speed

Fios -updated-

Friday, June 20th, 2008
by Michael Sherlock

Verizon has recently announced that Fios, Verizon’s fiber optic network, will see an increase of speeds. This update is pretty significant considering Verizon is announcing extremely fast speeds compared to average American ISP’s. In a press release Verizon announced:

The 50/20 Mbps service will be available in New York and Virginia for $89.95, and in other States for $139.95 a month with an annual service plan. The 20/20 Mbps FiOS tier is available in all FiOS markets for $64.99 a month with an annual service plan

Verizon went on to say that their mid-tier plan will be upgraded from 15/2 Mbps to 20/5 Mbps and their basic tier will be upgraded from 5/2 Mbps to 10/2 Mbps.
Press Release

Verizon also mentioned their plans to extend their coverage area to major cities. Verizon expects to cover all residents of new york city, in all five boroughs, in the next 5 to 6 years. Verizon also mentioned their interest in Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

I have fios available in my area and have been seriously looking at switching. For most, the decision would be instant to move to fios but other family members have comcast email addresses and aren’t so sure they want to switch. With increased speeds for the same price my hopes for switching are renewed. Plus, in the future with more people having the opportunity to subscribe to this great service I can see fios’ market share increasing.

With all this in mind, if available, do you plan on switching to Fios? I mean, you are getting relatively great speeds at a pretty good price. Plus, you can expect good quality consider all the fiber lines fios is running on have been installed in the past years. So, for the best speeds on a new network, check out fios.

Update:
Well, after much discussion and comcast continuing to screw with us by serving us unreliable cable at very high prices, I have signed up for Verizon Fios. My service will be installed July 2 so look for more information around that time.

100Mbps decent?

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
by Michael Sherlock

According to a recent study, Koreans rate their 100Mbps internet plans as ordinary. Granted, 100Mbps service runs on average at 46Mbps in real world situations but that is amazingly faster than the majority of the world who live with connections bellow 10Mbps. via

I find this highly ridiculous. I have a connection from comcast rated at 6Mbps and I am pretty happy with it. Sure, it takes a long time to upload youtube videos and live streaming has issues but come on. I would kill for 40Mbps while a lot of Koreans find this just average. Some US businesses don’t get these speeds yet there are people who complain about it.

More importantly I think this survey shows a huge problem with american service providers. With ISP’s charging outrages fees upward of $40 you would think you would receive first rate service. Wrong. For me at least I get fluctuating uptime and slow speeds atop my $45/ month charge. It’s time for us as consumers to stand up and demand a lower price or faster speeds with better reliability.

Overall, I find it hard to believe that 46Mbps is just decent. However, it brings up the even bigger issue of american ISP’s ripping off their customers. South Korea is at the forefront of internet connectivity and I think America should take some tips from Korea. I mean, the tech world would be much better if everyone could complain about 46Mbps.