PC Magazine recently released rankings on broadband ISP speeds. I generally disregard these rankings because they usually rely on user opinions of their speeds. My ears perked up when I heard on the Cranky Geeks podcast how this ranking was based on actual calculated data.
PC Mag offered a small utility called SurfSpeed that calculated download speeds. 10,000 users apparently downloaded SurfSpeed over a month this summer, and the utility then uploaded the download speed data back to a central database. The data included individual computer processor speeds, amount of RAM, and surfing times so as to factor those out and frame a true picture of ISP speeds.
This could become a big deal in the coming months. Technology journalists and gurus are growing more vocal in their complaints about broadband services not delivering speeds that they advertise and we pay for. Consumers are tired of salespeople promising heavenly broadband experiences and finding lacking support from Malaysia and heart-attack-inducing first bills.
Fiber services were found to be fastest, cable was next fastest, followed in third place by DSL. DSL providers’ two big claims over cable are price (DSL is slightly cheaper for the slower service) and speed reliability (minimal to non-existent).
Lo and behold our local Qwest turns out to be the slowest provider of all nationwide, ranking dead last of all the broadband ISPs. They are not just one of the slowest providers, Qwest is ranked as THE SLOWEST broadband provider.
To see the rankings for yourself, click this page, then on that page click “See the results chart.”
How many millions of dollars did Interim Governor Jim Risch just award Qwest to spread broadband around Idaho? Is Idaho getting ripped off?
Congress is set to deregulate the broadband provider industry (Net Neutrality) and allow providers to slow website deliveries to end users if those websites refuse to pay. How about first ensuring that broadband providers are providing what they advertise and charge for?
I’m currently paying $51 monthly for 1.5 mbps speed (I don’t even get any provided email addresses), yet the Qwest technician told me I’d never be able to get higher than 900 kbps (about half the speed), if that. Nice. My only lower-tiered option with Qwest is only 256 kbps for a savings of only $13. Nice.
If you’ve used two local providers (cable, DSL, or wireless), how have they compared in terms of speed, reliability, and cost?
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Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
:@:)
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I have used FreTel, who claimed that they could save me a lot of bucks but didn’t. Also, although they are “local”, getting help from St. Anthony, especially to get a tech out, was a pain. Plus, bottom line, no matter which provider you choose (DSL) guess who you pay a surcharge to? And why? because you are running on the Qwest net. I did discover once with Qwest that (they really don’t just mention this) you can get the service without the MSN package for less than what you are paying. Ida.net may be the better local choice, if they still exist.
For a quick check, I like to use
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
but of course that is not an average, and as the article points out (PC mag rules) there are a lot of fluctuations based on overall usage at certain times.
Interesting topic, particularly in light of your question about if we are getting ripped off. That may be answered by someone more informed than myself.
I use CableOne for cable internet and have been moderately pleased. There have been times when they have problems in the area (I live in Pocatello), but usually I have no problems accessing. It does cost quite a bit, but you can rent wireless cable modems and have wireless! Check out their website for prices. No, I don’t work for them. (Their customer service is fantastic in Pocatello and their tech support is pretty good). I can usually get a technician out here pretty quick if I have a problem.
I use Qwest, and I’m reasonably happy with its service. I have used CableOne, and was plagued by very poor performance, frequent blackouts, and constant maintanance and resets for the modem. I use a 1.5 connection with Qwest, and even if it is half that rate, I don’t mind. I don’t think I’ve ever used the full download capabilities (have we forgotten that a download is only as good as the upload of the server?). For instance, I am downloading five torrents right now, and one is going at a rate of 45kps, the others at 1kps. That leaves me with plenty of bandwidth to perform regular surfing, even uploading and major downloading services.
Bandwidth is a major myth of ISPs. Having a 3 mps connection doesn’t mean much unless your machine has enough RAM (probably 1 gig will work) to perform dozens of downloads at a time or connecting to several servers at once (gaming, file sharing, whatver).
So in the end, I’m happy with Qwest. At least my service doesn’t go out once a week.
For those who are having slowness issues with broadband – DSL or cable – I suggest tweaking the computer. A good program for this is Cablenut (www.cablenut.com) It’s free! You can use the suggested settings, but I’ve found that trial and error/success with the settings takes some time, but makes a good difference.
Also, no user is ever going to get 100% of available bandwidth. “Overhead” (inefficiencies with your computer, the type of connection, etc.) diminishes your speed by 20% or less. Still, you should be able to achieve 80-85% of available speed by tweaking your machine. Good luck and I hope this suggestion brings some improvement.
Once again, PC mag (boy they are getting some mileage here) has free tweaking tools and great articles on the subject. Good suggestion, suggestion.
Has anyone used Key-on? Their $27 for life deal seems pretty good, but how reliable is it?