How bad maps are ruining American broadband – The Verge

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1 point·alphabettsy··4 comments

We need to start suing over anti-competitive behavior. This is getting ridiculous. The UN says internet is a human right. When I agree to pay $30/month and suddenly my bill switches to $90, that is wrong.

What have you tried to do about it? I have found the following to be helpful:

- Suggest canceling the subscription.

- Suggest filing a complaint with the BBB.

- Specifically list prices offered by competitors, and switching to their offering. Sat., Cell,Cable,DSL,Dialup,WISP. Even if these aren't practical, you can use them to bargin. Just be polite, the person is most likely just trying to do their job. Some are allowed to offer better prices when you mention certain competitors.

What competitors? Huge swaths of the U.S. have a single broadband provider. And in an even larger portion of the U.S. the purported dual provider cities, don't have the overlap and competition that you'd expect, with well established neighborhoods still with only one of the providers.

I am familiar with the lack of competition, which is why I suggested some that might be options, Wireless ISPs are often available in locations people don't expect. https://uwn.com is a Wisp lookup/map run by Ubiquiti. There are others available. Excede, by Viasat is available in most locations. It might not be useful for you, but suggesting it to your current provider can be used to bargin for a better rate. I don't know your location though, so I'm not sure what other options would be available.

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