A few weeks ago Mstar announced their 50 Mbit/s symmetrical Internet access service for $39.95 per month over the UTOPIA network. Although I e-mailed the press release all around, I did not discuss the service here.
There is not really much to say about it because the press release speaks for itself. Service provider competition provides better services at a better price for consumers. UTOPIA is an open-access network where several service providers compete for the 250,000 households and 35,000 businesses within reach of the network. Qwest and Comcast are there too. This price is $4 per month less and more than 6x faster on downloads than Comcast offers.
This is what happens when competition breaks out in a market. Consumers have choice and better prices. Watch how quickly Comcast breaks out the DOCSIS 3.0 modems in this area. The best way for the U.S. to get back on top of the broadband penetration list is good 'ole capitalism.