# US Ranks 28th In World Internet Speed



## MA-Caver (Aug 26, 2009)

> *US ranks 28th in Internet connection speed: report *
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What could tech folks in the U.S. do to make this catch up? 
My speed tested out at 14955 download and 4299 upload. I used to think that was pretty quick but compared to South Korea, I'm running at a snails pace. 
What was your speed tested out at? 
Also wondering about the benefit of fiber-optic cable internet if that is truly one of the fastest around?


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## CoryKS (Aug 26, 2009)

MA-Caver said:


> What could tech folks in the U.S. do to make this catch up?
> My speed tested out at 14955 download and 4299 upload. I used to think that was pretty quick but compared to South Korea, I'm running at a snails pace.
> What was your speed tested out at?
> Also wondering about the benefit of fiber-optic cable internet if that is truly one of the fastest around?


 
Do we need to catch up? Is there a need, or is it for bragging rights? Are the relative speeds a function of population and land mass? The US is kind of a ginormous place compared to South Korea, does the distance that the signal has to travel play a role in this?



> US President Barack Obama has pledged to put broadband in every home and the FCC has embarked on an ambitious project to bring high-speed Internet access to every corner of the United States.


 
Jayzus, is there _anything_ that doesn't become a god-given right just because people want it?


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## cdunn (Aug 26, 2009)

MA-Caver said:


> What could tech folks in the U.S. do to make this catch up?
> My speed tested out at 14955 download and 4299 upload. I used to think that was pretty quick but compared to South Korea, I'm running at a snails pace.
> What was your speed tested out at?
> Also wondering about the benefit of fiber-optic cable internet if that is truly one of the fastest around?


 
The main thing that could be done to increase internet speed in the US is introduce effective competition to the market. Customers are locked in to multi-year contracts in systems where there are two or fewer companies providing broadband service. 

The secondary thing is to implement a European style wireless communication system, wherein the cellular companies sell only access to their network, and customers provide their own access equipment, forcing those cellular companies to compete on service and the strength of their network. If customers chose to make wireless broadband an important factor in choice, wireless broadband would soon stop sucking horribly.  

Lynching Comcast and Qwest might help, too.


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## Bob Hubbard (Aug 26, 2009)

One also needs to look at the cost comparisons.  In the US, you pay for speed.  They like capping you, and are looking for ways to go to a metered xfer approach.   You move 3 gigs, you pay for it.  Move 6, you pay 2x what the other guy did.  I say, open the pipes full, flat rate it, and let the data fly.

I just want to slap the idiots who tell me that my upload speed can't be the same as my download speed.  I want SDSL, not this ADSL crippled crap.


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## celtic_crippler (Aug 26, 2009)

Bob Hubbard said:


> One also needs to look at the cost comparisons. In the US, you pay for speed. They like capping you, and are looking for ways to go to a metered xfer approach. You move 3 gigs, you pay for it. Move 6, you pay 2x what the other guy did. I say, open the pipes full, flat rate it, and let the data fly.
> 
> I just want to slap the idiots who tell me that my upload speed can't be the same as my download speed. I want SDSL, not this ADSL crippled crap.


 
DSL? You need cable.


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## Bob Hubbard (Aug 26, 2009)

Why would I want to share my connection with my lame neighbors?  I like DSL because unlike cable, you don't share it.  Plus, Time Warner sucks.


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## cdunn (Aug 26, 2009)

celtic_crippler said:


> DSL? You need cable.


 
Verizon DSL is the only un-capped broadband available in America. Why should I pay more for inferior product with inferior support?

US Telecom services vs Japan telecom services.


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## mwd0818 (Aug 26, 2009)

Bob Hubbard said:


> Why would I want to share my connection with my lame neighbors?  I like DSL because unlike cable, you don't share it.  Plus, Time Warner sucks.



Got news for you . . . you share it still . . . it's just further down the network.  Add to that the fact the twisted pair is a rather limited technology, cable is supplanting DSL as the "go-to" technology for residential and casual Internet access.

Of course, I always tell people that the difference between cable performance and DSL is minimal.  Go with the bandwidth available, price for that bandwidth, and which company you feel comfortable with.  And I've heard plenty about Time Warner and Comcast, and enough for people NOT to go with them.

-- The Cable Guy
-- Former Telephone Company Guy
-- Has launched, sold, engineered and designed Cable, DSL, T-1, T-3 and Fiber Connections


P.S.  Fiber is the way to go . . . if it wasn't so expensive!!!!


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## Carol (Aug 26, 2009)

Bob Hubbard said:


> Why would I want to share my connection with my lame neighbors?  I like DSL because unlike cable, you don't share it.  Plus, Time Warner sucks.




DSL and Cable are both "shared" in some way.  There may be more or fewer people sharing a point where DSL services are aggregated, depending on the neighborhood.  If 80 percent of your neighbors have cable and 20 percent have DSL, your signals are aggregated with fewer people.  

As to why our speed is so slow, think of a country like Belgium, which is the size of Maryland.  If all we had to do was wire the state of Maryland for high-speed, we'd be rockin' it.

Many areas are served by faster service, but customers don't choose to pay for it.   Originally I was fine with getting 4 down/1 up from Comcast and saving a few bucks a month  But to get a better phone plan, I bought a package where the internet is 16 down/4 up.  I don't have a lot of use for it.  More often than not I am connected on my wireless router which is does not show much difference between the two speeds.


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## Bob Hubbard (Aug 26, 2009)

I'd go fiber, but I like having my house not catch fire after the monkeys Verizon send out do a half assed hack job connecting things. 

Must win lotto, get a T3 to the apartment.


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## AceHBK (Aug 26, 2009)

Yeah our connection speed here is slow for sure a "tech" country.  

In other countries don't they have a cap on how much you can download?  I think Australia is one country who Im pretty sure does have a download cap.

I easily download around 100GB/month but luckily I stay under Comcast's 250 GB cap/month.

Competition needs to be implemented but then again those in control would lose money and they don't want that happening.


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