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So nice to read about all this exciting network technology that won't matter at all because CenturyLink and Verizon et al are still going to artificially thrott

by Jgrubb 12y ago

So nice to read about all this exciting network technology that won't matter at all because CenturyLink and Verizon et al are still going to artificially throttle the services I would use them for. Thank you to the engineers for still trying, though.

eksith 12y ago
Friend of mine is still on EarthLink DSL, as Verizon wouldn't rollout to her town, and I think they're really the market for this. I can't be sure about this, but I've read somewhere that FiOS has stopped new deployments. In a lot of these places, CenturyLink isn't available and everyone hates Comcast, so the few independent ISPs around may benefit along with their customers.
Aloha 12y ago
Throttling is irrelevant if the fastest connection you can get is less than a T1 in speeds, and for those outside of the big city, thats the reality.
mikeash 12y ago
I moved a couple of years ago. At my old place, I had the choice between cable and DSL. Verizon was the DSL provider, and the best they could give me was 1.5Mbps. I went with cable. At my new place, I have the choice between cable and fiber. Verizon is the fiber provider, and they'll happily sell me up to 500Mbps if I want to pay for it, and they deliver. That's symmetrical, too, as of a couple of months ago. I'm not a fan of big ISPs, but I don't think it's quite as bad as you say either.
- lern_too_spel 12y ago
  He's referring to http://blog.level3.com/open-internet/verizons-accidental-mea-culpa/ http://blog.level3.com/open-internet/verizons-accidental-mea.... Verizon will happily take your money to give you 500 Mbps to anything on their own network, but for anything on the internet at large, be prepared to wait during peak traffic hours.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    I've had occasional problems with YouTube (I don't use Netflix) so it's true that this is a real problem, but for 99% of what I do, I'm able to max out my 300Mbps with no problem as long as the other end can do it too. I don't mean to cheerlead for Verizon here, but the fact is that higher speeds aren't made pointless, even if they're not quite as good as they could be.
    - lern_too_spel 12y ago
      It's peak usage traffic that's affected. During the day, when nobody is using the network, it should be pretty zippy. In the evening, their connections to the internet will be congested, and I wouldn't be surprised if you had trouble with 1 Mbps streams. It's ludicrous that they charge for 300 Mbps service while actually providing measurably worse service than 20 Mbps Sonic DSL, and they have gotten away with it.
      - mikeash 12y ago
        I occasionally notice trouble with YouTube at peak hours, but never anywhere else. So while it's not ideal, it's still really good.
rhino369 12y ago
Verizon is great other than whatever transit provider is providing Netflix (L3 or cogent). Even that is rapidly being fixed. You can rag on Verizon for being anti net neutrality, but they are the only significant deployment of fiber to the home in the USA.

by Jgrubb 12y ago

eksith 12y ago

Friend of mine is still on EarthLink DSL, as Verizon wouldn't rollout to her town, and I think they're really the market for this. I can't be sure about this, but I've read somewhere that FiOS has stopped new deployments. In a lot of these places, CenturyLink isn't available and everyone hates Comcast, so the few independent ISPs around may benefit along with their customers.

Aloha 12y ago

Throttling is irrelevant if the fastest connection you can get is less than a T1 in speeds, and for those outside of the big city, thats the reality.

mikeash 12y ago

I moved a couple of years ago. At my old place, I had the choice between cable and DSL. Verizon was the DSL provider, and the best they could give me was 1.5Mbps. I went with cable. At my new place, I have the choice between cable and fiber. Verizon is the fiber provider, and they'll happily sell me up to 500Mbps if I want to pay for it, and they deliver. That's symmetrical, too, as of a couple of months ago. I'm not a fan of big ISPs, but I don't think it's quite as bad as you say either.

lern_too_spel 12y ago
He's referring to http://blog.level3.com/open-internet/verizons-accidental-mea-culpa/ http://blog.level3.com/open-internet/verizons-accidental-mea.... Verizon will happily take your money to give you 500 Mbps to anything on their own network, but for anything on the internet at large, be prepared to wait during peak traffic hours.
- mikeash 12y ago
  I've had occasional problems with YouTube (I don't use Netflix) so it's true that this is a real problem, but for 99% of what I do, I'm able to max out my 300Mbps with no problem as long as the other end can do it too. I don't mean to cheerlead for Verizon here, but the fact is that higher speeds aren't made pointless, even if they're not quite as good as they could be.
  - lern_too_spel 12y ago
    It's peak usage traffic that's affected. During the day, when nobody is using the network, it should be pretty zippy. In the evening, their connections to the internet will be congested, and I wouldn't be surprised if you had trouble with 1 Mbps streams. It's ludicrous that they charge for 300 Mbps service while actually providing measurably worse service than 20 Mbps Sonic DSL, and they have gotten away with it.
    - mikeash 12y ago
      I occasionally notice trouble with YouTube at peak hours, but never anywhere else. So while it's not ideal, it's still really good.

rhino369 12y ago

Verizon is great other than whatever transit provider is providing Netflix (L3 or cogent). Even that is rapidly being fixed. You can rag on Verizon for being anti net neutrality, but they are the only significant deployment of fiber to the home in the USA.