On Sun, Feb 24, 2002 at 06:27:57AM -0700, Herb Peyerl wrote:
> "Thomas Mueller" <tmueller@bluegrass.net>  wrote:
>  > I don't know where you are, but in the USA, in parts where cable Internet or
>  > DSL is available, the price is < $60/month, and those connections are always-on.
> 
> Canada.  But those are cable companies and telcos who are able to 
> subsidize their 'internet' business with their other more profitable
> businesses.  So the cost to customer is not necessarily representative
> of the real cost of doing business. The world at large has come to 
> expect that it is their god-given right to get 24x7 T1 speed bandwidth
> to their home for $39.95/month.

Right now, that might not be right.

However, the industry is increasingly creating a WWW that requires this
kind of connectivity.  It's not impossible to see that interaction with
your government is going to require this, and I think at that point I
do have a right to a fast and reliable net connection.

I've already found that I have to make my web browser lie (to pretend to
be running Windows and IE) to my state government so that I can download
various government forms or pay taxes online, and many services require
far more bandwidth than they should.

Cost of business be damned... I have financial limits too.


-- 

UNIX/Perl/C/Pizza__________________________________shannon@widomaker.com