MIT's Technology Review takes a look at research from Northwestern University, which shows that broadband internet prices have remained "nearly stagnant since 2004," despite explosive growth from 20% of U.S. households in 2004 to 65% today. While users have seen some speed increases, they're nowhere near what you would expect if the price per megabit of bandwidth were obeying Moore's Law. The researchers proceed to say they're "surprised" that prices haven't dropped yet, since upgrades for most ISPs have long been paid off:

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"We are approaching the end of the first buildout, so competitive pressures should have led to price drops by now, if there are any. Like many observers, I expected to see prices drop by now, and I am surprised they have not,"Greenstein told Kelogg Insight, a house organ for the university. This means that broadband companies are now operating their broadband as almost "pure profit," devoting only a small fraction of subscriber revenues to maintenance.

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Of course it doesn't take much digging to realize that the reason ISPs can keep prices jacked up is because they see limited to no competition -- with consumers only having the choice of one or two ISPs in most U.S. markets. ISPs in the U.S. subsequently spend millions to lobby regulators and ensure that it stays this way.