The current debate over “net neutrality” and whether certain content, mostly likely streaming video from big companies such as Netflix and Amazon, should travel on an Internet fast lane has focused attention on the Internet and how or if it should be regulated.

Related to net neutrality and the idea of a high-speed lane on the Internet, the pending merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable has many people worried about further industry concentration with a few big companies controlling traffic over the Internet, and giving preferred content the higher speeds. There are concerns that Comcast, which owns NBC Universal and is therefore a content producer as well as Internet service provider (ISP), might move its own content through its cable wires at faster speeds than the content from others. If the $45 billion merger is approved, Comcast-Time Warner would be a dominant ISP in 20 of the top 25 markets in the United States.

Critics of the proposed Comcast-Timer Warner merger argue that less competition in the cable TV and Internet service industries cannot be good for consumers — and that the $45 billion would be better spent upgrading the network and improving customer service, for which Comcast and Time Warner earn perennially low rankings.

Last week’s proposed merger of AT&T and DirectTV is further evidence of the industry consolidation trend. Despite AT&T having some good business reasons to buy DirectTV and the bandwidth and alternative delivery system it offers, the end result of the merger would still be less competition.

These issues are important, but Americans should also be aware of a shocking fact — Internet users in the United States get slower speeds and pay more than users in many other countries.

The Boston Globe recently reported on slow U.S. Internet speeds, contrasting San Antonio, Texas with Riga, the capital of Latvia. San Antonio’s 1.4 million residents suffer by comparison when it comes to Internet users in Riga, where average download speeds are 2½ times faster than in San Antonio.

The United States, birthplace of the Internet, is now ranked 35th out of 148 countries on Internet bandwidth, according to the World Economic Forum. Other studies rank the U.S. anywhere from 9th to 30th in average Internet download speed.

It’s shocking to many Americans to learn that U.S. download speeds are so much slower than in many other countries. But since relatively few Americans have experienced the Internet in another country, it’s not surprising we’re unaware we are living with slow Internet speeds. And not only are download speeds slower in the United States, but Internet service is more expensive here, too.

Comparing U.S. Internet service to other countries, Time magazine quoted one technology analyst from New York City saying that “In Seoul, when you move into an apartment, you have the choice of three or four providers selling you fiber (super-fast Internet) access for $30 per month, and installation happens in one day.” The technology analyst went on to say the obvious, “That’s unthinkable in the U.S,” where most cities have only two Internet service providers and some areas have only one — and arranging installation or other services takes several days or a week, at best.

Both the Comcast-Time Warner merger and the AT&T purchase of DirectTV will further consolidate the industry, reducing choice and competition — the wrong direction for American consumers. Only in a few cities where Google Fiber has installed ultra-fast Internet have the big ISPs invested to increase speeds comparable other countries. That demonstrates the impact of competition in the Internet service industry, and why mergers reducing competition are not good for consumers.