Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government

Rick Karr is a journalist and frequent contributor to The Engadget Show. Join us below for a live chat at 9:00 PM ET on June 28th.

If you've stayed with friends who live in European cities, you've probably had an experience like this: You hop onto their WiFi or wired internet connection and realize it's really fast. Way faster than the one that you have at home. It might even make your own DSL or cable connection feel as sluggish as dialup.



You ask them how much they pay for broadband.



"Oh, forty Euros." That's about $56.



"A week?" you ask.



"No," they might say. "Per month. And that includes phone and TV."



It's really that bad. The nation that invented the internet ranks 16th in the world when it comes to the speed and cost of our broadband connections. That's according to a study released last year by Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission.

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Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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