10 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

images/news/internet.jpgThe U.S. Federal Communications Commission officially released the nation's first national broadband plan Tuesday, but the document will be just the start of a long process to extend broadband service to millions of U.S. residents.

Among the long-term goals: affordable 100M bps (bits per second) service to 100 million [m] U.S. homes by 2020, and 1G bps service to anchor institutions such as hospitals and schools in every U.S. community in the same timeframe.

Read on at Computerworld

[hog]

That's not very ambitious as 100mbps connections wil probably be widespread by then anyways, but it's good to see this goal made "official". I like the 1Gbps thing for hospitals, though. But I hope it will be done before 2020.

[brewin]

I wonder what "affordable" means. My cable company calls 3Mbps for $50 a month "affordable".

[VROSA]

brewin, on Mar 16 2010, 06:22 PM, said:

I wonder what "affordable" means. My cable company calls 3Mbps for $50 a month "affordable".

It's more or less what I pay for my 3 Mbps connection, and don't really think it's what we can call affordable. Here in my city just one cable company offers connections above 50 Mbps, but for that you must be ready to pay at least US$ 200,00 a month.

[bizketman101]

i have 6mbps for $35. thats through at&t. howevs the modems they keep sending are garbage. im on my 3rd in just over a year!!! awful!

[David_Heavey]

Must say .. I thought BB would be a lot cheaper then that over there. I'm very surprised what with the population you guys have. Our prices are the same here but for a much more bandwith. For example I pay €40 (just a little under $30) a month for my 30MBps. That's the cheapest in Ireland for that sort of speed. Also the comapny I'm with (UPC) have said that by the end of 2010 all existing customers will have an option to upgrade to 120MBps for an extra €20 a month. Can't wait for that!!

[Nvyseal]

I get 8Mbps down 1Mbps up for 50.00 through Charter Cable. They do send me a little packet of lube with each bill to ease the pain. We have no other way to get BB, so we're stuck with them.

Why do all these companies limit your upload so bad?

[brewin]

David_Heavey, on Mar 16 2010, 07:21 PM, said:

Must say .. I thought BB would be a lot cheaper then that over there. I'm very surprised what with the population you guys have.

Well, our cables are longer than yours. And thicker too. So they're more expensive... or something.

Quote

I pay €40 (just a little under $30) a month for my 30MBps.

€40 is $55. Still not bad though.

[David_Heavey]

brewin, on Mar 17 2010, 03:01 AM, said:

Well, our cables are longer than yours. And thicker too. So they're more expensive... or something.
€40 is $55. Still not bad though.

I used the wrong currency when converting. Sorry about that. But still, for the speed I'm getting It's very good value.

I should also add the upload is 3MBps. Not bad.

[hog]

Here in Quebec optic fiber just arrived. I don't know the exact prices but I think it's around 60$ for 25Mbps down, and a whooping 7Mbps up (the most you can get out of any company here). But they limit you to 60GB/month...

I have 5Mbps down 1Mbps up for 30$. That's kinda slow but I don't have a monthly limit. It's a pretty much unknown company (Radioactif.com). The big ones wouldn't want people to know it's possible to have unlimited d/l...

edit: Otherwise, Videotron's basic broadband offering is 7.5Mbps also for 30$ with a 1-year contract or 35$ without it. 20GB up/down total limit... I know you can buy additional 30GB bandwidth "blocks" if you plan on busting your limit, but I down know how much it costs. Bell is pretty much the same, the difference is in cable (Videotron) vs ADSL (Bell), and Bell's customer service is crap.

Edited by hog, 17 March 2010 - 05:48 PM.

[banj0]

Nvyseal, on Mar 16 2010, 09:33 PM, said:

Why do all these companies limit your upload so bad?

I've been wondering the same thing for years. FWIW, I've found two answers that are plausible. But I'm not claiming either are true, pure speculation. One is supposition, the other is on wiki. I'd take the wiki as truth but what do I know.

The first is that ISP's and the owners of large nodes cater to two different, and differing, sets of customers. On one hand is the end user at his/her PC. The other is the server market. If speed was synchronous, up and down, then any end user could turn their box into a server and the relatively affordable rates of broadband would negate the market for mid to high-end hosting.

This next one seems more plausible if only because I don't have the tech knowledge to refute/understand it. ADSL.