U.S. Broadband Is Slow

[Y3k Bug]

I found this to be an interesting article in light of the push by certain companies to have downloaded movies be the wave of the future:

Surprise, Surprise: U.S. Broadband Is Slow. Really Slow

Some snippets of the article:

Chicago (IL) - U.S. broadband speeds are the focus of a recently conducted study by Communications Workers of America (CWA) union and the results are not especially flattering for broadband service providers on these shores. The U.S. comes in 15th on a worldwide scale, far behind the leaders Japan, South Korea and Finland.

A file that takes four minutes to download in South Korea would take nearly an hour and a half to download in the U.S. using the average bandwidth. Japanese users leaves U.S. users behind with an eye-popping 63.60 Mb/s download link. This means that Japanese can download an entire movie in just two minutes, as opposed to two hours or more here in the U.S. Just in case you are wondering: No, Japanese users do not pay more for their broadband connections. In fact, U.S. broadband cost is among the highest in the world.

I live in one of the states where the speed has actually decreased, lucky me. I wonder if I can just run a REALLY long network cable from Japan...hmmm.

[sssick]

Isn't that the American way? Less product for more money?

[ZackL]

Originally Posted by Y3k Bug

I found this to be an interesting article in light of the push by certain companies to have downloaded movies be the wave of the future:

Surprise, Surprise: U.S. Broadband Is Slow. Really Slow

Some snippets of the article:




I live in one of the states where the speed has actually decreased, lucky me. I wonder if I can just run a REALLY long network cable from Japan...hmmm.

Yeah, ive got family in Finland and it's much quicker.

[cravnsn]

Probably unrelated, but lately my Comcast (Twin Cities MN area) has been really bad. Long load times & pauses, even after cleaning up with ant-ad-ware programs

[ThePhantomOak]

Originally Posted by sssick

Isn't that the American way? Less product for more money?

Business is business. Americans have no problem paying for it, te demand for faster internet is not backed up with consumer money of government regulation, so the status quo continues.

I pay $14 for 1MB upload. Not bad, but it is a promotional deal.

[sssick]

Originally Posted by ThePhantomOak

Business is business. Americans have no problem paying for it, te demand for faster internet is not backed up with consumer money of government regulation, so the status quo continues.

I pay $14 for 1MB upload. Not bad, but it is a promotional deal.

I'm not complaining, just stating fact.

Plus, I have Fios 20 meg for $39.99.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Originally Posted by sssick

I'm not complaining, just stating fact.

Plus, I have Fios 20 meg for $39.99.

You're lucky. Here in Ireland, the fastest speed that I know of (15 meg) costs a hefty €110 a month. Who do they think we have, loaded pockets?

[nelsona]

My only two issues with the article are:

1. Land mass, easier to have a high speed infrastructure when your country is the size of Montana vs all 50 states.

2. 63Mb/s would be awesome, you won't see that speed from Japan to the US. On a speedtest my connection drops in speed by over half going from here to Tokyo.

With that said, I hope the report helps bring faster speeds in this country.

[raginranger]

If speeds here were that fast, it would legitimize downloads as a viable source of purchasing movies thereby decreasing the success for blu-ray. Is that what you really want?

[ECWaenigma]

We're all getting screwed because we're all addicted to it, just like gas.

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Well, there is fios. No matter how expensive it is (Verizon has it starting for $49.99 per month) it's really fast.

Mine currently has about 6000kbps down and 500kbps up.

[arush5268d]

I get a nice 6mb down, 512 up on my DSL for $39.99 USD. But yes, faster would definately be nice...just don't wanna pay the massive increase in price for it...

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by arush5268d

I get a nice 6mb down, 512 up on my DSL for $39.99 USD. But yes, faster would definately be nice...just don't wanna pay the massive increase in price for it...

Same as mine only I get it for $29.99 per month. Road Runner?

[arush5268d]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

Same as mine only I get it for $29.99 per month. Road Runner?

Consolidated Communications. Started out as telephone company, but they now do voice, video, and data. Customer services blows....video service is a joke...but you do get what you pay for with their DSL service!

[sssick]

Originally Posted by Nerdkiller likes BD

You're lucky. Here in Ireland, the fastest speed that I know of (15 meg) costs a hefty €110 a month. Who do they think we have, loaded pockets?

I'm Irish, but I'm glad I don't live there.

[Bizi Jones]

Originally Posted by sssick

Isn't that the American way? Less product for more money?

eh, I think you're thinking Canada....44 a month for ~6 down ~600 up +
25 for unlimited bandwidth (60g cap) + tax = huge ass rip off...and since there's only 2 providers in the area its about the same rip off either way...

I wish we could get ripped off like in the US...

[ThePhantomOak]

Originally Posted by sssick

I'm not complaining, just stating fact.

Plus, I have Fios 20 meg for $39.99.

Oh, sorry, I was just piggybacking on your sarcastic comment (if i read it right)... Not a slam on you in any way...

[Layd Dly]

I guess i am not doing to bad at 15mb Down and 2mb Up since Road Runner just upgraded, i would like at least 4-5 up but o well, i was just at 7 Up and 1 Down.

[Clark Kent]

Countries like Japan have a much easier time of wiring broadband for everyone because of population density. The U.S. has its population spread out over 3000 miles from coast to coast. When the market demands faster broadband in the U.S., it will come.

[Betty Page]

my internet is ALWAYS slow lol