Dish Brings High Prices, Absurd Data Plans to Rural Broadband Customers

Dish Network DISH announced this morning that it will offer high-speed Internet access to customers in the most rural parts of America. This market, which Dish refers to as "underserved," includes 14.5 million individuals. To serve this market and provide these consumers with the ability to watch YouTube, Netflix NFLX, and Hulu, the satellite provider has launched dishNET, a service targeting consumers with "slow or no access" to broadband Internet. Dish's CEO, Joseph Clayton, refers to dishNET -- which provides broadband at the 4G level -- as a "revolutionary consumer broadband service." "With nearly one-in-four rural residents lacking a high-speed connection, reaching these underserved markets is vital," Clayton said in a company release. "Our mission is to provide broadband at an outstanding value with fast speeds and large data plans." Considering the fact that no one in America provides broadband access at an "outstanding value," it was not too surprising to learn that dishNET plans start at $39.99 per month. What was surprising, however, was the fact that Dish Network has taken more cues from wireless carriers than competing broadband providers. Comcast CMCSA, for example, currently sells a variety of "unlimited" broadband services, each with a data cap of 300GB. Those who subscribe to dishNET, however, will receive just 10GB per month. Customers can upgrade to a 20GB data plan for $49.99 per month, which also increases the broadband speed from 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps for downloads. Neither data plan includes the monthly equipment fees, which Dish Network has yet to specify. While it is true that satellite Internet differs greatly from traditional broadband, these prices are outrageous. It is bad enough that AT&T T and Verizon VZ have successfully convinced mobile customers to pay by the gigabyte. Now Dish Network is asking home broadband users to do the same just because they live too far away to use Comcast or Time Warner Cable TWC. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ