National ISPs
According to ISP-Planet
The figure above shows that this is a moderately concentrated market. The top five ISPs in the United States control over 55% of the subscribers to high speed internet. After AOL there is a sharp decline in number of subscribers.
It is also important to note that in any geographic area that a subscriber simply may not have a choice of what ISP to use for high speed internet. For instance, Comcast may only hold 15% of subscribers nationally, but in the Ann Arbor area they are the only game in town for high speed internet access.
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Comcast
This page is primarily to provide pricing information on a local ISP. For more information on some of Comcast's latest news, check out Net Neutrality or Arising Limitations.
Note: Finding solid information on ISPs on the internet is a difficult task. A large portion of the information related to them is in the form of Rants in blogs from irate customers. Anything beyond press releases and Comcast themselves was not to be trusted.
From Comcast's website here are their current prices for an apartment in the Ann Arbor area:
| Package Name | ~Download Speed | Upload Speed | Price / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Only (promotion) | Up to 12 Mbps | about 2 Mbps | $19.99 |
| Web Only | Up to 12 Mbps | Up to 2 Mbps | $42.95 |
| Blast | Up to 16 Mbps | Up to 2 Mbps | $62.95 |
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International ISP
I know that even I feel that Comcast is taking me to the cleaners every month when I have to shell out my $45 for Internet. But in other places around the world it can be much worse.
Unlimited monthly GPRS costs EUR 120 in France. Only EUR 15 in Italy, but how about spending about $150 per month for unlimited internet access?
Also, in Belgium they have to deal with an actual monopolist of internet infrastructure. In this excellent blog post the state of internet access in Belgium is laid bare.
The Baron Belgacom maintains its monopoly because the company owns the Internet infrastructure in Belgium. Like any despot, the Baron Belgacom sells access to the infrastructure cheaply to its own provider and far more dearly to any impudent upstart providers that attempt to attract a Belgian consumer base. Because of this, Belgians must pay regular rent to the Baron to access the online world. The universities, the cafes, the hotels and private users all pay Belga by the byte.
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