Verizon's FiOS still lags behind

You hear it on the radio, you see it on the TV set. Verizon is busy touting their FiOS Internet Service promising speeds from 5 Mbps to 30 Mbps. They are asking you to pay from either $39.99 for the fast package or $179.95 for the fastest package.

If you want tv or phone service too, it's extra.

$179.95 for 30 Mbps?!?!? Answer: It's a ripoff. Optimum Online is also offering 30 Mbps but it would only cost you about $40 to $45 per month.

Still not upset? How about consumerist.com's mention that residents in Hong Kong can get a whopping 100 Mbps fiber-optic connection for only $48.50 per month? Or how about 200 Mbps for $88.20?

Yeah, we are pretty pathetic. Oh, have you took a look at the chart by World Politics Review on average broadband speed by country? We are stuck around 5-6 Mbps. Japan has more than 60 Mbps, Korea has about 45 Mbps.

Yeah, Hong Kong is such a small territory. Korea and Japan are smaller. But they all have advanced infrastructure in place. It kinds makes the U.S. a bit backward. It seems humorous when you have folks saying we got an advanced technological country.

Are we really comparing apples and oranges here? Or is it the fact that our telecommunication and cable providers are just unwilling to expand at such a rate? They are probably intent on letting U.S. consumers advance piecemeal compared to other countries.

But really, how can Verizon stand by and offer 30 Mbps for almost $180 dollars???

Comcast... their max is 10 Mbps and they are charging about $40-50 per month. They also offer Powerboost giving a burst of download speeds up to 20 Mbps. It's funny because in their ads, they compare their own internet high-speed service against Verizon's DSL service, and not FiOS.

Comcast...RIPOFF!!!

Any one got some crazy stories to tell?