# Over Two-Thirds of U.S. Broadband Internet Connections aren't actually Broadband!



## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

http://gizmodo.com/5711923/over-two...ernet-connections-arent-technically-broadband



> A recent report by the FCC shows that more than two-thirds of so-called broadband internet connections in the U.S. don't actually meet the minimum speed requirements of 4Mbps downtream and 1Mbps upstream to be considered broadband.



I blame this on the DSL providers.  In my area, AT&T offers 4 DSL package, and none actually qualifies as Broadband.  The lowest package, which is $9.95 a month, is only 768Kb/s download 384 Kb/s upload!:shadedshu  The fastest package is 6 Mb/s down, but still only 768 Kb/s upload.  The slowest cable connection offered is 15 Mb/s download and 3 Mb/s upload, but it costs $45 per month.  It annoys me to no end when I have to go out on site to a customer that has the slowest DSL, and A LOT of people have the slowest DSL connection because it is cheap and it works to check their email.  But try to download a large group of Windows updates...


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## segalaw19800 (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> http://gizmodo.com/5711923/over-two...ernet-connections-arent-technically-broadband
> 
> 
> 
> I blame this on the DSL providers.  In my area, AT&T offers 4 DSL package, and none actually qualifies as Broadband.  The lowest package, which is $9.95 a month, is only 768Kb/s download 384 Kb/s upload!:shadedshu  The fastest package is 6 Mb/s down, but still only 768 Kb/s upload.  The slowest cable connection offered is 14 Mb/s download and 5 Mb/s upload, but it costs $45 per month.  It annoys me to no end when I have to go out on site to a customer that has the slowest DSL, and A LOT of people have the slowest DSL connection because it is cheap and it works to check their email.  But try to download a large group of Windows updates...




Test your connection ::  http://www.speedtest.net


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Dec 12, 2010)

This is not news to me.  

However, pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to go to a university, and you get this:


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## MT Alex (Dec 12, 2010)

Check it
http://www.generalnonsense.net/showthread.php?t=4725


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## theonedub (Dec 12, 2010)

Lets find a way to get some of the ancient copper infrastructure replaced, that would help improve these numbers.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

wow Australians are fucked then, 90% of people are on 256/64, 512/128 or 1500/256 connections around here.


most of those get shaped to 64/64 after downloading measly amounts like 10GB per month, as well.


that $10 a month plan newtekie mentioned is his first post WOULD BE FUCKING AWESOME.


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## segalaw19800 (Dec 12, 2010)

Mussels said:


> wow Australians are fucked then, 90% of people are on 256/64, 512/128 or 1500/256 connections around here.
> 
> 
> most of those get shaped to 64/64 after downloading measly amounts like 10GB per month, as well.
> ...


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## blu3flannel (Dec 12, 2010)

That's not fair, I want a decent upload speed.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

PVTCaboose1337 said:


> This is not news to me.
> 
> However, pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to go to a university, and you get this:
> 
> [url]http://www.speedtest.net/result/1067262905.png[/URL]



Or I can save the tens of thousands and just spend $100 a month for this:






But I really wish FIOS would come to my area.



theonedub said:


> Lets find a way to get some of the ancient copper infrastructure replaced, that would help improve these numbers.



Or just have the Cable companies start charging slightly less for their packages and force the DSL providers to step up and start offering decent speeds at reasonable prices.  The cable company in my area(Comcast) just started offing "economy broadband" for $30 a month that is 1.5Mb/s download.  IMO, if they started offering a 4Mb/s Down 1Mb/s Up package for $10 they would put the DSL providers in my area out of business.  And considering they are charing $45 a month for 15 Mb/s Down 5Mb/s Up, $10 for 4MB/s Down and 1 MB/s up shouldn't be a problem considering they would steal an assload of customers from DSL.


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## de.das.dude (Dec 12, 2010)

LOL 99% of all broadband connections in India arent BroadBand then


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## Wrigleyvillain (Dec 12, 2010)

Relevant


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

Wrigleyvillain said:


> Relevant



And yet there are people out there that think download on demand services are ready for primetime and will replace Blu-Ray in the next year or two.

On a 4Mb/s connection, it would probably take longer just to buffer the movie than it would to drive to Blockbuster, rent the movie, watch it, and return it.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> And yet there are people out there that think download on demand services are ready for primetime and will replace Blu-Ray in the next year or two.



wait til you consider that most countries have download limits that either shape your speed slower or cost extra for downloads past the 10GB range, and you start realising just how laughable it really is.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

Mussels said:


> wait til you consider that most countries have download limits that either shape your speed slower or cost extra for downloads past the 10GB range, and you start realising just how laughable it really is.



Yeah, one movie and you hit your cap.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Yeah, one movie and you hit your cap.



and then theres all the people who just use mobile 3G broadband... around here the 'popular' plans charge you 17 cents... per page. and thats just facebook. the ones with large amounts of data scare me.


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 12, 2010)

I'd like to point out a few little things...

The definition for "broadband" was changed on July 16, 2010, in the Sixth Broadband Deployment Report



> page 3:
> 
> In determining whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and
> timely fashion, this Sixth Report takes the overdue step of raising the minimum speed threshold for
> ...




Two things to take from that:
1) If you got connected to a "broadband" service before July 16, 2010, and you have > 200 kbps up/down, you still got "broadband" as per the 1999 definition.

2) As far as I can tell, the recommendation to increase the requirements to 4/1 mbps has no teeth.  There is no enforcement behind the "National Broadband Plan."


They're basically saying customers are demanding more than what is offered at a "reasonable" price.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

well then, even 200/200 is out of reach of many australians.


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 12, 2010)

Yeah, it says over 1000 counties in the USA are completely without Internet service--most of which are in Native American reservations.

It is a huge logistical problem for the West of the USA.  I imagine the same issue exists in the West of Australia (geographically similar).


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## Hayder_Master (Dec 12, 2010)

BOWAHAHAA, sorry bro im really Laughing when i read this cuz im my country i pay 50$ in a month for 256kbits download and 64kbits upload, but there is a good news which wait until 1AM to 6AM speeds up to 2mbits just for 5 hours in day in bed time, dam i hate my country


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## cdawall (Dec 12, 2010)

Guess my phone isn't broadband then damn lol


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 12, 2010)

It is by the 1999 definition, not the 2010 definition. XD


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## Yukikaze (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> http://gizmodo.com/5711923/over-two...ernet-connections-arent-technically-broadband
> 
> 
> 
> I blame this on the DSL providers.  In my area, AT&T offers 4 DSL package, and none actually qualifies as Broadband.  The lowest package, which is $9.95 a month, is only 768Kb/s download 384 Kb/s upload!:shadedshu  The fastest package is 6 Mb/s down, but still only 768 Kb/s upload.  The slowest cable connection offered is 14 Mb/s download and 5 Mb/s upload, but it costs $45 per month.  It annoys me to no end when I have to go out on site to a customer that has the slowest DSL, and A LOT of people have the slowest DSL connection because it is cheap and it works to check their email.  But try to download a large group of Windows updates...



Well, it can be a lot worse: I pay around 55$ a month for 15Mbits download and 800Kbits upload. Previously I had 5Mbps download and 128Kbps (!!!) upload and paid around 35$ a month.

The only way to get a 1Mbps uplink here is to get a 20Mbps or 30Mbps connection, which is not available everywhere and costs 75$ or higher for the 20Mbps one, and well over 100$ for the 30Mbps one.


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## DriedFrogPills (Dec 12, 2010)

Mussels said:


> well then, even 200/200 is out of reach of many australians.



My parents are on a farm up Barham way and they are on satellite internet.  Its an awful experience.  The latency is generally huge, and if its a cloudy day forget it


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## AltecV1 (Dec 12, 2010)

the cable service in US isnt that bad if the minimum connection is 15/5 and for 45$ its a good deal here in europe i get 12/1 connection for 39.99 $(well it does include land line and 75 channel IPTV but i dont care about those)


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## AsRock (Dec 12, 2010)

> The slowest cable connection offered is 14 Mb/s download and 5 Mb/s upload, but it costs $45 per month.




HOLLY CRAP, i wish ours was that cheap.  Nice upload with less download sweet for gamers and dedi's.


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## caleb (Dec 12, 2010)

Oh my got US is gonna invade Sweden because theres internet!


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Dec 12, 2010)

I'd really like more upload speed. I doubt atlantic bb can provide it, considering during peak hours pings go up to 200ms. They don't even try to invest in the network. Why bother when you have a monopoly and there's no price to pay for inefficient business.


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## theonedub (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Or just have the Cable companies start charging slightly less for their packages and force the DSL providers to step up and start offering decent speeds at reasonable prices.  The cable company in my area(Comcast) just started offing "economy broadband" for $30 a month that is 1.5Mb/s download.  IMO, if they started offering a 4Mb/s Down 1Mb/s Up package for $10 they would put the DSL providers in my area out of business.  And considering they are charing $45 a month for 15 Mb/s Down 5Mb/s Up, $10 for 4MB/s Down and 1 MB/s up shouldn't be a problem considering they would steal an assload of customers from DSL.



I agree, some pricing changes could definitely spark some great changes for the lots of consumers. 

There are those, including myself, who are at the mercy of copper due to living in a rural area. Small towns with one Telco as the only option for reasonable service are stuck with slow speeds not because of ignorance or non competitive pricing, but because of the crappy copper wires fed into their homes. 

A handful of emails, a couple phone calls, a few trips into the local office, and about 100ft of wire later, my DSL is just about up to par:  

Before: 






After:


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## INSTG8R (Dec 12, 2010)

I really do get aggravated when I see the tactics and prices ISP's. The price for the so called "service" is pretty shocking sometimes

Now granted I have been living in Norway the past 6 years and have been rather spoiled

This is the base package available to me(Fibre to Building) Like AltecV1 I also get TV and phone all on the same modem.





I can now have up to 400/400 Mbit on the same line! That is overkill but hey I can have it.


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## Sensi Karate (Dec 12, 2010)

Woah, how can Americans complain? 

Australia are on plans are 1000000x worse. For the last two years I was on a 5GB Wireless Modem with download speeds of around 200kb and lets not talk about upload. Finally got for $100 (which is also around $100 US) 100GB of around 16+mb/s of download and around half that upload speeds and seen a MASSIVE increase in everything I've done. 

I lol whenever Americans complain about their internet.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

Sensi Karate said:


> Woah, how can Americans complain?
> 
> Australia are on plans are 1000000x worse. For the last two years I was on a 5GB Wireless Modem with download speeds of around 200kb and lets not talk about upload. Finally got for $100 (which is also around $100 US) 100GB of around 16+mb/s of download and around half that upload speeds and seen a MASSIVE increase in everything I've done.
> 
> I lol whenever Americans complain about their internet.



get yourself on dodo these days, they fixed their issues and have unlimited adsl2+ for about $90 a month, with phone.


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## H82LUZ73 (Dec 12, 2010)

segalaw19800 said:


> Test your connection ::  http://www.speedtest.net



lol im getting what i pay for lololol [URL=http://www.speedtest.net]
	
[/URL]


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## Over_Lord (Dec 12, 2010)

Mussels said:


> wow Australians are fucked then, 90% of people are on 256/64, 512/128 or 1500/256 connections around here.
> 
> 
> most of those get shaped to 64/64 after downloading measly amounts like 10GB per month, as well.
> ...



Umm, Indians even worse, a few percent (less than double) are on INDIAN STANDARD broadband, which is 256Kbps, and we pay about 10-15$ equivalent for that..

I'm on a 1Mbps UP 512Kbps down and I pay close to 25$, compared to you guys, we are being LOOTED


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

thunderising said:


> Umm, Indians even worse, a few percent (less than double) are on INDIAN STANDARD broadband, which is 256Kbps, and we pay about 10-15$ equivalent for that..
> 
> I'm on a 1Mbps UP 512Kbps down and I pay close to 25$, compared to you guys, we are being LOOTED



uh... no. you are not being looted. we are






i highly doubt your plans have a mere 2GB limit, and massive fines for disconnecting before 2 years are up.


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)




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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

lets not turn this into another speedtest thread. we already have one of those.


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

San francisco LMAO!!!!!!!!!





Ok OK LOL


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i highly doubt your plans have a mere 2GB limit, and massive fines for disconnecting before 2 years are up.



Comcast just tried to hit my co-worker with a $1900 contract termination fee.  And he was terminating the service because in the first month he had it it was out 10 times, twice for 2+ Days.:shadedshu And of course he had his cable TV, Internet, and Phones through Comcast, so when it was out all three were out.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Comcast just tried to hit my co-worker with a $1900 contract termination fee.  And he was terminating the service because in the first month he had it it was out 10 times, twice for 2+ Days.:shadedshu And of course he had his cable TV, Internet, and Phones through Comcast, so when it was out all three were out.



ouchies. thats just like telstra is here.



Sign up for a Tel$tra broadband and mobile phone package!


Unlimited data, high speed plans! *123
Free facebook! *4
1 cent SMS text messages! *5
Free! router and installation! *6



*
1 shaped after excessive use of 5GB (uploads counted)
2 speed varies per region, only 1Mb guaranteed
3 not available in all areas
4 it costs 17 cents per page if you access more than 50 (i think its 50) pages a day
5 for the first 100 texts, then its 25 cents per text. also the 1c only applies to other telstra phones.
6 if you sign up for a 3 year contract where you pay out all months remaining times 3 if you disconnect ANY of the bundled features.



its a little off topic, but god DAMN i hate marketing BS.


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

Comcast=Fail (these are my pings from them in 2005!!!! the main reason I will never move to an area that only had comcast for broadband!!!)






These were pings I had on an average day too, not a bad day. an AVERAGE day.

A good day would be 300 some to 600 some.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

remixedcat said:


> Comcast=Fail (these are my pings from them in 2005!!!! the main reason I will never move to an area that only had comcast for broadband!!!)
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/101212/tracert22.gif
> 
> ...



thats the kind of thing i see on a network where someones choking the upload (usually a torrenter)


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

Nope we had no torrents running, and only one pc connected at the time (the other was powered off for a RAM upgrade) and the router was fine. 

We had a tech out every week and what's funny is that one day...... to fix OUR problem he DISCONNECTED THE ENTIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX'S internet to help "figure out the problem'. This tech was a joke. 

I went to the leasing office the next day to drop off a paper and HOLY SHIT THERE'S 50 PEOPLE  in there complaning about what happened the night before!!!!!


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## DRDNA (Dec 12, 2010)

remixedcat said:


> Nope we had no torrents running, and only one pc connected at the time (the other was powered off for a RAM upgrade) and the router was fine.
> 
> We had a tech out every week and what's funny is that one day...... to fix OUR problem he DISCONNECTED THE ENTIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX'S internet to help "figure out the problem'. This tech was a joke.
> 
> I went to the leasing office the next day to drop off a paper and HOLY SHIT THERE'S 50 PEOPLE  in there complaning about what happened the night before!!!!!



lol...thats some funny snit there.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

remixedcat said:


> to fix OUR problem he DISCONNECTED THE ENTIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX'S internet to help "figure out the problem'.



I can tell you the problem right now, everyone in the apartment complex was eating up bandwidth.  Remember, cable is shared with your neighbors.  Poor cable performance in apartment complexes is almost unavoidable due to the standard way apartment complexes are usually connected.  A single cable is run to the building, and then split to every apartment, and that single cable usually becomes the bottleneck pretty quickly.


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

I know but I've lived at 700+ some unit apartment complexes (2) that I've had pings of anywhere from 30 some on a good day to max of 300 some on a bad day and better speeds. 

the complex I lived at with the bad pings had 550 units. 

Comcast just FAILS LIKE MAD-BAD-SAD at what they do. LMAO!!!!!!


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

remixedcat said:


> I know but I've lived at 700+ some unit apartment complexes (2) that I've had pings of anywhere from 30 some on a good day to max of 300 some on a bad day and better speeds.
> 
> the complex I lived at with the bad pings had 550 units.
> 
> Comcast just FAILS LIKE MAD-BAD-SAD at what they do. LMAO!!!!!!



i'm with newtekie, the problem was with the cable in the complex. for whatever reason, it was totally oversaturated - maybe some smart cookie bypassed whatever limiting system they had in and was eating the bandwidth for all the users himself.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i'm with newtekie, the problem was with the cable in the complex. for whatever reason, it was totally oversaturated - maybe some smart cookie bypassed whatever limiting system they had in and was eating the bandwidth for all the users himself.



Agreed, I wouldn't be surprised if someone uncapped their modem and killed the connection to the building.  And to find the person they tech had to disconnect every person and connected them one by one until he found the person sucking down the bandwidth.


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## Mussels (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Agreed, I wouldn't be surprised if someone uncapped their modem and killed the connection to the building.  And to find the person they tech had to disconnect every person and connected them one by one until he found the person sucking down the bandwidth.



each apartment complex would have its own router, and it would be accesible by whoever works there.

EG, janitor gets in, runs 5 cables to his room (or hooks up his own M-ITX torrent box direct to the external WAN connection, and then shares the rest for everyone else )


i think this whole shared cable shiz is why american internet is so poor in some areas, they just run one fast line and do very poor control to make sure everyone gets a 'fair share' - they oversell the available bandwidth thinking that people wont max their lines out for long periods of time.


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## Steevo (Dec 12, 2010)

I just switched back to these bozos, this is "speed plus". varying download speeds, and crap upload speeds. but its cheap for the first twelve months.

Cable, Phone, and internet for $119 per month.


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Agreed, I wouldn't be surprised if someone uncapped their modem and killed the connection to the building.  And to find the person they tech had to disconnect every person and connected them one by one until he found the person sucking down the bandwidth.



Prolly, but still LOLz. 

Boy those people were pissed though. I was but at least I had mobile internet for a while. 

Plus I went out for some retail therapy after that ordeal and got some cool threads LOL.


But this apt complex had 18 buildings. LOL


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## newtekie1 (Dec 12, 2010)

AsRock said:


> HOLLY CRAP, i wish ours was that cheap.  Nice upload with less download sweet for gamers and dedi's.



Sorry, I just notice it was a typo.  I meant 15Mb/s and 3Mb/s, but 3Mb/s is still decent.



Mussels said:


> each apartment complex would have its own router, and it would be accesible by whoever works there.
> 
> EG, janitor gets in, runs 5 cables to his room (or hooks up his own M-ITX torrent box direct to the external WAN connection, and then shares the rest for everyone else )
> 
> ...



Yeah, luckily it seems comcast is starting to manage this a little better and making sure one person isn't sucking up all the bandwidth.  But older areas probably won't see it implemented for a long time.


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

OMG comcast making an improvement!!????

satan must be readying his hot-coco.


my 10Mbps is 55/mo standalone.


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## AsRock (Dec 12, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Sorry, I just notice it was a typo.  I meant 15Mb/s and 3Mb/s, but 3Mb/s is still decent.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, luckily it seems comcast is starting to manage this a little better and making sure one person isn't sucking up all the bandwidth.  But older areas probably won't see it implemented for a long time.



As you said 3mbs up is still decent and were paying more.  We could go Verizon but we have had such bad experiences like charging us for a package they actually never got around installing lol.  And  then there is there contracts at least we are free from that rubbish.

They upgraded ours from 16mbs\1mbs too 20mbs\2mbs a few months ago and it annoys me due to them knowing some people require higher up speed and not such down.

Cannot complain really as a good ol friend from Australia a old D2 player still today has a suck ass connection which is a complete rip off.

In the end we get what we actually paid for and hear so many who don't and thats the fault of Comcast in some places which makes me think of some one in CA who cannot get it and has had to get some thing better but not great phoneline connection for just as much as we pay.


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## DonInKansas (Dec 12, 2010)

This is the top speed DSL you can get in my area, and it's 70/month.  I'm at work; I can't afford these speeds.


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## blu3flannel (Dec 12, 2010)

DO WANT


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## remixedcat (Dec 12, 2010)

Lovely the link don't work.


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## blu3flannel (Dec 12, 2010)

It works for me, but if you can't see it here it is in its entirety. http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/Bundles/Landing/fiosinternet_ultimate/fiosinternet_ultimate.htm


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 12, 2010)

PVTCaboose1337 said:


> This is not news to me.
> 
> However, pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to go to a university, and you get this:
> 
> [url]http://www.speedtest.net/result/1067262905.png[/URL]



omg you go to trinity university. that explains so much now. 

also, DSL blows but still better than dial-up if you are going out to a site.


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 12, 2010)

FYI, ADSL2+ can handle up to 24 Mbps down and 1.4 Mbps up, depending on distance from the DSLAM.  I think a new standard will be developed to get that up speed faster in order to meet the 4/1 recommendation by the FCC.  Most would end up below 1 Mbps ADSL2+ because of distance.


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