OMG

[Imakeholesinu]

3MB dsl is SO MUCH FASTER than 768k DSL. FUCK YEAH!!!

That is all.

[SineSwiper]

Pfffft...I've been enjoying 10Mbps downloads via cable for years. And that's not even their highest level of service. We're almost ready to launch 50Mbps soon.

[Imakeholesinu]

I almost went cable. I've only had AT&T internet service and was fed up with just 768k dsl. I called retensions and they told me they could get me 3MB for $30. Charter offered 16MB for that price but Charter has had major issues here in STL recently (some of my co-workers use it and have had issues with sub-standard hardware, uptime and support in the last 6). I even bought a cable modem thinking I was going to have to switch. 3MB is fine for what I do. I can browse the web now and download something at the same time.

[Anarky]

Before I moved in with my girlfriend I had 25Mbps cable... it was fucking glorious.

[Zeus]

I'm forced to live with 5mbit service to avoid the retarded 60GB limits Rogers and Bell hose people with up here (and it costs over $50 to get that). If I'm lucky, I'll be able to eventually upgrade to 7mbit if Primus ever expands their network to my area

[Flip]

Yeah i do the Verizon DSL 3mb speeds and am very happy with it. Its $35 a month and i thought about doing the $40 7mb. There is a 15mp plan, too, i didnt think DSL could get that fast!

[Flip]

Pfffft...I've been enjoying 10Mbps downloads via cable for years. And that's not even their highest level of service. We're almost ready to launch 50Mbps soon.

Comcast has the 50mb in my area, but its $115 a month! DSL is way more economical, the 1.5mb comcast option $40 and the next tier is 15mb for $60.

EDIT: i researched the hell out of this 6 months or so ago when i needed to switch. I looked at the satellite options, too, but they are way expensive and probably meant for rural areas that dont get cable or dsl...

[SineSwiper]

Heh, I didn't say 50Mbps was cheap.

[Zeus]

Pfffft...I've been enjoying 10Mbps downloads via cable for years. And that's not even their highest level of service. We're almost ready to launch 50Mbps soon.

Comcast has the 50mb in my area, but its $115 a month! DSL is way more economical, the 1.5mb comcast option $40 and the next tier is 15mb for $60.

EDIT: i researched the hell out of this 6 months or so ago when i needed to switch. I looked at the satellite options, too, but they are way expensive and probably meant for rural areas that dont get cable or dsl...

These are the current the prices at Rogers:

500kbps dload / 256 kbps uload / 2GB limit = $28 / month
3MB/sec dload / 256 kbps uload / 15GB limit = $36 / month
10MB/sec dload / 512 kbps uload / 60GB limit = $47 / month
15MB/sec dload / 1MB uload / 80GB limit = $60 / month
25MB/sec dload / 1MB uload / 125GB limit = $70 / month
50MB/sec dload / 2MB uload / 175GB limit = $100 / month

I'd do some Bell comparisons, but the price on their website comes only as bundled prices and I can be bothered to navigate that horribly-designed site to figure out the real prices

You automatically eliminate the bottom two, they're pretty useless to basically anyone here. So you're left with min $47 for 10MB service and 60GB. For someone like me, that's not worth it. First, I download and upload more than that a month. My wife alone uses a good 20 or so as she grabs about 7 shows week during peak time. And I'm not a hit and run prick, I do actually upload. Also, the d'load speeds are rarely that fast, it's more like 7mbit in most place. You'd have to be in downtown Toronto right beside the hub. My usage means the $60 option is out as well, so that leaves the $70 option as my first feasible choice. And I'd STILL have to worry about some of the big torrents that I may want to grab (like complete series'), it's not like that's unlimited.

Not that great of a deal, huh? Sad part is, it's actually gotten better over the least few years due to the competition the ex-monopolies have been forced to endure. 2 years ago when I left, you would have to move those prices down a level, the top one was closer to $125 or something. You guys wanna still complain? Try dealing with what we deal with up here. I won't even start showing you our cell plans.....

[Eric]

Download...limits?

[SineSwiper]

Yeah, ISPs are realizing that the last mile bandwidth is getting chewed up by 1% of their customers. Although, 60GB is pretty damn low. Comcast started with 250GB a month, which is pretty reasonable. Even 150GB is reasonable.

We generally have a 10:1 ratio for down:up.

[Zeus]

Download...limits?

I don't have any limits now, but I'm also stuck with a 5 mbit connection 'cause of it. And Bell (I have Primus which rents from Bell under forced rules) even chokes me every once in a while 'cause they can even though they're not allowed to. But it's not like the CRTC is gonna bite the hand that feeds them....

[Imakeholesinu]

Hopefully net neutrality down here will eliminate those 'limits' and 'overages' down here.

[SineSwiper]

Hopefully net neutrality down here will eliminate those 'limits' and 'overages' down here.

Net neutrality started those limits and overages. Before NN, ISPs were fine limiting just P2P connections. Now, it's a global limit on anything, because it's protocol neutral.

Thanks, Net Neutrality!

[SineSwiper]

Oh and:

[Zeus]

Oh and:

Download speeds are not a nerd's equivalent of a jock's penis-extending car.

[SineSwiper]

Download speeds are not a nerd's equivalent of a jock's penis-extending car.

Yes, it is. If you had 50Mbps or 100Mbps, would you really notice? So you download a file in 1 second instead of 3 seconds? So what?

[Zeus]

Download speeds are not a nerd's equivalent of a jock's penis-extending car.

Yes, it is. If you had 50Mbps or 100Mbps, would you really notice? So you download a file in 1 second instead of 3 seconds? So what?

This is why I don't really complain about my speeds. I may be only 5mbits but I have unlimited bandwidth usage. That's more important to me

But yes, you can actually notice more on the lower scale. Would I notice the difference between 1mbit and 10mbit? Sure. With 10, I can d'load that movie and watch it in about 10-20 minutes. With 1mbit, it's bare minimum 2 hours, closer to 4 or 5. That's an entire evening you're waiting extra and can change your plans for that evening (look at the figures I put up earlier, that's a real problem up here) and that's magnified if I start wanting HD-quality. Imagine what it's going to be like in the future when the sizes get bigger for other reasons (like, maybe, glasses-free 3D?). Me, personally, I'm not a part of the cellphone generation, I can plan ahead or I can just wait. I not impatient and don't need instant satisfaction, it's no big deal. But my kids might find it annoying when they get older. And it certainly is a noticeable difference now, at least up here. The upper end is prohibitively expensive for a lot of families who care about saving money for their kids' futures.

And if we let predatory ex-monopolies artificially put very severe limits on the network capabilities of our infrastructure and pour large amounts of money into lobbying regulatory agencies so they can oversell their capacity and don't have to make capital investments like they would normally need to in a properly competitive marketplace, the future options will be closer to that of newly-emerging societies as opposed to a world-leading society like our politicians and people like to pretend we are.