Look at Recent Trends Regarding Broadband Pricing

• Digital cable broadband
• DSL (Digital Line Subscriber) broadband
• T-Carrier broadband (T-1 & T-3 being most common)
• Wireless broadband
• Satellite broadband

Digital cable and DSL are the two most common broadband connection types, due to their relatively high speeds and low cost. T-Carrier broadband services are generally reserved for use by large-scale companies or universities because of their extreme speeds and costs. (T-3 Internet connections can cost as much as $15,000 per month.)

Wireless broadband connection types are increasing in popularity as more and more communities embrace the technology. They are not much more expensive than wired broadband connections such as DSL and digital cable, however they are not nearly as common yet. Satellite broadband service is not very common due to the high cost and the fact that it is generally used in areas where you can’t get any type of wired network connection.

Broadband Pricing

For the most part, DSL and digital cable broadband services tend to average between $30 and $60 per month depending on the plan, the provider and the location. In this case, broadband pricing has decreased because the technology was more or less a fixed cost (The cost of setting up the wired network – running fiber optic cables from the central point to various locations in the community.). The remaining costs of operation are mostly usurped by maintaining the network, which is relatively new and therefore having few problems.

Another reason that broadband pricing has seen a significant drop over the last several years is good old-fashioned competition. When Covad made the first residential DSL service available in 1997, there was no competition, and Covad could therefore charge a higher price for their service. These days, you have a handful of companies from which to choose:

• Earthlink
• Comcast
• Cox
• Adelphia
• Charter
• Road Runner
• SBC Yahoo

The result is that these companies are now competing for your business. In order to seem more attractive a service than the next guy, these companies are required to lower costs or boost its services. Either way, broadband pricing has been reduced.

T-Carrier services, on the other hand, are still relatively uncommon, and only a few companies provide the service. As a result, costs have remained extremely high for this service. You can expect that broadband pricing will see a drop across the board over the course of the next 10 years as the technology advances as well as methods of connectivity.