WP: Japan internet is up to 30 times as fast as US due to government regulation.

[Kablooie]

Broadband service here is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. Japan has the world's fastest Internet connections, delivering more data at a lower cost than anywhere else, recent studies show.

Accelerating broadband speed in this country -- as well as in South Korea and much of Europe -- is pushing open doors to Internet innovation that are likely to remain closed for years to come in much of the United States.

The speed advantage allows the Japanese to watch broadcast-quality, full-screen television over the Internet, an experience that mocks the grainy, wallet-size images Americans endure


...

Japan has surged ahead of the United States on the wings of better wire and more aggressive government regulation, industry analysts say.

...

In 2000, the Japanese government seized its advantage in wire. In sharp contrast to the Bush administration over the same time period, regulators here compelled big phone companies to open up wires to upstart Internet providers.

...

Japan's leap forward, as the United States has lost ground among major industrialized countries in providing high-speed broadband connections, has frustrated many American high-tech innovators.

"The experience of the last seven years shows that sometimes you need a strong federal regulatory framework to ensure that competition happens in a way that is constructive," said Vinton G. Cerf, a vice president at Google.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.html?nav=hcmodule

[Captain Hilts]

1. But, but government regulation is supposed to be a Bad Thing! nt

[Kablooie]

2. It IS a bad thing. It helps the people, not big business. Bad bad bad.

[hobbit709]

3. Government regulation IS a bad thing

to those corporations trying to rip off the consumer. At least that's the way they see it.

[Locrian]

4. bbbut but the free market

B - bbut, but, the free market is supposed to create the highest efficiency. And give us the best right? Right? ppppfffft.

I cant even get DSL in my area and it is a heavily populated area. Cable? A joke at $80 a month (I dont get cable TV so I am counting that too).

[Hydra]

5. Greatest country in the world

More like the greatest pretender/bully/baby in the world.

Our leaders need to grow up and start acting like adults.

[peacebuzzard]

6. astounding.

I knew the tech was there, but had no idea it was incorporated in the Asia networks already.

the mega-corporations are all responsible for the high internet prices; and now the lack in advanced tech for the internet.

[jgraz]

7. Hey, how fast would Japan be if THEY spied on everyone's email?

We have, by far, the fastest internet of any police state. U S A!! U S A!!!

[HowHasItComeToThis]

8. IT IS ALL ABOUT QUARTERLY SALES

AS AMERICAN COMPANIES RARELY PAY DIVIDENDS.

[AwakeAtLast]

9. That last line needs to be repeated over and over

"The experience of the last seven years shows that sometimes you need a strong federal regulatory framework to ensure that competition happens in a way that is constructive," said Vinton G. Cerf, a vice president at Google.


We are going to be left in the dust. x(

[Mythsaje]

10. Japan is far more science and technology-friendly than the U.S.

A simple fact.

[Robbien]

11. Government regs my butt. Comcast/AT&T etal are the reasons why

our net is so backwards. It is awful how misleading headlines to articles have been getting.

[Heywood J]

12. It's also even cheaper.

Think having 100 megabit on the desktop for $35-40/month. Every five or six megabit cable modem in the Northeast I've ever seen is $40-60/month. The only thing that comes close is FIOS, but then to get into the same ballpark as those speeds, you would be over $75.

http://www.bbapply.com/ybb/yahoobb-adsl.html

8M to 50M:
With NTT phone service--¥3,366 to ¥4,214
Without NTT phone service--¥5,038 to ¥5878
(Note: that's starting at about $45 for the equivalent of dry/naked DSL and an IP phone)

The above include all the monthly charges billed by Yahoo! BB:
Modem rental
ISP charge
ADSL charge
IP phone service (BBPhone)
Prorated connection charge
Tax


http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~PF2K-WLKN/inetjfaq.html

FTTH (Optical Fiber To The Home) is provided to large condos in major cities. A 1Gbps fiber typically connects to VDSL (very high speed ADSL), providing 100Mbps service to up to 8 or 16 users from about ¥4,500 a month (Note: about $41USD). Non-shared connections (to houses or wooden apartments) start from about ¥7,000 a month. (Note: about $63USD)



http://search.japantimes.co.jp/member/member.html?nb20040707a1.htm

"When we first started offering the B Flet's fiber-optic services, the version with up to 10 Mbps was priced at 5,000 yen per month, but now the one with up to 100 Mbps is offered for 4,500 yen," (Note: about $41USD) about said Toshiyasu Himori, senior manager of broadband business at NTT East Corp., the telecom giant's regional unit in eastern Japan.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

13. what if the "inventor" of the Internet was our president

as much as he was mocked for that myth, Gore would have done something about this humiliating situation. There is no excuse for our country to be so far behind.

[CGowen]

14. go complain to AT&T/NSA n/t