FCC redefines "broadband" to mean 768Kbps, "fast" to mean "kinda slow"
By Nilay Patel 
posted March 19th 2008 8:03PM
posted March 19th 2008 8:03PM
Quick, how fast is "broadband?" If you're wearing a gray suit and drove a sensible car to work this morning in Washington DC, you probably answered 200Kbps -- a pokey little number that the FCC's been using as a baseline for years now. But even bureaucrats have to get with the times every now and again, and regulators this morning voted to push the government's official broadband threshold to 768Kbps -- we'd say it should really be a full 1Mbps, but why make things simple when you can be the government? Between 768kbps and 1.5Mbps is now classified as "basic broadband," and providers are also required to break down both upload and download speeds in specific increments -- a move which should make it harder for companies like Comcast to throttle certain types of connections. ISPs also have to provide subscriber numbers broken down by census-block level, which should provide graduate students with hours of number-crunching dissertation fun in the future. The goal is to make sure the data regarding broadband adoption in the US is as accurate as possible -- it's time to reclaim the crown, people.
Przestań pleść bzdury, po pierwsze: nie pierdol, że 15mbit jest easy available, bo to easy nazywa się dsl tpsiany za grrrubą kasę, dostępny jedynie na dobrych liniach z dslamami wyposażonymi w karty adsl2+.
Po drugie: prawda jest taka, że w stanach w wielkich aglomeracjach mają i Ftth (fios) i cable i szybki xDSL - do wyboru do koloru.
Ci goście którzy się tutaj wypowiadają, mieszkają gdzieś na preriach i stąd ich jedynym wyborem jest 'badziew' typu 512/768 do 1,5mbit max z gównianym fair use policy.
Dla twojej wiadomości - w EU za broadband uważa się łącze 128kbps.
The problem with Internet speeds in the US (and the UK, we're in a simular position), is that many of our phone lines are around 100 years old when obviously the internet wasn't conisdered and they are very thin. Wheras the countries that have only had nationwide phone line coverage in recent (or more recent) years have higher quality connections.
So does this mean Qwest will finally be forced to ditch 256k "broadband"? After who knows how many years of not changing their speeds at all?
This how I see it:
~032kbps or less Dark ages
~064 kbps ultra slow
~128 kbps very slow
~256kbps slow
~512kbps normal-
~001mbps normal
~002mbps normal+
~004mbps Fast
~008mbps very fast
~016mbps ultra fast
~032mbps or more call me when this come up
So I guess I'm in between dark ages and ultra slow.
Who wants to buy this new invention I made? It's called a "wheel". You already have that? Crap.
768KB works just fine for the locals I've been moving from dial-up to AT&T's $10/month 768KB DSL.
And because of the above price, the local cable company has lowered their 768KB price to $14.95/month (just outside of town it's a rural telco instead of AT&T)
I have AT&T DSL with 6Mbps down and 768kbps up which makes me sad. Comcast is the only other provider available and they offer 10 down (up to 12 with speedboost) and 1 up but I refuse to switch to Comcast due to their throttling practices. I really hope FIOS makes it to my neighborhood in the next decade. But then I won't be truly happy until I can get symmetric 100/100. ;)
I'm wearing a black suit in my office in Washington, D.C., and I drove in to work. My internet connection at home is 20 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up.
How fast is your internet connection, Nilay?
Ohh... The king's to you, Comcast.
Wow you guys are slow. Here in NW Connecticut I have Cablevision's Boost which gives me 30 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up. It's very nice :)
I unfortunately have the 'upgraded' HughesNet 'service(?)' with the 7000 modem, converted and upgraded from the previous Direcway. I have been thru countless hours trying to get thru the service rat race with outsourced technicians, and now understand it cannot be fixed. HughesNet has outsold their bandwidth on Sat G161K (per tech admission). They have a problem, yet keep setting up new clients. I have the records, and all info on my 'speed tests'....it is 'class action lawsuit' fodder in my humble opinion.