Download speed comparison

ronsaws2002 · ‎11-28-2008

Can anyone tell me if the U-200 download speed of 1.5 MB is high enough to download large files. I currently have cox cable with a measured download speed of 7 MB and this is what I am used to. . Does this service put a lid on the max. download rate and if so what is the best service to select?. I have signed up for the lowest rate but which rate is best for general downloads? Thanks..

Ron

mibrnsurg · ‎07-15-2008

ronsaws2002 wrote:
Can anyone tell me if the U-200 download speed of 1.5 MB is high enough to download large files. I currently have cox cable with a measured download speed of 7 MB and this is what I am used to. . Does this service put a lid on the max. download rate and if so what is the best service to select?. I have signed up for the lowest rate but which rate is best for general downloads? Thanks..
Ron

Once you get it, if it isn't fast enough for you, call in and get a faster package and possibly a discount for getting that faster HSIA. I only have 1.5/1 and have no problems downloading anything, many others think they need 10 or 18, but I think they're fooling themselves.

Chris

I want Good weather w/radar & 6 day forecast -coming soon!
I want CBET Channel 9 Please NO SD stretch-o-vision HD Channels
1-800-983-2811 to avoid Mr. Voice Recognition

Message Edited by mibrnsurg on 11-28-2008 06:19 PM

oz_1 · ‎10-25-2008

Went from comcast which I think most of the time was 8mb to 6mb with AT&T and its a little slower but not by much.

mikeyt · ‎08-30-2007

mibrnsurg wrote:
ronsaws2002 wrote:
Can anyone tell me if the U-200 download speed of 1.5 MB is high enough to download large files. I currently have cox cable with a measured download speed of 7 MB and this is what I am used to. . Does this service put a lid on the max. download rate and if so what is the best service to select?. I have signed up for the lowest rate but which rate is best for general downloads? Thanks..
Ron
Once you get it, if it isn't fast enough for you, call in and get a faster package and possibly a discount for getting that faster HSIA. I only have 1.5/1 and have no problems downloading anything, many others think they need 10 or 18, but I think they're fooling themselves.

Chris

Depends on what you're doing - what you're downloading and how fast you want it. There are occasions where I can definitely use 10 or even 18 Mbps downloads. With a 6 Mbps download, I've had 24 hours worth of downloads I needed and was waiting to use them for a project as soon as they completed. I couldn't download ahead of time because they were just released (MSDN release) and we had projects waiting for them as soon as we got them. Getting that download in 16 hours or better yet 8 hours would have saved a day in project time and that's worth some money.

It all depends, some people don't need the speed, some do, some have the budget for it and some are reserving the cash for other purposes. Many people spend as much or sugnificanltly more on the TV bill than the Internet. It's an individual value and needs decision.

You will notice snappier web page loads with 6 Mbps versus 1.5 Mbps but 1.5 is usable, at least until they dump more streaming video advertising into the web pages. So the real question is how big are you downloads, how fast do you want them and what's your budget?

At some point over the next year or two the bandwidth usage caps that are currently in trials in Reno, Nevada may also affect your selection but when that time comes, you should be able to upgrade easily if you need to.

ronsaws2002 · ‎11-28-2008

Thanks to all that answered. All good answers and appreciated

Thanks

Escapee · ‎09-09-2009

I would second mikeyt Depends on what your doing. I had 1.5 down back in early 2000 and when I got home each day I would have 30 to 40 e-mails that were not spam. The dog would take me for a walk around a five acre lake. The last of the e-mails would be finishing when I got back. The e-mails were not just text but they had fancy headers and pictures some almost looked like a web page. If you are just getting simple e-mails and not doing much streaming video it should be fine. If you can start an update download and go do something else you will do fine. Patience is the key. If you download a lot files and can not wait go for faster speed. If you are just reading web pages you should be OK. I have really gotten use to a 6 meg connection the 10 would be nice but I do not have to have it. The big problem is you don't know what you are missing until you use a faster connection for a few months. I use Firefox with Adblock extention because when I had the slower speed I could turn off a lot of the ads which allowed the rest of the page to load faster.

You can always move up if you don't have the patience or your time is more important go to next higher speed. If they charge an order fee to upgrade later it may pay you to get a higher speed now.

Message Edited by Escapee on 12-09-2008 08:01 AM

mibrnsurg · ‎07-15-2008

Mikeyt looks like you're doing work at home on a consumer conection and not a business connection and need a high speed. I've used a 6M connection and was not overly impressed w/speed. I use a MVPS host file to eliminate all 2d + 3d party advertising and that speeds web page loads. I've downloaded the sp2 245M file a few years ago in 27 min on ATT DSL 1.5/368. I have no problems with streaming video, I go to Hulu and watch episodes seamlessly. Most of all I'm a cheapskate (I could afford a higher speed), why pay for more speed that would only benefit me maybe a few times a week? Last of all, I did tell him he would be able to easily upgrade to a higher speed and might get a discount for that higher speed.

Chris

I want Good weather w/radar & 6 day forecast -coming soon!
I want CBET Channel 9 Please NO SD stretch-o-vision HD Channels
1-800-983-2811 to avoid Mr. Voice Recognition

mikeyt · ‎08-30-2007

It's a personal value and budget decision.

I suspect few people take the time to disable all the media rich advertising. If the advertising isn't too in your face (screen space, cpu, flashing etc.), then I don't mind it that much and it often is what pays the bills for the content on the site you're viewing. Some ads I actually want to see, like when Cirque Du Soleil is coming into town. If everyone actually did disable it, the content providers and advertisers would engineer something to make sure you view the ads before the content, as some sites already do - forcing you through an ad page or loading the content last after all the ads load. So disabling the ads ultimately doesn't work if all consumers did it over the long term.

1.5 Mbps is not fast enough for real time streaming of HD movies from Netflix, etc. If you don't watch HD movies or don't mind waiting hours for the download at 1.5 Mbps (2GB SD movie 4 hour download, 6GB HD movie12 hour download), then get the 1.5 Mbps. If you want these things faster or to stream modest quality HD in realtime, get 6 Mbps.

There are plenty of consumer applications for fast Intenet connections of 20/10 Mbps and beyond (HD video conference with relatives as just one example) and in this day and age the distinction between personal and work is blurring. Is searching for your next job personal or business? What about downloading a linux distro to check it out for your home use? Downloading movies? Downloading music CDs? Uploading home videos? Using an online backup service for your PC? Balanicing your check book? Using webmail for personal use where the website has multiple streaming video ads in it that consume 10's of megabytes while you type a 1000 character (1k byte) email message? And is working from home for an extra hour each night after you put in a full 8 or 10 hours at the office so you can see your kids at least for a minute during the day a business or personal use? Downloading the latest software updates for your game console? Two people in your household simultaneously streaming SD videos on their computers or game consoles?

Make the value judgement that suits your and your family's needs.

Computer-Joe · ‎09-19-2008

mikeyt wrote:
Depends on what you're doing - what you're downloading and how fast you want it. There are occasions where I can definitely use 10 or even 18 Mbps downloads. With a 6 Mbps download, I've had 24 hours worth of downloads I needed and was waiting to use them for a project as soon as they completed. I couldn't download ahead of time because they were just released (MSDN release) and we had projects waiting for them as soon as we got them. Getting that download in 16 hours or better yet 8 hours would have saved a day in project time and that's worth some money.

It all depends, some people don't need the speed, some do, some have the budget for it and some are reserving the cash for other purposes. Many people spend as much or sugnificanltly more on the TV bill than the Internet. It's an individual value and needs decision.

You will notice snappier web page loads with 6 Mbps versus 1.5 Mbps but 1.5 is usable, at least until they dump more streaming video advertising into the web pages. So the real question is how big are you downloads, how fast do you want them and what's your budget?

At some point over the next year or two the bandwidth usage caps that are currently in trials in Reno, Nevada may also affect your selection but when that time comes, you should be able to upgrade easily if you need to.

That's better than 64 gigs a day. You'll be bustin' through your caps in 2-3 days. Then what are ya gonna do?

IMHO, for the average user (email, web browsing, the ocaisional YouTube, or watch a program from one of the Network websites) 3Mbps down is more than sufficient. Other than downloading a movie to watch later most streaming video on the internet maxes out between 300 and 700 Kbps.

One more thing to remember if coming from cable or POTS DSL, is that with Uverse, you have far more bandwidth available out of that 3 Mbps rate. With 3 Mbps DSL your rate could dip as low as 1.5 Mbps depending on line conditions or distance from the CO. With cable your rate could dip when everyone else in your neighborhood decides to jump online at the same time (evening primetime). With a Uverse 3 Mbps account, you should never see less than 2.85 Mbps

Escapee · ‎09-09-2009

Mikeyt your post on how your family uses your internet connection is an example of what is becoming just normal usage of the average family. The problem is without caps when your current usage becomes just average or below average for most users without an increase revenues to handle it the system is going fail. I don't know where you personally come down on the caps debate because I have read so many posts from so many people. You may think they are a good thing or you may think they are totally unfair. The transport companies have two choices increase the prices on everyone or cap the total usage. If they increase the price people leave for a better deal and the low usage customers are substidizing the heavy users. Or the heavy users will have to start paying for the demands they are placing on the system. If you look at your usage you are getting more and more value but AT&T is only incurring more costs and not bring in any more revenue to cover it. It is like the ads if everybody blocks them then there is not no revenue to pay for the free to you and me content. In summary there is no free lunch it comes out of someones pocket somewhere.

ronsaws2002 · ‎11-28-2008

I certainly agree with you. Heavy users of the internet should pay a little more to keep it going. I fall into the low use catagory with email and small low rate downloads. If something comes along like HD movies or other high download uses that I want become available I would expect to pay a little more.

Ron

Computer-Joe · ‎09-19-2008

Escapee wrote:
Mikeyt your post on how your family uses your internet connection is an example of what is becoming just normal usage of the average family. The problem is without caps when your current usage becomes just average or below average for most users without an increase revenues to handle it the system is going fail. I don't know where you personally come down on the caps debate because I have read so many posts from so many people. You may think they are a good thing or you may think they are totally unfair. The transport companies have two choices increase the prices on everyone or cap the total usage. If they increase the price people leave for a better deal and the low usage customers are substidizing the heavy users. Or the heavy users will have to start paying for the demands they are placing on the system. If you look at your usage you are getting more and more value but AT&T is only incurring more costs and not bring in any more revenue to cover it. It is like the ads if everybody blocks them then there is not no revenue to pay for the free to you and me content. In summary there is no free lunch it comes out of someones pocket somewhere.

IMHO, I think that caps are not the answer to the problem. That would just piss everyone off, because like you said, we would all end up subsidising the MIKEYT's out there (not picking on Mikeyt, just an example). Why the hell should I put up with a gimped connection so the mikeyt's can download a terabyte or 2 a month. If someone absolutley has to have 10 or 18 Mbps speed (for work?) they should be paying a commercial (buisiness class) connection fee. As far as Mikeyt being an example of the average user, I don't know where you are getting your info on users from, because out of the 200-250 broadband users I know of in my area, Mikeyt would be in the 1-2 percent bracket as far as usage. Far from the average. Now, I'm not saying that there are not legitimate uses for that kind of connection, but their (AT&T's) pricing model for such connections is definately flawed. I had a 3Mbps connection originally for $20 a month. AT&T doubled that for $5 more, then offered to triple my new 6Mbps speed for $10 more than that (I said, no thanks, don't need it). In other words for only 75% more than my original price for 3 Mbps I could have gotten 6 times the rate (18 Mbps). That kind of speed does nothing but encourage more massive downloading. IMHO, if you want to triple your current speed you should have to pay at least double what you are currently paying. Paying more for your connection should not be an issue if it is truly work related because if you have to have that speed for your work your employer should be compensating you for it, and if your self employed (working from home) or your employer won't compensate you, you can write off the expense on your taxes. Technically, I believe if you are using your Uverse connection for buisiness purposes you are violating your terms of service with AT&T.

Message Edited by Computer-Joe on 12-09-2008 10:11 AM

SomeJoe7777 · ‎01-30-2008

Computer-Joe wrote:

IMHO, I think that caps are not the answer to the problem. That would just piss everyone off, because like you said, we would all end up subsidising the MIKEYT's out there (not picking on Mikeyt, just an example). Why the hell should I put up with a gimped connection so the mikeyt's can download a terabyte or 2 a month. If someone absolutley has to have 10 or 18 Mbps speed (for work?) they should be paying a commercial (buisiness class) connection fee. As far as Mikeyt being an example of the average user, I don't know where you are getting your info on users from, because out of the 200-250 broadband users I know of in my area, Mikeyt would be in the 1-2 percent bracket as far as usage. Far from the average. Now, I'm not saying that there are not legitimate uses for that kind of connection, but their (AT&T's) pricing model for such connections is definately flawed. I had a 3Mbps connection originally for $20 a month. AT&T doubled that for $5 more, then offered to triple my new 6Mbps speed for $10 more than that (I said, no thanks, don't need it). In other words for only 75% more than my original price for 3 Mbps I could have gotten 6 times the rate (18 Mbps). That kind of speed does nothing but encourage more massive downloading. IMHO, if you want to triple your current speed you should have to pay at least double what you are currently paying. Paying more for your connection should not be an issue if it is truly work related because if you have to have that speed for your work your employer should be compensating you for it, and if your self employed (working from home) or your employer won't compensate you, you can write off the expense on your taxes. Technically, I believe if you are using your Uverse connection for buisiness purposes you are violating your terms of service with AT&T.

The problem, Joe, is that AT&T is not offering a viable solution for users that fall into this category.

I'm a user who will definitely be affected by a 150GB cap. Since I've been measuring my bandwidth, in about 2 weeks I've transferred about 400GB of data. (I use my connection for work, it does some nightly off-site backups from work to my home). Under the proposed caps, I would now be charged about $250 in overage, and we're only halfway through the month.

I have no problem paying for a small business connection at an appropriate price, since that's what I'm using the connection for, but it's not offered. The current U-Verse small business plan (http://smallbiz.att.com/businessuverse) does not include TV service - it is Internet only.

It's the exact same service - right down to the same 3800VG 2Wire gateway. Why can't they just charge me the small business Internet price and remove my cap? How hard is that?

It's just like anything else -- I don't mind the change in policy or the new restriction, but give me a viable alternative! Don't just slap the cap on me and tell me "well, sorry, now you're phuqued."

If they actually do implement the proposed caps, I will have no choice but to cancel U-Verse residential service, switch to U-Verse business Internet service, and re-sign with DirecTV for TV service, which I absolutely don't want to do. I hate DirecTV's contract.

Computer-Joe · ‎09-19-2008

SomeJoe7777 wrote:

The problem, Joe, is that AT&T is not offering a viable solution for users that fall into this category.

I'm a user who will definitely be affected by a 150GB cap. Since I've been measuring my bandwidth, in about 2 weeks I've transferred about 400GB of data. (I use my connection for work, it does some nightly off-site backups from work to my home). Under the proposed caps, I would now be charged about $250 in overage, and we're only halfway through the month.

I have no problem paying for a small business connection at an appropriate price, since that's what I'm using the connection for, but it's not offered. The current U-Verse small business plan (http://smallbiz.att.com/businessuverse) does not include TV service - it is Internet only.

It's the exact same service - right down to the same 3800VG 2Wire gateway. Why can't they just charge me the small business Internet price and remove my cap? How hard is that?

It's just like anything else -- I don't mind the change in policy or the new restriction, but give me a viable alternative! Don't just slap the cap on me and tell me "well, sorry, now you're phuqued."

If they actually do implement the proposed caps, I will have no choice but to cancel U-Verse residential service, switch to U-Verse business Internet service, and re-sign with DirecTV for TV service, which I absolutely don't want to do. I hate DirecTV's contract.

Your boss aint paying ya to watch TV

I went to the smallbiz site and then called. The rep told me that if I were to get a buisiness line to my home, I could in fact have the UVERSE Biz on that line and the UVERSE residential on the residential line. He also said that he had heard nothing about caps on the business service. By the way 2WIRE does in fact have both HomePortal and the OfficePortal (homeportal minus TV capability) versions of the gateway. If your worried about the expenses, like I stated before, your boss should be paying for it, if it is work related. If your boss doesn't reimburse you, you can write it off on your taxes as a work related expense. If AT&T gives you grief about identical address with your residential account, just go to the post office and register your business address as a half number or suite. In other words if your residential address is 215 so-and so street, register your business address as 215 and a 1/2 so-and-so street or 215 suite A so-and-so street, then get your business line installed under that address.

Escapee · ‎09-09-2009

SomeJoe it sounds like you need two accounts. One for business and one for Uverse. Your usage is why they are going to caps. Now your costs are fixed while AT&Ts are what ever their customers want to use limited only by their speed. You pay a price for speed why not a price for usage. You and other high users feel the unwritten rules changed but the users changed the rules of the game when equipment cost for the users at both ends has dropped to where almost anyone can That is why content providers want net neutrality. They know what their costs are but the transport companies costs are determined by how successful the content sellers are. At&t gets no more money if you down load 25 meg or 500 meg. With caps the end user has to make more decisions. What is this download worth to me? If the transport companies can not make a profit then the internet collapses in a few years just like the airline companies. The new companies may not have the deep pockets and who knows what they will charge. Comcast is raising their prices according to the letter Shoe's mom got. The low usage users could start putting the pressure on to give them lower prices, why should they subsitize heavy users.

SomeJoe7777 · ‎01-30-2008

Escapee wrote:
SomeJoe it sounds like you need two accounts. One for business and one for Uverse. Your usage is why they are going to caps. Now your costs are fixed while AT&Ts are what ever their customers want to use limited only by their speed. You pay a price for speed why not a price for usage. You and other high users feel the unwritten rules changed but the users changed the rules of the game

Well, don't mistake what exactly I'm complaining about.

Every company has a right to make a profit, and every company has a right to charge what the market will bear. I've got no problem with that.

My complaint is that I'm going to be losing service. Think of it like this: Right now, I get U200 TV and 10Mb Internet for about $125/month. The price really doesn't concern me. (By the way, my company subsidizes 1/2 of the Internet cost for me, since I use it for personal use as well as use it to backup files from work).

Now, along come the caps. 150GB/month won't cut it for my usage. To me, that's not really a problem so long as there's a solution. A solution would be U200 TV (which I pay for), and 10Mb small business Internet, priced probably $30/month higher than what I pay now. What that boils down to is a price increase. I've got no problem with that. I (and my company) will pay whatever reasonable cost is required to retain the functionality we have. Price increases are a part of doing business.

My complaint is that this is not going to be allowed. AT&T is not going to let me have U200 TV and small business Internet on the same account, despite the fact that there is no service difference between that and what I have right now. The only difference would be price. But they're going to say no, for no other reason than their "small business" product doesn't allow them to include TV.

So don't put the fault of the caps back on me or tell me that I don't understand how the business pricing and capitalized costs work. The fault lies with AT&T for yanking away my (currently perfectly working) service. They will pay the price, as I can't buy TV from them anymore if this happens.

Escapee · ‎09-09-2009

SomeJoe I understand your dilemma and a smaller company would be more nimble and try to find a win win for both sides. You have a solution if the decision making was closer to the customer they could hopefully come up with a price that both sides would be happy with. But when any company becomes megabig they become one size fits all from above. That has it's own advantages that one size may enable the purchase of equipment at a volume discount they pass on to the customer. Your only option to keep Uverse TV is to do the split address. Which is stupid for the company because they are using twice the hardware to give the same service. At this point another company is going to get your TV business and if BizUverse does not have caps bring in less total revenue on the same fixed cost equiptment outside your house.

djmegahertz_1 · ‎12-09-2008

I have the 18 Mbps internet speed, but I rarely ever see more than 10 or 11.

I called tech support and they confirmed that they I am setup for 18.

If I take the same computer and connect it to my Comcast modem, I get 18 with no problem.

I use speakeasy Atlanta server.

Anyone see the same issue with their 18?

djmegahertz_1 · ‎12-09-2008

Can someone point me to where this proposed cap is mentioned?

I would like to see this in writing..

Thanks.

randyl · ‎10-25-2007

djmegahertz wrote:
Can someone point me to where this proposed cap is mentioned?
I would like to see this in writing..
Thanks.

http://utalk.att.com/utalk/board/message?board.id=HSIA&message.id=7112&query.id=15195#M7112

jimfitzgerald · ‎05-19-2008

Message Edited by jimfitzgerald on 02-02-2009 03:10 AM

vic1966_1 · ‎11-25-2007

Well I took the plunge and upgraded form max 10 to max 18. I was curious to see if it really hit the potential upload of 18,000 KBPS. Guess what it comes pretty darn closeI tested this on my lap top via Wi-Fi so its watered down a little but I’m hitting 17, 311 . Not bad at all Merry Christmas to me

http://www.speedtest.net/result/378978770.png