  My own feeling is that I would rather not have the government involved in Broadband deployment because there are just too many places the government can and will stick it’s ugly-ass nose but if that is what it takes to force cable companies to get their shit together and get the ball rolling than I am willing to put up with it for a while.

Next time you are on the phone arguing with your cable company about their piss poor service and lack of options, make sure you mention Cablevision and the 101Mbps speeds they are offering…do this especially when the cable company tells you they can’t fix your piss poor connection speed because the cable lines are just too old.  FUCKING UPDATE THEM you pathetic dip shits!  It just amazes me that cable companies can steal $125 a month from me and MILLIONS of other people and at the same time just sit on their hands and completely ignore their infrastructure deficiencies.  Someone is getting VERY rich.  WORK ON IT…especially CHARTER CABLE IN TRAVERSE CITY, MI.

pukingunicorn