Likewise, I suspect that the fancy new DWDM equipment is disproportionately expensive right now. Another separate issue is that adding cable or DSL subscribers don't exactly divide out the fixed costs. Then they have to add more. Even if the bandwidth unit cost goes down as the bandwidth amount increases, it still adds more money. Granted, the cost per user can go down, but the operator still has to have the money to put into the infrastructure in the first place.
Prices only go down over time in a free market with competition.
Since DSL isn't providing the fierce competition it used to, the cable companies aren't pressured to maintain or lower prices. By your argument, cable TV operators should have lowered prices over the years. That 1Gbps card is fiber optic with the SC cables. As to spreading fixed costs over more customers, I was thinking in terms of my town's setup with cable. Hey, unfair Ok, that was unfair.