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This study is still flawed since it uses speedtest data. I really don't care about average speeds in a community. I really want to know the fastest speeds available to me!!
Here in Wenatchee....we have fiber optic lines with speeds up to 1 Gbps and most homes are at 100 Mbps, with 25 Mbps as standard service. The 100 Mbps is an extra $10/month.
Even with that ONLY 40% of the homes chose fiber. 30% are still with the out of area cable company running on copper wires and some are still running DSL. So the average speed for Wenatchee is 16 Mbps even though 1 Gbps fiber is available!!
So interpret data carefully, but at least it will give you some relative idea of speeds.
I get 22mbps on cable and I'm on the cheapest plan they have, what may I ask is the purpose of 100mbps for the average person? There is none unless you have 20 kids all trying watch HD Netflix on a different machine at once.
I think people with slow internet do not realize the benefits of high speed fiber access because they have never had it.
We run four or five computers, internet TV, internet phone, couple of tablets and e-book readers. I also remotely control my observatory and my friends observatory in Arizona. He has cable internet, but if his wife is not downloading pictures I can use his telescopes.
Download files. I was in Arizona when an Apple system update came through. I think it was 1.2 gigs. FIVE AND HALF HOURS LATER it finished downloading. In Wenatchee, the same download took less than TWO MINUTES. Do people run their updates at night??
In 1985, if I wanted to borrow a book or original artwork I HAD to drive to the library. It was a little later than this that the library set up FIDO-NET account and I could order books by hooking up my 28.8K modem. The mailman then delivered the books to my house saving me the four mile trip into town.
We finally got fiber to our house in 2003. Now I could browse the card catalog, and still order books that were delivered to my house. Sometime after that the library set up downloading of ebooks. All this on a slow 25 mbps connection.
With the upgrade to 100 mbps I can now browse magazines on-line at the library. No more downloads. Trips to library are now for browsing.
That original artwork? Well, I can now download 500 meg photo files from the Library of Congress send them electronically to my local Costco and pick them up a day later. So I can hang original artwork in my house that I never had access prior to high speed internet.
On the business side the regional medical network is sending huge x-ray and mri files on the fiber network for consultation between doctors. They are even talking about setting up remote surgical operations in small towns for emergencies where the surgeon can remain in Wenatchee using the DeVinci surgical machines. Engineering companies have been using the fiber network to access and share their huge CAD files. Grant County, next door, is booming as European and other companies discover the advantages of fiber.
There are so many advantages to high speed fiber internet. Once you have it....your not going back to your cable modem.
With it, I was able to see that two of the towns we're thinking of moving to have high speed access - not a guarantee in rural Texas. Reliable, high speed Internet is a requirement for the town we move to (due to business needs), so it's good to know that we don't have to rule these places out.
Sometime after that the library set up downloading of ebooks. All this on a slow 25 mbps connection.
With the upgrade to 100 mbps I can now browse magazines on-line at the library. No more downloads. Trips to library are now for browsing.
That original artwork? Well, I can now download 500 meg photo files from the Library of Congress send them electronically to my local Costco and pick them up a day later. So I can hang original artwork in my house that I never had access prior to high speed internet.
If you can't get a magazine quickly over a 25mbps connection the file has not been prepared properly, just to put this into perspective bluray is about 25 mbps.
A 500mb image, that would have to be .tiff or .png to print a very large image as in 40 inches by 30 inches size and could be printed even larger since you're not going to be standing at an average viewing distance. .jpg could reduce that perhaps to 125mb without any perceptible difference.
In any event how often are you going to download an image like that? You cant wait a few minutes?
The other issue there is not a lot public servers out there providing speeds like that.
If you can't get a magazine quickly over a 25mbps connection the file has not been prepared properly, just to put this into perspective bluray is about 25 mbps.
A 500mb image, that would have to be .tiff or .png to print a very large image as in 40 inches by 30 inches size and could be printed even larger since you're not going to be standing at an average viewing distance. .jpg could reduce that perhaps to 125mb without any perceptible difference.
In any event how often are you going to download an image like that? You cant wait a few minutes?
The other issue there is not a lot public servers out there providing speeds like that.
Well, I like to rotate original photographs. Costco is cheap......I can print 40X30 for a reasonable price. The point is until I had fiber I never thought about doing this. AND I AM SURE THAT THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY DID NOT THINK ABOUT SHARING MRI'S FOR CONSULTATION WITH OTHER DOCTORS.
The only reason there are not a lot of servers out there "providing speeds like that" is that we have the "best government money can buy".
And Obama appointed Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary to get broadband to the American people. As Governor of Washington he was a adament opponent of public fiber networks.
The future is here......think about whether the folks your electing want to go there. Trust me...you want high speed fiber access.
The point is until I had fiber I never thought about doing this.
It's a 3 minute download with 25mbps.... less than one minute if they use .jpeg . Again how often are you going to download a 500mb file? It's like having a fire hose you might use once in while when a garden hose is more than sufficient.
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The only reason there are not a lot of servers out there "providing speeds like that" is that we have the "best government money can buy".
When I say public servers I'm talking about commercial sites open to the public. I have my own server capable of speeds like that but I throttle the bandwidth for individual users for a variety of reasons.
My point is the average user doesn't need speeds like that at this time, for the average user Netflix is going to be their biggest bandwidth hog and that's like 6mbps. Business's and your example of the medical community may benefit but there is options for them. I can get 50mbps myself over cable.
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Trust me...you want high speed fiber access.
It will evolve as it needs too, the driver behind this is going to be the delivery of real HD video comparable to bluray. Personally I'd be happy with 10mbps if they would drop the fees.
Plwit I believe the map indicates what people are paying for, not what is available. They have my area at less than 10mbps but it wouldn't suprise me if that is becsue so many people opt for DSL. 50mbps over cable is available, I'm a power user and I don't even use it. Why bother with the extra expense.....
Plwit I believe the map indicates what people are paying for, not what is available. They have my area at less than 10mbps but it wouldn't suprise me if that is becsue so many people opt for DSL. 50mbps over cable is available, I'm a power user and I don't even use it. Why bother with the extra expense.....
For my state, it is fairly accurate.
Most towns here [over 52%] have satellite dish access as the only way they have to gain access to the WWW.
My town has low-end 'broadband' access via the phone landline. When I moved here in '05 they were just bringing it in. The phone company did fiber-optics out to nodes, in select townships. Then from each node they ran low-end broadband to all of their customers in that town, as well as into each adjoining township. They far exceeded the distance that broadband can be strung without loss of bandwidth. My township does not have a node. Broadband was extended to us from a neighboring township.
Other towns have only dial-up. So in that respect, I am very fortunate to have settled in a town that at least has broadband [even though it is extremely low-end].
Cities have cable companies.
If you live alongside the interstate, there are cellphone repeater towers that may provide coverage. Some of those are being upgraded to provide 3G access.
It is part of the rural-to-urban spectrum.
1. High density population towns have cable.
2. Medium population-density townships have upgraded phone-lines with broadband capability.
3. Lower population-density townships have regular phone-lines with 2400 baud.
4. The lowest population-density townships have no phone lines. They rely on satellite, to get access.
The only exception I see is right alongside the interstate, where the cellphone repeater towers are placed.
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