AT&T And Verizon Say 10Mbps Is Too Fast For 'Broadband'

sir-gold said:
You shouldn't have to choose.
The only reason you can't have BOTH is because your ISP doesn't want to put any money into upgrades (unless its an upgrade in their salaries)
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My ISP has six employees.

It doesn't get any more "local service" than that.
 
I'm paying $150 a month for 500/100. Next best option is $100 for 100/10.
 
Kaitian said:
I'm paying $150 a month for 500/100. Next best option is $100 for 100/10.
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$22 for "up to" 2/0.5. Next would be $33 for "up to" 3/0.7, and then $49 for "up to" 5/1, One of the "best" available here is $98 for "up to" 10/1.
 
Like 640k is all you'll ever need for RAM?

More ignorance from the Kings of Ignorant statements and practices.

This will be ignored. Anyone who has used the Internet and tried something beyond 25Mbps will tell you if they could have it they would.

I can't wait to look back in 25 years and laugh at this whole era of denial about broadband being "too much" past 10Mbps or that ISP's need special "fast lanes" to overcharge people for.

When TV finally dies its needed death and everything is streamed only It'll be a better place for consumers.
 
Verizon FIOS offers 25/25 for $30 and 50/50 for $40 or 75/75 for $50 in my area. Yet I don't have it and still use my Verizon Wireless unlimited data internet off my smartphone for the last two years. I just haven't played games in so long having it didn't seem necessary.

However with Verizon Wireless implementing 'throttling' of unlimited data plan off contract customers starting October 1st, now might be a great time to move to FIOS. I have Time Warner in my area too but they can't touch FIOS speeds by a long shot.
 
JaiWebb said:
Verizon FIOS offers 25/25 for $30 and 50/50 for $40 or 75/75 for $50 in my area. Yet I don't have it and still use my Verizon Wireless unlimited data internet off my smartphone for the last two years. I just haven't played games in so long having it didn't seem necessary.

However with Verizon Wireless implementing 'throttling' of unlimited data plan off contract customers starting October 1st, now might be a great time to move to FIOS. I have Time Warner in my area too but they can't touch FIOS speeds by a long shot.
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I HIGHLY recommend telling Time Warner to "fuck off".

They suck. Verizon even with its weird billing nonsense has much better service. Plus Verizon is actual fiber to your home. While Time Warner is just copper to the node. Both are shared among your neighbors but Verizon has quite a bit more bandwidth per node than Time Warner likely ever will. I've got some 35 neighbors near by and all of them have FiOS. Zero slow downs.
 
sfsuphysics said:
I wonder if Comcast is pushing for 4Mbps because then they can call that cheapy 5Mbps plan they give as "broadband", it's fairly obvious why AT&T is pushing... since 10Mbps would effectively remove the "broadband" label from all it's DSL that isn't UVerse.

That said, they're absolutely full of shit, I have 6Mbps, youtube "auto-resolution" goes to 720p max, sometimes I can watch 1080p if I give it 10 seconds of buffer, but if I'm downloading anything, or my wife is also looking at video clips, then forget about it.

It's funny that these huge mega corps are lobbying so hard though, it's just a fucking name, they can still offer their 3Mbps DSL service, the fact they're scared so much that they can't advertise it as "broadband" is laughable
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I say fuck'em! Tell them "Okay, 4/Mbits. But it has to be symmetrical (4 Mbits up and 4MBits down) and CANNOT include a bandwidth cap."
 
Chas said:
I say fuck'em! Tell them "Okay, 4/Mbits. But it has to be symmetrical (4 Mbits up and 4MBits down) and CANNOT include a bandwidth cap."
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They would rather let you have *Unlimited Bandwidth* then speed bumps as they are currently proving.
 
Cox upped my 25mbps to 50mbps but I would rather see them up the bandwidth cap of 250gb/month. I regularly go over that by at least 100gb each month.
 
Travolta said:
Cox upped my 25mbps to 50mbps but I would rather see them up the bandwidth cap of 250gb/month. I regularly go over that by at least 100gb each month.
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Its weird to think that Cox has a bandwidth cap. I used them when I lived in Vegas. They were awesome. Great support and speeds. I've heard they've gone down hill since then however.
 
Godmachine said:
Its weird to think that Cox has a bandwidth cap. I used them when I lived in Vegas. They were awesome. Great support and speeds. I've heard they've gone down hill since then however.
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Yeah the cap isn't exactly easy to find on their website when looking at their service options.
 
This is what my monthly look like thru Cox.

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Good Thing Cox doesnt charge for going over the data cap. I hear the Cox is trying to roll out Giga-bit by the end of the year. But in my area, I'm paying for 50mbs and i regularly have been getting 13.5 MB/s downloads from Steam so I am very Happy.
 
marka211 said:
This is what my monthly look like thru Cox.

rj4hkz.png
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Good Thing Cox doesnt charge for going over the data cap. I hear the Cox is trying to roll out Giga-bit by the end of the year. But in my area, I'm paying for 50mbs and i regularly have been getting 13.5 MB/s downloads from Steam so I am very Happy.
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Man I don't even wanna post my bandwidth usage. I'm on FiOS and last month I topped 2TB's (backing up from a few hard drive failures and having to reinstall my games on my Xbox One).

If I had to deal with a 250GB cap again .. well I wouldn't. I would upgrade to business class :D
 
10Mbps???? This is the bare MINIMUM I'd recommend for anyone using Netflix, etc.

I'm currently averaging about 115/12 and could use more. With three simultaneous Netflix/Amazon Prime HD streams going on a lot of the time, VOIP for two phone lines, and my own concurrent VPN connections into work, it's not at all unusual for me to easily pass 60+ down -- and if I'm downloading anything, it goes way up from there (especially when downloading ISO's from MSDN, etc).
 
illli said:
its like the auto industry complaining about raising the avg mpg. they dont want to spend the money on research and development, and making a product that meets the standards.
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Not really. The technology is there to provide several time the internet speed. It's just that they don't want to invest in the infrastructure, and the customers are not willing to pay the higher prices. I currently have a 25mb cable connection, and would probably downgrade to 12mb if the price was half what I'm currently paying.

As for cars, recent mileage increases have been minor unless you include hybrids or electric cars. For many people the increase in cost of a hybrid or electric is not justifiable, as the payback period can be several years.

To increase the mileage, many companies have resorted to direct injection, which has possible long term reliability issues. (Do some research on the problems with buildup on the intake), or excessive weight reduction (like no spare tire, or body metal so thin you can easily dent the car while washing/waxing it).
 
JaiWebb said:
Verizon FIOS offers 25/25 for $30 and 50/50 for $40 or 75/75 for $50 in my area.
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How about $65 for 25/6 for $62, 50/10 for $74, and 100/20 for $100?

That's the current Cox internet pricing out here in southern California.
Their only other option is 5/1 for $35.

My only other option is DSL 3/.7, which while cheap is too slow to be usable, which explains why Cox gets away with such high pricing.

If they offered something more reasonable like 12/3 for $35, I'd consider downgrading, as $65 is just too expensive.
 
I choose 10Mbps even though I can get well over 100. I refuse to pay the increasing BS cable costs. Dropped everything except the slowest tier cable modem service they offer. Still paying $34.99 a month for this overpriced connection and it kills me. (but it's a far cry from the over $200 I was paying for digital cable with no premium channels).

Truth be told - the downloads are fine. There's more than enough to stream, and so what - I wait a little while for a 5+GB game to download off steam. I set it going, eat dinner, come back and it's done /shrug.

Now more important than download speeds are 1) Ping 2) reliability and 3) uploads.

I wish my upload was faster as it was a little challenging to get the quality of service just right on the router so my wife can stream while I game. If another streamer gets going (kids) it falls apart.

10 is the bare minimum - I couldn't go any lower in today's age. But as of right now - it's manageable - even for someone in the [H] demographic.
 
illli said:
its like the auto industry complaining about raising the avg mpg. they dont want to spend the money on research and development, and making a product that meets the standards.
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The latest technology, Alcatel-Lucent's XG-FAST, has demonstrated 10 Gbs on copper lines.
 
All I get is 7 Mbps Verizon DSL for 45 bucks a month, which by the way is the highest I can get on DSL. Its either that or TWC. I can't get FIOS since the landlord has a contract with TWC and hasn't approved Verizon to bring in the fiber. Hell I would glad if I had the option of RCN.

To add insult to injury, a few buildings away, they have FIOS.
 
America has the worst (speed, price) broadband and its only going to get worse as long as these companies run Congress.
 
I am currently running both Comcast (100 down/20 Up) Business for a $149 per month special with no data caps. I also have Centurylink DSL running at 40 down and 5 up that is running $29.95 per month with a 250gb cap. I have both connections load balanced and get really good throughput, even during peak times.

Centurylink has sent me an email stating that they now offer Fiber/1Gb connection for $79.95 per month. Our neighborhood is in line to be "lit up" by December/January. The CL work vans have been out installing big cabinets around the block from my house in South Seattle.
 
I share (via wifi) a shitty $60/month "up to" 15/1 Telus DSL line with my upstairs neighbours (Telus locks people in with contracts). I've asked them to spend the extra $5 for the "up to" 25/5 package, but they keep forgetting to call (Telus 50/10 package not available in my neighbourhood). This connection chokes my VPN down to 7mbps, which I use when I want to watch US Netflix. It's not unbearable at the moment, as my neighbours don't use the internet much other than for light surfing, but they'll be getting into Netflix soon too. $80/month for my own wired 50/3 cable line from Shaw, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Canada is so expensive... :(
 
Godmachine said:
Like 640k is all you'll ever need for RAM?

More ignorance from the Kings of Ignorant statements and practices.

This will be ignored. Anyone who has used the Internet and tried something beyond 25Mbps will tell you if they could have it they would.

I can't wait to look back in 25 years and laugh at this whole era of denial about broadband being "too much" past 10Mbps or that ISP's need special "fast lanes" to overcharge people for.

When TV finally dies its needed death and everything is streamed only It'll be a better place for consumers.
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LOL, this is exactly what I was thinking!
 
illli said:
its like the auto industry complaining about raising the avg mpg. they dont want to spend the money on research and development, and making a product that meets the standards.
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The European companies have spent the R&D money, and people there are driving around in small 80mpg VW turbodiesels. The North American people (in general) don't want small cars, slow cars, or diesels. You guys want a nice cushy ride, big enough car to feel confident (and/or badass) on the highways, must have POWER (more the better)....oh, and could I not have to add any gasoline or do any maintenance please? I see way too many elderly people driving around with large displacement V6/V8 family sedans, just to get groceries or go play shuffleboard/etc.

The answer for North America is small-displacement turbocharged direct-injected gasoline engines. However, turbocharging and direct-injection both have some higher maintenance requirements attached to them. Still can't have your cake and eat it too.

My 2006 BMW 325ci gets the same fuel economy as my old 1986 VW Jetta (even before I made it have 50% more power than stock with negligible drop in mileage). Sounds good to me?
 
It's just a tactical move on their part to retard / artificially slow the advancement of broadband here in America. Of course they have 1,000 attorneys who can argue on their behalf this isn't the case, but we all know better. If they can control the speed, then paid "fast lanes" works in their favor. Which of course means more of your money in their pockets. The faster the internet, the less important all of them become. And oh god, they don't want that!

All of these companies are feasting off your hard earned sweat ...
 
At least one place is as bad as Australia. I love spending $70 a month for lossy 15mbit adsl and a 200gb cap and that's quite good here. The dominant carrier charges nearly $100 a month and let's not forgot that most of the country actually gets around 5 meg

We had a national program that would have put fibre to 98% of homes and the new government cancelled it because vdsl was good enough, even though most of the copper network is unusable. Love politics
 
It wouldn't be quite so bad if people actually got what they paid for. Currently I'm on CenturyLink DSL 40Mbps plan and get about half the advertised speed, best case scenario. In general, when I pay for a 50Mbps+ connection, the fastest I ever see is 20-30Mbps with occasional spikes for no apparent reason.
 
Sure Verizon, we can define cellular service as broadband... but you have to abide by the same rules as wired. Meaning 10 Mbps minimum with no throttling up to the currently defined lowest cap of 100GB/month. No special treatment. I guess you better get on making your 4G LTE coverage map solid red.

ktk said:
100/40 here, free (comes with the rent)
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It's included in the rent, which means you're still paying for it :rolleyes:.
 
It is all relevant.
This is how my 100/5 service from timewarner behaved like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZyNjeIZ8BE

There was also a lot of jitter, packet loss and high ping times. Who cares what the definition of broadband is? I had 20times the speed of the current definition of Broadband but could not even play Warthunder multiplayer due to connection dropping out every few minutes.

What matters the the quality of service.
 
Thanks to this article and reading everyone high tier speeds. I had to check if timewarner in my area was offering anything higher then 20mbps, which its been the highest for years. Just upgraded to 100/5 service and in November they are rolling out 300/20 for 60 a month. What a great day today. THANKS HARDOCP / STEVE ARTICLE
 
RickyJ said:
The European companies have spent the R&D money, and people there are driving around in small 80mpg VW turbodiesels. The North American people (in general) don't want small cars, slow cars, or diesels. You guys want a nice cushy ride, big enough car to feel confident (and/or badass) on the highways, must have POWER (more the better)....oh, and could I not have to add any gasoline or do any maintenance please? I see way too many elderly people driving around with large displacement V6/V8 family sedans, just to get groceries or go play shuffleboard/etc.
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You have to recall a gallon of gas is different in Europe so you can not normally compare mileage. 80 MPG in Europe is only ~65 mpg here. That is before you factor in the testing difference between US and Europe. Secondly you have the same issue in Europe. Older people driving larger cars because they can... They are also accustom to having families and simply feel safer in a larger car.

Consumers normally buy what is in their best interest. Europe ended up going heavily diesel because it saved consumers money.(mainly due to tax breaks) The problem ...most diesel causes nitrogen dioxide air pollution. Once again you can't have everything.

The other issue in the US is that very few diesel engines are built here so the cost to get a diesel car offsets a majority of the savings unless one factors in maintenance and even then it is close. You also have to factor that different states tax diesel at different rates. So that also eats into the cost savings. The last two times in my area, due to higher diesel fuel prices... in a typical 10 year environment, the cost advantage was not there for diesel. When tested by those who like to drive efficiently the mpg approaches 3% behind the TDI models in the US. Not normally enough to offset the 10-15% higher fuel prices in my area. SO the only advantages is higher resale, possible lower maintenance(costs)(low volume sales makes that questionable) for 10,000+10% higher fuel costs(actually higher insurance costs to boot).

In the end the math is simply not there in most states to allow diesel to be the superior choice. So consumers simply do not buy diesels cars because they is little incentive to do so. Even before you consider the nitrogen dioxide issue.
 
Kongar said:
10 is the bare minimum - I couldn't go any lower in today's age. But as of right now - it's manageable - even for someone in the [H] demographic.
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Completely agree. I could make due with 10 as long as my ping times were still decent. It's enough for everything else I do on there. The catch is if I'm stuck at 10 I better not have to pay much for it. Anything over 19.99/month for that speed is IMO a rape. If they would make that speed available (Charter) in my area and I could pay that price - I would be all over it.
 
Andyk5 said:
It is all relevant.
This is how my 100/5 service from timewarner behaved like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZyNjeIZ8BE

There was also a lot of jitter, packet loss and high ping times. Who cares what the definition of broadband is? I had 20times the speed of the current definition of Broadband but could not even play Warthunder multiplayer due to connection dropping out every few minutes.

What matters the the quality of service.
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I might not be getting my advertised speed with TWC, but I had a lot of packet loss and timeouts while using their Arris modem.
Switched to a Zoom, and while my speed didn't increase, the timeouts and packet loss almost completly stopped and my latency went from 220 to 22.
Always pays to have your own DOCSIS 3 modem.
 
Especially with Comcast and others using your leased modem as a Wifi hotspot.
 
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