Paradise Fire/Camp Creek Fire 11/08/2018 (San Bruno: wages, taxes, legal)

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Wait, unlimited? last I looked they only gave you a few GB/month, and after that it got very expensive. Did they drop the data cap?

They call it unlimited but it's really only 10 or 15 gb then it drops to 600 mbps which is really unusable. https://www.verizonwireless.com/supp...nlimited-faqs/

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

They call it unlimited but it's really only 10 or 15 gb then it drops to 600 mbps which is really unusable. https://www.verizonwireless.com/supp...nlimited-faqs/

Ah. So, okay for necessary stuff, but unsuitable for wasting time on Youtube and other modern frivolities.

Actually, as 'heavy' as most websites have become, 10 or 15 GB is perhaps a trifle cramped.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Ah. So, okay for necessary stuff, but unsuitable for wasting time on Youtube and other modern frivolities.

Actually, as 'heavy' as most websites have become, 10 or 15 GB is perhaps a trifle cramped.

Yep, you could read your email and use a web browser but streaming video would eat up your data fast and would be impossible at 600 mbps AT&T has a usage calculator so you can estimate how much data you will need https://www.att.com/esupport/data-calculator/index.jsp

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Yep, you could read your email and use a web browser but streaming video would eat up your data fast and would be impossible at 600 mbps AT&T has a usage calculator so you can estimate how much data you will need https://www.att.com/esupport/data-calculator/index.jsp

<looks>
<plays with>
Yep, I know what I use, and that's a pretty accurate estimator.

You can stream low-def video (240p or less) at 600mpbs, but you better not mind a tiny or blurry picture and occasional bouts of lag. 360p theoretically works, but stalls a lot.

[mgforshort]

I just did a speed test and our download speed is 6.7 mbps, whatever that means. I can't tell the difference in normal use from Xfinity, which was also unlimited and 60-65 mbps. I noticed the download speeds vary during the day but for e mail, banking, browsing City Data it's plenty good.
I use youtube for watching fishing videos, but that's it. For TV we have the highly recommended Dish Network, more content than we have time to watch. I love Dish Network, always helpful after 11 years of being their customer.

And now, with the ordeal over, I want to thank all of you for the tremendous moral support offered on this site. I don't know your name or where you are, but, nevertheless, it meant a great deal to me. HereOnMarsh, Reziac, 2Sleepy, Mnita, movinon, and everyone else, a huge THANK YOU.

And for the providers of the City Data Forum, I hope they realize how much enrichment this site brings to the lives of the members, all over the world.

[Windwalker2]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

Today, on the 8th of January, precisely two months after the Paradise fire, my wife and I were able to return to our home. We have electricity, natural gas, the central heat and fire place are working, we have hot water, the only restriction is that we can't drink the water. The PID gives us free bottled water, I got four cases yesterday.

Glad to hear that life is somewhat returning to normal for you.

[Windwalker2]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

They call it unlimited but it's really only 10 or 15 gb then it drops to 600 mbps which is really unusable. https://www.verizonwireless.com/supp...nlimited-faqs/

I have a rural DSL landline which gets 50 kbps to maybe 500kbps when I'm lucky. 600Mbps sounds great to me, even anything over 1Mbps sounds great actually, and I'm going to look into this. I have no concept though of how many Gb I might use in a month. I do wonder about dropped connections with Verizon. TV is DISH which gets more and more expensive.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Windwalker2

I have a rural DSL landline which gets 50 kbps to maybe 500kbps when I'm lucky. 600Mbps sounds great to me, even anything over 1Mbps sounds great actually, and I'm going to look into this. I have no concept though of how many Gb I might use in a month. I do wonder about dropped connections with Verizon though. TV is DISH which gets more and more expensive.

dang..50kbps is just about as bad as dial up. You should call your provider and have them check the line. Can you get Verizon service on your phone? I have a friend who lives in a rural area of California and she has to drive 7 miles to get Verizon cell phone service.

[Windwalker2]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

dang..50kbps is just about as bad as dial up. You should call your provider and have them check the line. Can you get Verizon service on your phone? I have a friend who lives in a rural area of California and she has to drive 7 miles to get Verizon cell phone service.

Verizon is one of two cell services that work here.
The phone company will not upgrade our service, by putting in more T1 lines, and the ones there are are often not adequately maintained. There is no fiber and probably never will be. And of course no cable. This is rural living in some parts of the West.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by Windwalker2

I have a rural DSL landline which gets 50 kbps to maybe 500kbps when I'm lucky. 600Mbps sounds great to me, even anything over 1Mbps sounds great actually, and I'm going to look into this. I have no concept though of how many Gb I might use in a month. I do wonder about dropped connections with Verizon. TV is DISH which gets more and more expensive.

I'm also on crap rural DSL, tho not as bad as yours (problem is, the further you get from the station, and the older the hardware therein, the slower it gets)... DSL speed should not vary; if it's varying, likely you've got a bad wire somewhere that's subject to being shorted (as with moisture), tho finding where it is can be an adventure. Also possible your modem is tired or overheating. (Durn things only last reliably about 3 years.) When it's that slow, tho, it might be worth investigating fixed wireless, tho it can be subject to weather (when I had it in CA, it would cut out any time it rained, but when I had it in Backside-of-Nowhere MT, it was always fine).

CenturyLink had to entirely rewire from street to jack before mine would even work, and it was still only 1.5MBit. About a year ago they apparently upgraded the station down the street and now it'll do a whopping 5.1MBit. There's fiber across the highway (remember Montana Power's adventures? yeah, that) but it might as well be on Mars.