As the rest of the first world solidifies their broadband net infrastructure (despite the issues some regions are facing with their exostructure), ISPs in the U.S. continue to offer only modest “high-speed” internet access packages. It’s true: the average consumer would find the upgrade from dial-up to 1.5Mb download speeds astonishing . . . were that the level of expectation of the average consumer in the 21st century. Most internet subscribers are aware of the advantages of broadband—those that remain on dial-up do so for purely financial reasons. As such, it is in search of faster connection speeds that most households and businesses subscribe to high-speed internet access.

So if the market for bandwidth-hungry consumers is there, why are U.S. internet users stuck at the 1.5/3.0/6.0/12.0 Mbit/sec cap? Consider the French: Computerworld blogger Seth Weintraub reports on the availability of a 100Mb connection that costs less than $100/month. Additionally, Weintraub upgrades his connection from 100 Mb download/10 Mb upload to 100 Mb upload for 20 Euro more.

It is true that the U.S.’s expansive geography prevents the dense level of fiber optic interconnection that small Asian and Europeans countries can achieve: we’re simply spread too far apart. But that doesn’t preclude a hungry market for higher connection speeds, even if consumers are asked to pay a premium price. We must not allow a bandwidth gap!