Internet Speed Recommendations

[FlashLackey]

So, Comcast is now offering up to their fastest tier in our area ("Extreme 50", 50Mbps down, 10 up).

They have tiers in between: http://www.comcast.com/shop/buyflow2...ePage=Internet

Anyone have experience using connections that fast? I would be willing to go with the fastest tier if it truly works out to almost 50% faster than the 30 Mbps deal. However, my concern is that at some point, the speed won't be any faster due to bandwidth caps of the sources to download from.

Thoughts? Experience? Suggestions?

[silverx2]

unless your planning on doing something that requires that much speed why bother?

are you going to stream 4 hd movies at the same time? transfer large amounts of data to a remote site? are you planning on hosting a server in which people connect to?

[gerbick]

I'm happy with 10mb right now. Just upped a 2gb database a lot faster than my prior 6mb connection.

[FlashLackey]

unless your planning on doing something that requires that much speed why bother?

are you going to stream 4 hd movies at the same time? transfer large amounts of data to a remote site? are you planning on hosting a server in which people connect to?

I'm not doing anything like that. I don't "require" that much speed. However, due to my job, I spend a lot of time on-line. So, if that much bandwidth == that much more speed, it would help me do my job faster when transferring files, updating SVN repositories, etc.

I know that I would enjoy additional speed. So, what it comes down to for me is whether or not the greater bandwidth actually leads to that much more speed in practice. I'm hoping someone around here has tried it out and can say whether or not it was noticeable, a little noticeable, hugely noticeable, a world of difference?

[hanratty21]

I used to have Comcast and was annoyed that my speed would throttle up and down throughout the day. I have ATT U-verse with an 6MB/1MB down/up connection right now and it's the same no matter what time of day. If you are working from home, your speed might be varying at various times -- you should check that out to make sure you at least get what you are paying for. I remember with Comcast sometimes seeing my speed numbers go down to 1/2 of what the advertised "up to" speed was.

[FlashLackey]

Good point. I'll ask them about that.

My concern is the "up to" part of "up to 50Mbps".

[FlashLackey]

This had a lot of helpful info about where the tech is at now: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...-gets-slow.ars

I'm going to try the ultra tier and see how much of a difference it makes. I figure that should give me an idea of whether or not there are speeds commonly available above, given all of the factors that go into it.

[hanratty21]

To be honest, I wouldn't even be so concerned with the download - I rarely hit a bottleneck with that...the upload is usually my bigger concern.

[FlashLackey]

Indeed. I'll be going from 3Mbps to 7 up. So, it should be very noticeable, in theory.

[jAQUAN]

I'm not sure it's worth the extra scratch. SVN and ftp certainly get faster but most large web files only need to be upped once. I do that in the background and usually forget about it before it finishes.

[FlashLackey]

Yeah. It's definitely faster. I can be downloading/uploading more at the same time without a slow-down. But, it's not as much of an improvement as I had hoped. Plus, it seems that there is some kind of problem because the modem loses connection occasionally and has to be reset to get back on-line.

So, I'm not too compelled to upgrade to the top tier.

[HatsOff]

I have 10MB down, I could maybe use another 3 or 5, but other than that i'm fine. what i would kill for would be more up speed, i'm stuck on 28k up, ouch. I'd say whats the asking price? and how much is that figure worth to you in relation to the speed. if you can afford it with ease, i'd say go for it. if anything just to let the world know that speeds are getting faster, and that we should keep designing bigger and better things simply because we can. keep pushing that bar up.

[FlashLackey]

I can afford and justify the expense. But, it's senseless to pay more if what I get in return isn't a 1:1 difference for the dollar.

The current tier that I'm on is $60/month. It gives up to 30Mbps down and 7Mbps up.

There is one tier above that that is 50Mbps down and 10Mbps up for $100/month.

Given that I haven't noticed an overwhelming difference from the 15 to 30Mbps plan, it doesn't seem likely that going to 50Mbps will really give me 65% more value in return for the 65% jump in price.

[Who knows though. Maybe something behind the scenes frees up the line more than this tier. There are so many factors involved that it's difficult to tell without trying it. Maybe I'll have them set me up with the top tier for a month to see...]

[silverx2]

the only way you are really going to notice it, is if you are running at capacity. from what you have described it doesnt seem as if thats the case.

[jAQUAN]

I'm with cox so I don't know but does comcast have a business plan or is that what you're talking about?

Hopefully they'll let you try it for a month. Some providers won't give you jack without at least a 3mo. contract.

[FlashLackey]

This is their home use plan. But, apparently the upper DOCSIS 3 tiers aren't available in all areas yet.

I have the DOCSIS 3 modem for the ultra (second to fastest) tier now. Switching to the Extreme 50 (fastest) or back should just be a phone call and a firm-ware push. So, I would be surprised if they would require more than a month. I'll save trying it for a rainy day though.