Fat new pipe
First, not sure I've got the correct forum, but I'm sure a friendly mod will redirect if needed.
Second, I'm switching from 1.5 Mbit DSL to a slightly faster 10 (ten) Mbit fiber (down AND up for $39.95, eat your heart out!) It's on the iProvo network, in case you're wondering. Google is your friend.
Here comes the multi-pronged and rambling questions:
What can I do on the OS to take advantage of my new-found bandwidth. What settings can be tweaked in browsers, mail clients or multimedia apps? I know the hacks for Firefox, but anything else aside from the basics?
What would YOU do with the bandwidth? Any good free movie sites? (Yes, yes, bittorrent is your friend, let's keep it legal, please.) Also, there is a 100 GB cap per month to consider. I suppose I could serve up some content as well, if I really get motivated. I suppose I could go wireless and share it with a few neighbors, but I'm a selfish person.
I also know at those speeds the choke points are from the server side. But there have got to be servers out there dishing up high quality stuff at insane speeds. (Apple HD trailers, anyone?)
Little help?
(edit)
Silly 'mule forgot the specs:
DP G5 1.8 with 1.5 gigs of RAM running 10.4.2 and weak-kneed GeForce FX 5200.
Second, I'm switching from 1.5 Mbit DSL to a slightly faster 10 (ten) Mbit fiber (down AND up for $39.95, eat your heart out!) It's on the iProvo network, in case you're wondering. Google is your friend.
Here comes the multi-pronged and rambling questions:
What can I do on the OS to take advantage of my new-found bandwidth. What settings can be tweaked in browsers, mail clients or multimedia apps? I know the hacks for Firefox, but anything else aside from the basics?
What would YOU do with the bandwidth? Any good free movie sites? (Yes, yes, bittorrent is your friend, let's keep it legal, please.) Also, there is a 100 GB cap per month to consider. I suppose I could serve up some content as well, if I really get motivated. I suppose I could go wireless and share it with a few neighbors, but I'm a selfish person.
I also know at those speeds the choke points are from the server side. But there have got to be servers out there dishing up high quality stuff at insane speeds. (Apple HD trailers, anyone?)
Little help?
(edit)
Silly 'mule forgot the specs:
DP G5 1.8 with 1.5 gigs of RAM running 10.4.2 and weak-kneed GeForce FX 5200.
Comments
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/26670
Originally posted by rentedmule
Second, I'm switching from 1.5 Mbit DSL to a slightly faster 10 (ten) Mbit fiber (down AND up for $39.95, eat your heart out!) It's on the iProvo network, in case you're wondering. Google is your friend.
I got an idea. Set up a wireless network and tell us where you live. 8)
Things that I do different
1. Have many things open in tabs with safari. I have a morning and evening bookmark with about 10 sites in each. I click on the bottom "Open in Tabs" so they are already there when I want to switch tabs.
2. Download more pictures like from Nasa
3. Send and recieve lots of pictures and video thru gmail with family.
reg
Originally posted by rentedmule
Also, there is a 100 GB cap per month to consider.
What are you downloading? Teh interweb?
Incidentally, she has mentioned that sending photos via email is now extremely snappy.
Lucky you, I have only got 2mbit....
Still, that's amazing, for only $39.95!!! excellent find.
Sorry rentedmule but if you ask me.. subsidized gubment owned high speed is pretty lame.
You hurt companies like mine which bring competition and lower prices and drive up consumer services.
I've got a my own 4.5 MB (3 T1s) dropped at my own residence.... for the nice price of Free. Broadband should be for the masses... but I don't support the iProvo type movement. Would you like your UT township to also own the phone lines? Cell phones? Cable company? Where do you draw the line?
I'm a democrat.. but I've got to say... they have no business getting involved. Often the excuse is 'nobody' would bring you broadband. What they mean is nobody could run a successful business at a 'consumer' friendly price.
"iwant. ican. iProvo"
You WANT a product that is typically only available in high population centers. You CAN't find a business to 'give it away'. So you and the rest of Provo build a 'public' network with fiber to every home which instantly makes it a monopoly market. Congrats. You just alienated every ILEC, CLEC or ISP who would have considered bring you services as you grew.
"The iProvo system is being built for the long term, using the public investment in the infrastructure as a means to opening the door to competitive, advanced telecommunication offerings by the private sector."
I love that last part... because no 'private sector' company will every bring you service now. You are fiber to the door. What can they offer? Vonage? Skype? Give me a break. You think your going to get a Wide Area Wifi company to come in? How about another cable company? Forget it. You've just turned off the very people who *would* be bringing you services. Congrats.
And when the city is crowded by thousands of kids on P2P networks sucking down every porn file they can find and torrenting out to the world.. are you going to self police and use their IP info to prosecute your own customers? Or are you going to have a terrific free-for-all of bandwidth hogs which will render your network in-effective? QOS is going to be a long standing problem.
Good luck to you I say.. and good riddance.
"This has nothing to do with a find. It's the bloody city."
"Sorry rentedmule but if you ask me.. subsidized gubment owned high speed is pretty lame."
Sorry Not Unlike Myself but if you ask me.. blood-sucking corporations who give inferior service at extravagent prices is pretty lame.
"You hurt companies like mine which bring competition and lower prices and drive up consumer services."
Until UTOPIA and iProvo started making noise, there was practically NO high-speed outside SLC. Prices for broadband were not falling but customer service was. (Qwest is the worst baby bell.) The companies that "bring competition and lower prices" told cities that they would bring broadband in if they promised not to join fiber networks. Thier plans for broadband in the area were practically non-existent until then.
"I've got a my own 4.5 MB (3 T1s) dropped at my own residence.... for the nice price of Free. Broadband should be for the masses... but I don't support the iProvo type movement. Would you like your UT township to also own the phone lines? Cell phones? Cable company? Where do you draw the line?"
Township? Provo isn't huge, but 115,000 people is hardly a township. Also, there are 2.5 million people within 90 miles of each other along the Wasatch Front and the area's growth rate is one of the highest in the nation. Governments are responsible on some level for roads, sewer, water, etc. Where do I draw the line? I don't. It's too gray.
And I want the best possible service. Sorry, but it's a coin toss whether corporations or the government suck worse in my book. Both take my money and I don't trust either.
"I'm a democrat.. but I've got to say... they have no business getting involved. Often the excuse is 'nobody' would bring you broadband. What they mean is nobody could run a successful business at a 'consumer' friendly price."
"iwant. ican. iProvo"
"You WANT a product that is typically only available in high population centers. You CAN't find a business to 'give it away'. So you and the rest of Provo build a 'public' network with fiber to every home which instantly makes it a monopoly market. Congrats. You just alienated every ILEC, CLEC or ISP who would have considered bring you services as you grew."
Provo (i.e Me) built the network with tax dollars but corporations actually run the services. And I'm sure an "alienated" ISP like Earthlink would say something like "Gee, we use Qwest's pathetic copper that the courts say they don't have to share but we're really not interested in using your fiber." I expect as the project matures, more ISPs and other businesses will come in to take advantage. Also, it makes Provo a very business friendly place for corporations that can take advantage of the fiber for other reasons looking to move in. (Hospitals, tech companies, etc.) Damn that government! Damn them! *shakes fist*
"The iProvo system is being built for the long term, using the public investment in the infrastructure as a means to opening the door to competitive, advanced telecommunication offerings by the private sector."
"I love that last part... because no 'private sector' company will every bring you service now. You are fiber to the door. What can they offer? Vonage? Skype? Give me a break. You think your going to get a Wide Area Wifi company to come in? How about another cable company? Forget it. You've just turned off the very people who *would* be bringing you services. Congrats."
Another cable company, another phone company? These guys (Comcast and Qwest) already have monopolies in the area.
"And when the city is crowded by thousands of kids on P2P networks sucking down every porn file they can find and torrenting out to the world.. are you going to self police and use their IP info to prosecute your own customers? Or are you going to have a terrific free-for-all of bandwidth hogs which will render your network in-effective? QOS is going to be a long standing problem."
Ah yes, the coup-de-whatever. "Won't someone think of the children?!?!?" Give me a break. Kids will do what they want when they want. And if Provo tries to filter their fiber (the ISPs do offer that service, much like every other ISP) then I'll do what I always do: vote and complain to the appropriate people.
"Good luck to you I say.. and good riddance."
Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll assume the "you" is referring to iProvo. If you were bidding good riddance to poor old rentedmule, then I'm sorry to say I'm not going anywhere for a while. Why would I? I've got 10Mbits up AND down.
p.s. It is a good argument to have, Not Unlike Myself, I just happen to disagree with you. Thanks to the rest for the suggestions.
Originally posted by rentedmule
...if you ask me.. blood-sucking corporations who give inferior service at extravagent prices is pretty lame.
Until UTOPIA and iProvo started making noise, there was practically NO high-speed outside SLC. Prices for broadband were not falling but customer service was. (Qwest is the worst baby bell.) The companies that "bring competition and lower prices" told cities that they would bring broadband in if they promised not to join fiber networks. Thier plans for broadband in the area were practically non-existent until then.
Township? Provo isn't huge, but 115,000 people is hardly a township. Also, there are 2.5 million people within 90 miles of each other along the Wasatch Front and the area's growth rate is one of the highest in the nation. Governments are responsible on some level for roads, sewer, water, etc. Where do I draw the line? I don't. It's too gray.
And I want the best possible service. Sorry, but it's a coin toss whether corporations or the government suck worse in my book. Both take my money and I don't trust either.
Provo (i.e Me) built the network with tax dollars but corporations actually run the services. And I'm sure an "alienated" ISP like Earthlink would say something like "Gee, we use Qwest's pathetic copper that the courts say they don't have to share but we're really not interested in using your fiber." I expect as the project matures, more ISPs and other businesses will come in to take advantage. Also, it makes Provo a very business friendly place for corporations that can take advantage of the fiber for other reasons looking to move in. (Hospitals, tech companies, etc.) Damn that government! Damn them! *shakes fist*
Another cable company, another phone company? These guys (Comcast and Qwest) already have monopolies in the area.
Ah yes, the coup-de-whatever. "Won't someone think of the children?!?!?" Give me a break. Kids will do what they want when they want. And if Provo tries to filter their fiber (the ISPs do offer that service, much like every other ISP) then I'll do what I always do: vote and complain to the appropriate people.
Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll assume the "you" is referring to iProvo. If you were bidding good riddance to poor old rentedmule, then I'm sorry to say I'm not going anywhere for a while. Why would I? I've got 10Mbits up AND down.
p.s. It is a good argument to have, Not Unlike Myself, I just happen to disagree with you. Thanks to the rest for the suggestions.
1) My company is in no way a blood sucker, nor do they charge extravagent prices nor is the service inferior. It's actually the opposite. You see you are taking your 'townships' service price as a 'reasonable' price. (which it isn't) You cannot successfully offer the service you are getting at that price. Any company would go bust. (think like passenger rail service and Amtrak) So your claim that traditional service is 'extravagent' in the pricing dept. doesn't stick. The service is equitable to what you are paying. Again since you aren't paying what your service is worth, the comparison isn't fair. Cable and DSL already provide speeds in excess of what Joe User needs. (case in point.. this thread.. which seeks new ways of saturating your connection. And to talk about blood sucking? Where do I begin? How about everyone in your city who pays taxes having their blood sucked (even if they are too poor to afford a computer to use your over-sexed connection?) At least the corporation only charges CUSTOMERS. (not neighbors of the customers and people in the projects)
2) I didn't mention roads, sewer, or water...you did.. I named communication mediums.. apples to apples here please.
3) The very point I was making is that you haven't made it a coin toss. You've sold the farm. It's a done deal. In essence you have made certain that there will never *be* a coin toss. Oh.. btw.. Corporations don't TAKE your money. YOU elect to pay them. Taxes.. (like what pays for your connection) *IS* taken. If you don't pay... you go to jail. There is a clear distinction between elected expense and legislated expense.
4) Business friendly? Sure... business love to have others pay for their stuff. Why not part of their Internet bill? The ethics of the situation never factor in... of course if you *really* wanted to be business friendly you could let competition and free markets flourish.. but then who likes that kind of 'wild' idea right? Much better to subsidized then to improvise.
5) The fact that kids will do what they want doesn't change the reality that you are going to be facilitating a world of social changes. (most not for the better)
6) I was referring to iProvo.. and being a nice guy or a parasite... I couldn't care less. While I can't blame you for getting broadband (heck, I'd leech too) I *can* say that the fact that you support the concept is disturbing to me. Then again.. being in that industry and seeing where this hits home may make me a bit touchy.
You are right about one thing... it is a good argument to have, however you do more then just happen to disagree with me...you also happen to be wrong.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
1) My company is in no way a blood sucker, nor do they charge extravagent prices nor is the service inferior. It's actually the opposite.
-snip-
Every ISP provider in the USA charges far more then a reasonable price for broadband when compared to the prices of pacific rim countries (you can get 26Mbps with IP phone for about $25 a month from yahoo BB in japan).
We need to open up the monopoly on the copper held by the damn telcoms. Let any company use the lines without ridiculously high fees and competition would drive the prices of broadband down to reasonable levels similar to the ones found in Japan, Taiwan, etc.
-Snip-
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
Cable and DSL already provide speeds in excess of what Joe User needs. (case in point.. this thread.. which seeks new ways of saturating your connection.
Totally untrue. The annoying attitude held by many ISP that things are "fast enough" is stifling innovations and keeping all sorts of wonderful tech and services from the American citizens. Many companies don't even give you enough upload speed to handle playing online games or to do video conferencing (which is about to explode with the addition of a video camera to every iMac, and needs upload speeds of 1000 Kbps for the host).
And don't forget that many homes have more than one computer and frequently have several people doing multiple tasks on their computers at once, which can use a lot of bandwidth.
If bandwidth was priced lower, each "joe User" household would easily put a 10Mb up and down line to good use.
reg
Originally posted by Res
Every ISP provider in the USA charges far more then a reasonable price for broadband when compared to the prices of pacific rim countries (you can get 26Mbps with IP phone for about $25 a month from yahoo BB in japan).
We need to open up the monopoly on the copper held by the damn telcoms. Let any company use the lines without ridiculously high fees and competition would drive the prices of broadband down to reasonable levels similar to the ones found in Japan, Taiwan, etc.
-Snip-
Totally untrue. The annoying attitude held by many ISP that things are "fast enough" is stifling innovations and keeping all sorts of wonderful tech and services from the American citizens. Many companies don't even give you enough upload speed to handle playing online games or to do video conferencing (which is about to explode with the addition of a video camera to every iMac, and needs upload speeds of 1000 Kbps for the host).
And don't forget that many homes have more than one computer and frequently have several people doing multiple tasks on their computers at once, which can use a lot of bandwidth.
If bandwidth was priced lower, each "joe User" household would easily put a 10Mb up and down line to good use.
Sure glad we have you around to tell us what is a 'reasonable price'. Last time I check.. we don't live in the pacific rim. We don't have their architecture, we don't have their desire to expand. (and thats consumer driven bucko)
Further.. those "damn telcoms" you refer to are the ones who LAYED the copper you now seek to use. Tell ya what.. lets wait till your neighbor puts in a natural gas line.. then you can go demand that he carry gas to YOUR door too. In most places these are already de-regulated. My company leases hundreds of thousands of those lines... and a very reasonable fee.
Competition? Hum... you can get DSL for $25 or less in almost every metro. Remember.. we aren't a tiny little island like Japan. We have a continent to cross. That's a lot of cable. If there were no competition.. you'd still be paying $150 for an SDSL/ADSL or ISDN.
Totally untrue?
These companies aren't "keeping you down". How inane are you? The iChat scales based on bandwidth available. (if you read) and your inability to stuff stacks of MB of data upstream sounds like a personal problem) After all it's your 'right' to play network games.
I repeat.. the average Joe user is MORE then adequately served by broadband offerings available today.. Just because YOU P2P and network game your life away doesn't mean mom and dad at home do. They check email, browse the web, and occasionally download files. Very little in the upstream direction.
You make a big statement.. "If bandwidth priced lower?...." It *is* low already.. and to get lower you have to have growth. But folks doing what Provo did aren't going to help that. Hope they are happy with fiber 50 years from now.. because that's all they'll have. While other markets continue to grow and expand into wireless.
It astounds me the glut of un-informed factless 'internet generation' running around preaching their own internet religion. Spend 10 minutes talking with a CEO of a telco and you'll understand the challenges it takes to bring you your precious bandwidth. It's like crack for a new generation.. and you are an addict.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
Sure glad we have you around to tell us what is a 'reasonable price'. Last time I check.. we don't live in the pacific rim. We don't have their architecture, we don't have their desire to expand. (and thats consumer driven bucko)
Always glad to help educate the ignorant, especially the ones who work for Telecos or ISPs
It is not just in the pacific rim -- reasonable rates are also available right here in the USA, like Verison's 15 Mbps/2 Mbps for $44.95. Unfortunately, most ISPs give their customers a much higher cost per Mbps of bandwidth.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
:Competition? Hum... you can get DSL for $25 or less in almost every metro. Remember.. we aren't a tiny little island like Japan. We have a continent to cross. That's a lot of cable. If there were no competition.. you'd still be paying $150 for an SDSL/ADSL or ISDN.
That is $25 or less for what speeds?
Lets take a look at Bell South DSL
$24.95 Up to 256Kbps/128Kbps
$32.95 Up to 1.5Mbps/ 256Kbps
$42.95 Up to 3Mbps/ 384Kbps (very limited availability)
Bell South has no real competition, so they continue to offer minimal service for maximum charges. And of course, all of the above comes with bell south's usual port blocking (we need to pass a law against the blanket blocking of standard internet ports).
Here in memphis you still need to pay $250 a month to get something with a 1.1Mbps upload speed. (Which is actually a 20% higher cost then it was back when I had my 1.1Mbps SDSL line in 2001.)
Why is our broadband so bad here? Because we don't have enough competition (and Bell South has done everything in its power to prevent it).
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
:
Totally untrue?
These companies aren't "keeping you down". How inane are you? The iChat scales based on bandwidth available. (if you read) and your inability to stuff stacks of MB of data upstream sounds like a personal problem) After all it's your 'right' to play network games.
I repeat.. the average Joe user is MORE then adequately served by broadband offerings available today.. Just because YOU P2P and network game your life away doesn't mean mom and dad at home do. They check email, browse the web, and occasionally download files. Very little in the upstream direction.
You are so wrong here, and unfortunately yours is an attitude that is held by far too many in the telecom business. "MORE then adequately served"
Have you ever even tried to use video conferencing in iChat when everyone has a 128 upstream limit? I have and it is not usable.
Have you ever tried sending pictures of your kids to their grandparents to print out, or sent them a home video (to play on TV)? How about sending your pictures over the net to be bound into a photo book? All extremely unpleasant to experiences with the low upload speeds given by most ISPs.
Nowadays mom and dad at home would love to do things that require a lot more bandwidth then Bell South and most other ISPs is selling. It is a bit of the chicken or the egg problem, but be sure that if people had decent up and down bandwidth they would take advantage use it.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
You make a big statement.. "If bandwidth priced lower?...." It *is* low already.. and to get lower you have to have growth. But folks doing what Provo did aren't going to help that. Hope they are happy with fiber 50 years from now.. because that's all they'll have. While other markets continue to grow and expand into wireless. [/B]
Actually, I think that municipalities taking matters into there own hands when the ISPs cannot (or will not) provide for the bandwidth needs of the residents is very good idea. Why should the people suffer without decent bandwidth, hoping that someday down the road an ISP might deign to give them the desired service, when they can do it themselves right now? And for your snippy "Hope they are happy with fiber 50 years from now.. because that's all they'll have" statement -- they can always upgrade their own network, add wireless etc.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
It astounds me the glut of un-informed factless 'internet generation' running around preaching their own internet religion. Spend 10 minutes talking with a CEO of a telco and you'll understand the challenges it takes to bring you your precious bandwidth. It's like crack for a new generation.. and you are an addict. [/B]
LOL - if you think that spending 10 minutes with a CEO will give you an understanding of the ins and outs of supplying bandwidth you are insane. And your crack analogy is quite poor -- a better one can be made using ground transportation, highway infrastructure, and vehicle speeds, but I don't see a need for analogies.
The cost of actually sending information over the network backbones is not that high, which is why some providers can give out 15 Mbps/2 Mbps lines for $44.95, and web hosting companies can give you plans with 150GB of transfers for five bucks: so why is the cost of an SDSL line so high in Memphis? Because there is a lack of real competition. The technology exists, the equipment costs (DSLAMs, etc.) has dropped through the floor, but without competition there is no impetus for the Bell South to offer better service or lower prices. Not having fiber running to everyones home is understandable, running new cable is expensive, but not offering things like G.SHDSL which has a comparatively small outlay of initial funds and can give the customers symmetrical 2.3Mbps (and 4.6 Mbps over two pairs) is really galling.
Of course, since you, I quote -- "...got a my own 4.5 MB (3 T1s) dropped at my own residence.... for the nice price of Free" I can understand why you think the current bandwith and pricing is fair and good...
Back on topic: rentedmule -- congratulations on the bandwidth -- almost makes me want to move!
Originally posted by Res
-stuff-
Sigh....
No... bandwith across the real backbone of the world isn't as cheap as you pretend to imagine. 150 GB web hosting for $5 averages out across ALL the users (and since most personal sites don't even do 150 MB a month it all works out) Same way gmail gives you TONS of free space.. but nobody really fills it.
And no.. the hardward for the infrastructure hasn't gotten 'cheap'. Cisco, Adtran and everyone else comes out with new stuff all the time. It can take years to roll out a new technology.
Why is it more expensive in Memphis? Why not call and find out? I'm sure you have a phone book somewhere... seriously.. call them up... ask to speak to someone about their infrastructure and complain. You'll feel a lot better.
iChat (your benchmark of choice) is an application. As long as developers have blood in their bodies.. they'll continue to outpace the network in terms of utilizing bandwidth.
It's easy to see how *OTHER* places get cheaper internet. When you come from zero and build the infrastructure in the first place it's easier to re-coupe costs. As it is.. expansion is rarely pro-active. When demand rises.. business comes in and picks up the slack. Tell ya what.. You front the 100k to run fiber out to your house.. and then sell it to your neighbors..
From the way I see it.. you are taking your personal ISP situation and using it as a model to explain telecommerce.
You don't wave a wand over the wires as magically get 15 MB up and 2 MB down.. it takes network planning, facilites managment, massive hardware costs, contractors, unions, permits, leases, co-los, new COs, an a virtual spiderweb of subdevices before you can even get basic DSL. Your talking about brining serious trunking and aggregation to rural areas (yes... Memphis is rurul) which cannot sustain the costs. Not to even mention the cost of marketing the goods, and an enourmous support organization to service customers. It take NOCs, and Call Centers with a staff of hundreds to support a major city.
I don't think your "comparatively small outlay of initial funds" is a fair portrayal G.SHDSL ....
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
Sigh....
No... bandwith across the real backbone of the world isn't as cheap as you pretend to imagine. 150 GB web hosting for $5 averages out across ALL the users (and since most personal sites don't even do 150 MB a month it all works out) Same way gmail gives you TONS of free space.. but nobody really fills it.
I was an owner and manger of a web hosting company for five years, and you are quite right that most sites come nowhere near their allotted bandwidth usage. But I see you ignored the 15 Mbps/2 Mbps for $44.95 from version, which does help show that it is not the cost of the moving data along the backbone that is keeping prices high and performance low. Also, you can look at the cost of 1.5Mbps SDSL lines and see that for the cost of about four of them you can get a 45 Mbps line. I am not pretending that the cost of moving data across the backbone is free, but it is not all that expensive, and certainly not the driving force behind the high cost of SDSL lines.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
And no.. the hardward for the infrastructure hasn't gotten 'cheap'. Cisco, Adtran and everyone else comes out with new stuff all the time. It can take years to roll out a new technology.
Compared to what it was 15 years ago the prices for things like DSLAMS have fallen drastically.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
Why is it more expensive in Memphis? Why not call and find out? I'm sure you have a phone book somewhere... seriously.. call them up... ask to speak to someone about their infrastructure and complain. You'll feel a lot better.
It's easy to see how *OTHER* places get cheaper internet. When you come from zero and build the infrastructure in the first place it's easier to re-coupe costs. As it is.. expansion is rarely pro-active. When demand rises.. business comes in and picks up the slack. Tell ya what.. You front the 100k to run fiber out to your house.. and then sell it to your neighbors..
I have talked to the companies that provide service in the Memphis area. It bacally comes down to a lack of competition. Since there is very little real competition, Bell South has no impetus to provide better service (and like all RBOCs they do everything possible to prevent any fair competition).
Funny you should mention starting up an ISP. A friend of mine started an ISP up in new york in nineties (it was bought out recently), so it would be a possibility. But I'm in the middle of starting up a game company (which is far more fun).
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
iChat (your benchmark of choice) is an application. As long as developers have blood in their bodies.. they'll continue to outpace the network in terms of utilizing bandwidth.
From the way I see it.. you are taking your personal ISP situation and using it as a model to explain telecommerce.
Actually, iChat was only one of several reasons I gave off the top of my head for why people might want more upstream bandwidth than is currently being offered by Bell South (and most other providers). Since it was first introduced, I have been speaking out against the asynchronous data paradigm -- it is short sighted and curtails all sorts of services and new markets.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
You don't wave a wand over the wires as magically get 15 MB up and 2 MB down.. it takes network planning, facilites managment, massive hardware costs, contractors, unions, permits, leases, co-los, new COs, an a virtual spiderweb of subdevices before you can even get basic DSL. Your talking about brining serious trunking and aggregation to rural areas (yes... Memphis is rurul) which cannot sustain the costs. Not to even mention the cost of marketing the goods, and an enourmous support organization to service customers. It take NOCs, and Call Centers with a staff of hundreds to support a major city.
I don't think your "comparatively small outlay of initial funds" is a fair portrayal G.SHDSL ....
I never said that you could wave a magic wand and get 15 MB up and 2 MB down, in fact I said that it is understandable that the providers cannot run fiber to everyones house. And why don't you think that providing G.SHDSL is a small outlay of initial funds when compared to installing fiber to everyones house??? If you already have the infrastructure for DSL, adding to G.SHDSL is not all that expensive.
In my mind the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been a failure. It is competition that sparks innovation and drive up service while driving down prices. The main problem we have is that the Regional Bells are monopolies that do not allow competition. We need to break those monopolies make it easier for small ISPs to enter the marketplace. There are antitrust lawsuits against the RBOCs in the courts, but I doubt they will do much good. I think it will take a new Telecommunications Act to loosen the RBOCs stranglehold on competition.
Instead of blaming monopolies, which I'm not a big fan of either, you should blame your decision to live outside of a city. In fact, if it weren't for the government sponsored highway program in the 50's, I don't think we'd have these monopoly problems with trains and communications. Of course, Memphis would still be mostly undeveloped, as would be Provo.
Originally posted by Splinemodel
Perhaps the communications cost, which you deem is costly, is re-couped by the low real estate costs in Memphis. Even in American cities, the cost of high speed communications is pretty cheap. . . My somewhat implicit example, which seemed to get buried by banter, was that my Mom, who lives in DC, gets fiber for the same price she used to pay for basic DSL. This is from Verizon, I believe.
Instead of blaming monopolies, which I'm not a big fan of either, you should blame your decision to live outside of a city. In fact, if it weren't for the government sponsored highway program in the 50's, I don't think we'd have these monopoly problems with trains and communications. Of course, Memphis would still be mostly undeveloped, as would be Provo.
It is even worse in my apartment in Manhattan. The costs for SDSL lines is the same ridiculously high price, and when I tried to get a dsl line form a covad reseller, Verison could not find a good pair of copper for them (but Verison had no problem finding copper for their own dsl service to the apartment). All of the RBOCs are abusive monopolies that do everything in their power to stifle competition. They are even getting legislation passed that prevents communities form creating there own internet services.
There is a very untechnical artical that gives an overview of the current situation in Salon