Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
100mbps? ONE HUNDRED mbps? Oh.....man, I'd be happy with 100, never mind 10x faster. I have..10. 10mbps, and realistically, that means 8-9.5, on great days, and the upload...well. We all know the realities of upload.
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My first broadband was DSL from what later became Verizon. Cable modem service wasn't available where I was, so it was DSL or nothing. It was 640K up/90K down. And I had fun confirming I could get it over my existing phone line. My building had renovated a while previous and run new electric and plumbing (which it badly needed). In the process, they blocked access to the box in the hall where a telco installer would need to connect to run a second line, so I couldn't get one if it was required. As it happened, a simple splitter jack was all that was required, with a line running to the phone and another to the DSL modem.
But I was an early adopter, and it showed. It took three months from placement of order to working install, and lots of back and forth with Customer Care before it worked. Bell Atlantic screwed up everything that
could be screwed up in filling the order, starting with incorrectly entering the credit card number I gave them for billing. (They sent a couple of emails about not being able to bill the CC to the email address I couldn't access because service wasn't up and running.
)
There was a lot more, but eventually I was up and running. Compared to access via a 56K modem, it was "Wow!
Speed!" It had quirks, like using PPPoE, and I had to log in with ID and password to access the network.
My cable co. recalled that I had inquired about cable modem service, and dropped me a note when it became available. I could get 2mbit down/384K up for the same price as DSL, and pick up a self install kit for $99 across the street from where my office was located. Sold! I got the kit, brought it home, set it up, and was online and running in 15 minutes. And there was no need to log in - the fact that I connected at all indicated I was an authorized user.
I kept the DSL line as a high speed backup for a while, and had two network connections and email addresses. This mightily confused the firewall I was running, and it reached a point where I couldn't get email from either address because the firewall appeared to think the respective email servers were trying to talk to each other through my machine and blocked both. A new firewall fixed that.
My cable co was trying to fend off the telco and DSL service, and my bandwidth steadily increased with no change in my charges. I discovered it
had increased when things seemed to be moving faster and speed tests indicated higher bandwidth. I continued to benefit when the cable co was trying to fend off Verizon and FIOS. FIOS wasn't available where I was, but they didn't know that, so more bandwidth.
Most recently, they were doing upgrades across their network to roll out higher speeds. I had a Turbo account, with 20mbit down/2mbit up, and the jump from that was the 100mbit tier. I had top get a new cable modem that they supplied, but it worked fine.
As mentioned, I'll be going for FIOS when it's available to my building, but lower costs overall are the reason. The nature of FIOS makes symmetrical speeds the norm, and I'll have equal upload and download bandwidth. I don't actually
need the high speed upload, but it comes with the service. If I were running a server and allowing others to connect to me, it would be useful, because the upload bandwidth is what would get used. I have no plans to do that.
I live in a major metropolitan area, and I sometimes have to remind myself that things I take for granted, like everything I need on a day to day basis being within 5 or ten minutes walking distance isn't universal.
Neither is broadband. I was amused by a report that French telecom company Altice, which has been trying to expand into the US market, has cancelled plans to build out their network in France. The French government has made fast broadband a national priority and will be funding the infrastructure. Since the financial markets have been looking askance at the enormous level of debt Altice has assumed as part of their ambitious expansion, I'm sure Altice was delighted to piggy back on the government's efforts instead of spending yet more money to do it themselves.
I do not expect the US government to emulate the French, and am simply grateful I live in a place where there is actual competition in this area.
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Dennis