Broadband Wireless Access Recomendations

[wondermint2]

When I signed up for Comcast Economy internet plan they told me that they were going to upgrade the download speed (from 1.5mbps to 2mbps) with an upgrade to the service in February. I was told that technicians were to start in North Port and work there way North to other communities in the Sarasota area. Well here we are in early April and my download speed is still exactly the same as when I signed up (aprox. 1.5mbps). I'm in Nokomis. I was wondering if anyone else here has Comcast Economy Internet service and if so what is your download speed? And have you heard anything about this supposed upgrade in service?

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

I'm guessing that the 54 Mbps you see is the speed noted on your wireless card.

That's the theoretical max speed between your machine and the wireless router. From the router out to the internet you're probably not getting more that 10-15 Mbps if you are on a lightly used node (cable gets slower as more people in your neighborhood use it).

You can test down and up speeds at a number of places like Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test
I'd test from a couple of different servers to get a better sample.

There is no wireless card. the 54 Mbps is the speed noted when I hover over the wireless computer icon in the lower-right, or if I open the wireless networks window. Once in a great while, it says 48 Mbps, but that's rare. Regardless, it's very quick for $25/mo.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

There is no wireless card. the 54 Mbps is the speed noted when I hover over the wireless computer icon in the lower-right, or if I open the wireless networks window. Once in a great while, it says 48 Mbps, but that's rare.

Yea, that's the speed of your wireless network. If you get further away from the router, or there's some interference, you'll get a lower number but you won't see any real difference until it gets below the actual internet speed (probably under 10 Mbps).

[wondermint2]

I called Comcast today and asked them when the speed to my internet service will be upgraded. I was told that Comcast was in the process of upgrading their entire network - and this upgrade is called their "digital migration". I was told the digital migration upgrade should take "several more months". Here's a link that explains a bit about it: What is the Comcast Digital Migration?

[Wwanderer]

I'm looking at Brighthouse, although I'm up in Dunedin. They offer a seasonal internet plan that looks interesting to me.

[LovePalms]

Regarding mobile "Broadband" with no contract, I haven't actually researched it fully, but Virgin has a pretty decent offering with their pay as you go program. By memory, a one time payment of $100 for the USB broadband modem, and $20 for two months/250MB of bandwidth. I could be wrong on the bandwidth, but it's more than plenty for email and reading websites without video. As far as residential Internet access, the phone company is a lot more reliable than the cable company. I would estimate about 10 times more reliable. Of course, you're splitting hairs a bit, as even cable is pretty reliable. So, my order of preference is FIOS > DSL > Cable. FIOS is extremely fast in terms of both bandwidth and latency. DSL is about the same speed as cable, but cable is shared a lot closer to the home. So, your neighbors using up a lot of bandwidth is more likely to affect your cable connection. Anyway, that's an executive summary, the gory details are, of course, a bit more complex, and unless you're a power user, (P2P or gaming,) you won't really notice much of a difference anyway, and you're best off going with whatever service plan is best for you financially.