Do I Really Need 1Gbps Internet?

[Sycraft]

No, you don't. It would be a bit nice, but there are serious diminishing returns. I have 300/30 Internet and I like it, but it is not much of a noticeable step up from the 150 I had before. Likewise at work I'm on a gig link to my computer and it generally gets close to that to the net and the difference between home is minor. Websites, streaming, all that kind of thing don't matter. You only notice it when you are downloading really big files, like games or something. Even then the difference isn't a huge deal.

Faster Internet is nice, and it is good to keep striving for faster connectivity to homes, but it you find that when you get past 100mbps the returns are seriously diminishing. Perhaps future uses will increase needs but overall 100+ is "fast enough" these days and even 20mbps works very well for a lot of uses.

 

[DrLobotomy]

So we have it folks. a "No You Don't" and a "Yes You Do".

Next question....

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

So we have it folks. a "No You Don't" and a "Yes You Do".

Next question....

Yeah, the truth is, as speeds go up, it becomes increasingly difficult to use it all unless you use torrents, and even then only torrents with lots of seeders and fellow downloaders.

The only thing that has been able to saturate my FiOS 150/150 other than the occasional Ubuntu ISO torrent has been Steam.

At some point it just becomes a "I have this much bandwidth for peace of mind, so I don't have to ever worry about different services in my home conflicting with each-other", and that's not a bad reason.

For me, I'm not sure I'd go for anything higher than my 150/150 if it meant I had to pay much more. Verizon offers FiOS internet at 300/300 in my area, but the cost is over the top. Like $300 per month or something like that (can't remember, been a while since I checked).

To me, the benefit of all these gigabit internet plans is that the plans I really need get a lot cheaper by comparison Would I sign up for a Google Fiber at google fiber prices if they were in my neighborhood though? You bet. In a heartbeat.

 

[Armenius]

Easy there grammar police! Need has become synonymous with "will this actually be useful to me" over the years. Do people "need" the internet, yes they do, will they die without it? No but they NEED it, just like a drug addict "needs" drugs. Now that said, your third line is in fact the question. So stop being such a stick in the mud about the "proper definition" of need.

You can't do much in the modern developed world without access to the internet. There is a reason it has been argued that the internet is a utility.

 

[Zion Halcyon]

No Gigabit in my area - Illinois is kind of no-man's land, as the unions shut that shit down.


That said, WoW is in my area, and they even beat Comcast's speeds for the price - getting 50 down, 5 up for $50, while even Comcast offers 20 down 5 up for the same price in the area. Best of all, no contract, but I don't have anywhere else to go with it.

 

[sfsuphysics]

You can't do much in the modern developed world without access to the internet. There is a reason it has been argued that the internet is a utility.

Well that again is an argument in itself. I mean you can pay bills without the internet, you can send messages to people without the internet, you can book a flight without the internet, you can do pretty much anything without it, it just becomes a matter of standing in lines, waiting on hold on the phone or using these ancient artifacts called "stamps", the internet has just made doing things in the modern developed world a lot easier but hardly the sole way to do things.

 

[Deleted member 126051]

No Gigabit in my area - Illinois is kind of no-man's land, as the unions shut that shit down.


That said, WoW is in my area, and they even beat Comcast's speeds for the price - getting 50 down, 5 up for $50, while even Comcast offers 20 down 5 up for the same price in the area. Best of all, no contract, but I don't have anywhere else to go with it.

That means you're probably in Naperville.

The problem is, WoW's network has signal strength issues (and always has).

I'm down in Crest Hill. A 75/10 consumer connection there is $50.
I'm on the 150/20 connection (and pulling about 180/24.

 

[bman212121]

I see people mentioning 2gbps service, does that come with a 10g nic to be able to use it?

So I see a lot of misinformation in this thread. Comcast's 2gbe service comes over fiber and is usually connected to a Ciena or Juniper switch that has an open 10gig sfp and has 2 x 1gb rj-45 on it. (There is no modem for this service) So you can get a full 2gig out of one connection if you have the means to hook up to the 10 gig port on your end, or else you can use the 2 x 1gig connections instead. As far as I've seen anyone who has the cash to get setup for this service has the money to buy 10gig gear.

 

[spikeline]

Yeah I could use that. I've got two ADSL connections that I team together using Tomato and a WRT54GL. I am lucky to get 14Mbps on a quiet night. That's the price of rural living

 

[Zion Halcyon]

That means you're probably in Naperville.

The problem is, WoW's network has signal strength issues (and always has).

I'm down in Crest Hill. A 75/10 consumer connection there is $50.
I'm on the 150/20 connection (and pulling about 180/24.

Streamwood, actually, and no signal strength issues here. Then again, I live in a 2 bedroom condo.

 

[Rick99]

Is a 1Gbps internet connection worth it? You guys who are lucky enough to have that level of service can tell me. While websites and services aren’t set up to utilize those speeds, I would love to try out a 1Gbps upload.

I simply opted for the 1Gbps package to see what it would be like to have that speed in my own home. I’ve only had the service less than a week, but I’ve honestly struggled to witness the differences between nearly 100Mbps speeds and the impressive 1Gbps connection. Streaming 4K content seems just as reliable as before, and web pages for the most part aren’t noticeably faster. The big difference is the huge 1Gbps upload. I can send large files to OneDrive or Dropbox in what seems instant, and even sending files to friends and family is a lot quicker. When I switched from 56K to ADSL, or from ADSL to a fiber connection, there was a powerful and noticeable bump in speed. I honestly haven’t felt that yet with this connection.

I'd love to, but unfortunately it's still too expensive !

comparatif antivirus

 

[sfsuphysics]

Yeah I could use that. I've got two ADSL connections that I team together using Tomato and a WRT54GL. I am lucky to get 14Mbps on a quiet night. That's the price of rural living

Bah! You're living in luxury if that's what you are able to get! On my in-laws farm they're so rural that they have to use satellite, and NO ONE wants to use satellite for internet, not even grandma and grandpa!

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Bah! You're living in luxury if that's what you are able to get! On my in-laws farm they're so rural that they have to use satellite, and NO ONE wants to use satellite for internet, not even grandma and grandpa!

Is satellite better than in the bad old days where you still needed to use a modem for upstream, or has it improved?

 

[wuzupfoo]

I have Cox's Fiber service and its pretty amazing. AAA Steam games download in <5 mins as an example... totally changes the Steam experience because you can play almost immediately. Also backing up via Internet is not painful. Torrenting is hilarious how quickly it gets out of hand. Streaming to many devices is cake now. But is it must have.. not really.. as others have said you dont need this much bandwidth.

So if you can afford it why not.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Is satellite better than in the bad old days where you still needed to use a modem for upstream, or has it improved?

I think it has improved beyond that where their satellite can actually transmit. But due to their "fair access policy" they hit their imposed limit very quickly, so no FAPing for them.