GoKawiilYou may have heard about 25 Gbit symmetrical internet in Switzerland. This is often cited as the fastest dedicated (non-shared) residential connection in the world. However, did you ever wonder why Switzerland has such fast internet at a reasonable price while the United States and other countries like Switzerland’s neighbor Germany are falling behind?
What is the fundamental difference between the countries that leads to such a stark difference in internet speeds and prices?
Free markets, regulation, technology, or all three?
Let’s take a closer look at the situation in Switzerland, Germany, and the United States.
Note This article is written by me and spell checked with AI. Many of the images are generated by AI. They are mostly to explain certain points and break up the wall of text.
This Article is also available as a video (My first):
The Paradox
As mentioned, in Switzerland, you can get 25 Gigabit per second fiber internet to your home, symmetric and dedicated. If you don’t need such extreme speed, you can get 1 or 10 Gigabit from multiple competing providers for very little money. All over a connection that isn’t shared with your neighbors. In fact, someone could offer 100 Gigabit or more today; there is nothing preventing this other than the cost of endpoint equipment.
In the United States, if you’re lucky enough to have fiber, you might get 1 Gigabit. But often it’s shared with your neighbors. And you usually have exactly one choice of provider. Maybe two, if you count the cable company that offers slower speeds for the same price.
In Germany, you are in a somewhat similar situation to the United States. Fiber service is limited to one provider and is often shared with your neighbors.
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