But taking out non-cities for example, why are the prices in say New York, which definitely has the population density to support advanced high speed links so high and the connections as abysmal?
It comes down to the local bureaucratic hurdles and initiatives. I really support the idea that fibre/internet links should be a utility and not a resource controlled by a single entity. Look at comcast as an example, they are ONLY auto-upgrading plans in FIOS service areas. How this isn't looked at as a severe lack of competition or fundamental problem with our oversight of them I can't entirely fathom.
RCN offers 75 Mbps for $90/month. Telia in Sweden offers (in limited markets) 250Mbps fiber for $75/month and 100 Mbps symmetric (more generally) for $60/month. That is, in a city of 50,000 people in Sweden I can get 100/100 Mbps up and down for cheaper than you can in NYC for only 75/10.
So while you can get better connectivity in the city than in the suburbs, the question you should ask is why NYC is worse than many Swedish cities or, say, Singapore, where 100 Mbps is about $50/month.
It comes down to the local bureaucratic hurdles and initiatives. I really support the idea that fibre/internet links should be a utility and not a resource controlled by a single entity. Look at comcast as an example, they are ONLY auto-upgrading plans in FIOS service areas. How this isn't looked at as a severe lack of competition or fundamental problem with our oversight of them I can't entirely fathom.