Inti Pacheco and Shalini Ramachandran:

Americans in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas get slower broadband speeds even though they generally pay similar monthly prices as their counterparts in wealthy and urban areas.

The country’s biggest broadband provider charges more in markets without competition.

Most people don’t have a choice.

These are among the findings of a Wall Street Journal analysis of America’s internet bills. After a small sample of bills revealed that broadband prices varied drastically across the country, the Journal collected and analyzed information from more than 3,300 bills from homes in all 50 states. Billshark, a company that helps customers negotiate better rates with their cable and telecommunications providers, provided the vast majority of the bills; BillFixers, another such company, and Journal readers also sent in a sizable number.