Rates, heh? Well, as for Germany and DSL:
Germans mostly have ISDN, b'cause for DSL, AFAIK, you need special copper wires. So DSL is sth like a beta release here...
If anyone wants higher rates here, the ppl mostly buy ISDN - it's available everywhere in Germany and it's not that expensive as DSL.
As for me: I've got only my 56K...
I've also got a cable connection that's able to transport internet data. So I just needed to buy a cable modem and find a provider, but ... it's quite expensive - and I've got to pay my connection costs from my pocket money

- Alhexx