Broadband Speeds

[xoxoxoBruce]

Long ago and far away, when the US government actually cared how the ISPs were performing, they hired Sam Knows to find out.
I volunteered to be a guinea pig for a 6 month test. They sent me a numbered(under 600) black NETGEAR box(they use White now).
Not much labeling on it just letters like NSA, KGB, MI-6, Mossad, and blinky lights.

At the end of the 6 month test I didn't send it back(I still have the pre-labeled return box) and they didn't ask for it, so every month
I get an email with the upload and download speeds, latency and packet loss, for each day.
I knew there was more available by going to their site and logging in but logging in is hhaarrdd...
you know, remembering your password and shit.

But this month the email gave only up and down speeds so I logged on and then had to choose what parameter I wanted to see.
I'm guessing that's not the jitters I'm familiar with. Next the time frame, like the last hour, last two days, last six months, oh bother.
But it did provide a surprise. They don't care that I've never gone to Netflix, they kept track of how it would have worked if I had.
Step aside boy, we want data.



Looks like less than 16 Mbps provides 100% Netflix quality, like UT has been telling us.
But unlike tw, he won't thumb his nose chanting nah nah told you so.
Well he might quietly thumb his nose but he won't taunt, because Katkeeper would slap him upside the head.



It did get a little shaky at the end of June, practicing for The end of Net Neutrality?



Besides YouTube and Netflix, they are adding Hula and Amazon in the near future.
I wondered if Fios knows I have a box, figured it can't hurt. Looking at the FAQs, yes, the data is shared with my provider,
as well as NSA, KGB, and MI-6, Mossad, etc.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Looks like less than 16 Mbps provides 100% Netflix quality, like UT has been telling us.
But unlike tw, he won't thumb his nose chanting nah nah told you so.

Had you read what I wrote rather than read with a snarky attitude, then you knew 2 mps was more than sufficient for TV. Have been saying so for a long time. Rochester Telephone was doing a Netflix type connection back in the late 1980s. Your numbers only confirm what I wrote. HDTV on 5 mps would cost about $10 per month - if free market competition existed in the last mile. Cheapest internet is now at or exceeding $50 per month - in the US.

One attack on net neutrality was to subvert all competition back in 2002. Last of the competition is gone or not taking any new business. So internet/cable/phone rates are rising significantly. $10 per month for 5 mps could be available and profitable if free market competition was not subverted. CLECs are almost all gone.

Problem with satellite is not data rates. Problem is latency.