Because in most areas of the US (and other countries), there's usually only 1 ISP in the area, so you're FORCED to go with them, no matter how shitty their pricing or speeds may be. ISP: You want Internet? Ok, here's our slow ass speeds that cost an extreme amount. Consumer: No, screw you. ISP: Where else will you get your Internet then? Consumer: . . . (And don't forget about those lovely data caps.) Even where I live (Tampa), there's only 3 ISPs: Bright House, Verizon, and Comcast. Comcast doesn't even cover all of Tampa, but Bright House and Verizon do. Even if Crapcast was in my area, I would never use their Internet. Bright House is decent, but they don't give you enough bandwidth. Verizon is of course expensive, but you're getting the best that you can get here. We're currently paying ~$150 a month (I believe) for 80 down, 40 up, and that package also includes a home phone number and cable. So it's not too awfully bad. There are more expensive packages ranging up to 300 down, 75 up. (Oh, and we don't have any data caps.) In comparison though, in Tokyo, the Sony owned ISP So-net is offering 2gbps down, 1gbps up (aka 2000 down, 1000 up) for only $50 a month, with no data caps. Google Fiber offers 1gbps both down and up in select cities, and that costs $90 a month, again, no data caps. Some smaller US ISPs scattered around the country offer Gigabit speeds between the prices of So-Net and Google Fiber. Quite a few other countries have amazing, cheap Internet, such as Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland. Those were just the first few countries to pop into my mind.