Of horrible internet

[Tomato]

So, I'm stuck living at home for the moment, trying to build up a bit of money while I actually get the paperwork I need for a proper Lab job. But one of my big things is that, if I'm going to be stuck in this house for any length of time, I'm determined to get my parents to upgrade their internet. We get a pathetic 200KB/s through Verizon, which is barely enough to dl a video with any reasonable length of time, let alone run a MMO of any complexity. I get nearly 1mb/s with my phone tether, there is no excuse for the speed being this bad.

However, my father insists, INSISTS, that due to the fact that we don't have fios in our area (Maryland, near Waldorf), this is the best we're going to get. I've tried looking it up, but unfortunately any time I try to look up actual speeds of different companies and methods all I get are the salesman BS, not realistic numbers.

I'm not asking for 10 mb/s fios or whatever. I just want a net connection that has a reasonable speed and doesn't randomly die every so often.

[BlueBard]

Have you actually talked to anyone at Verizon?  The phone companies are all upgrading their central offices over time.  They may be able to offer an upgrade of the existing service, but they aren't going to do what's necessary unless someone asks.

[Tomato]

Unfortunately I have very little credibility doing that due to the fact that the connection is under his name, not mine. I might still try it if I can't find anything otherwise.

Edit: I went through and checked with Verizon, apparently they only offer two services... a home DSL service that's .5-1mb/s (which we get up to .5 mb, sooo... yeah) and a fios, which isn't in our area yet. Which floors me because I KNOW I've seen people discussing regular DSL services up to 3mb/s

Seriously, any info on this subject is appreciated.

[Deaths Jester]

Hey, at least you have internet at their house..or anywhere to be exact.  You could be in my situation, having to drive 5 miles from your current residence to the nearest area that actually has internet to post these things.  Sucks living in the middle of nowhere...the bloody phone lines are so antiquated!

-DJ

[Panther_Gunn]

I KNOW I've seen people discussing regular DSL services up to 3mb/s

Were these people here in the States, or abroad?  Last I knew, the cable companies in our country were actively crippling DSL service, keeping it far below what it's capable of.  When I was in Norway, the basic DSL service was 800 Kb/s in 2003, and that was increased to 1.5 Mb before I left in 2005.

Hey, at least you have internet at their house..or anywhere to be exact.  You could be in my situation, having to drive 5 miles from your current residence to the nearest area that actually has internet to post these things.  Sucks living in the middle of nowhere...the bloody phone lines are so antiquated!

Sounds like when I was living in North Dakota.  Thanks for bringing up that unpleasant memory, jerkwad!   

[Deaths Jester]

I KNOW I've seen people discussing regular DSL services up to 3mb/s

Were these people here in the States, or abroad?  Last I knew, the cable companies in our country were actively crippling DSL service, keeping it far below what it's capable of.  When I was in Norway, the basic DSL service was 800 Kb/s in 2003, and that was increased to 1.5 Mb before I left in 2005.

Hey, at least you have internet at their house..or anywhere to be exact.  You could be in my situation, having to drive 5 miles from your current residence to the nearest area that actually has internet to post these things.  Sucks living in the middle of nowhere...the bloody phone lines are so antiquated!

Sounds like when I was living in North Dakota.  Thanks for bringing up that unpleasant memory, jerkwad!   

Your welcome...everyone should have to live that lowly existance at least once in their lives so they understand my perpetual existance!!! 

[Tomato]

I get internet via my phone 90% of the time because the home net connection is lucky to go up to 300 kb/s and it randomly dies for no reason other then it randomly wants to.

[Panther_Gunn]

How long have your parents had the service?  If the (cable/DSL/etc) modem is older hardware, that alone could be a source of connection problems.  If it's older than say 5 or more years, contact Verizon and ask them if there's a newer model that you could replace it with, as you suspect that you're not getting a good connection from it.  When talking to Customer Service, don't tell them what speeds you're getting, ask them what you *should* be getting, based on your account/subscription and area.  *Then* you can share with them the speed issues you've been seeing.  That should give you a good baseline, and some firmer ground from which to argue the point.

[captmorgan72]

Holy crap, 200kb?  I have 15mb and I thought that was slow. I can't even begin to imagine what having 200kb would be like. I almost want to send you money dude.

[detourne_me]

Only click if you really want to be ticked off at me:

Spoiler

and I actually live in a small village about 150 km from Seoul. There are a few 24 hour convenience stores, but no supermarkets. I have to take a 30 minute bus ride if I want to go grocery shopping.

I really feel for you guys. Internet accessibility has almost become a human right (of the privileged i guess) and telecom companies and govt. all over north america and england are hellbent on destroying the infrastructure to maintain power.

[GogglesPizanno]

I'm in a similar boat. We only have a single DSL company (Centurylink) supplying internet to my town. The claim "Up to 10MB" but during peak hours (ie. anytime anyone really wants to do anything) I get about 1MB. The best part, is that they bought Qwest last year, and Qwest has their main west coast fiber optic line running under the town about 1/2 mile from my house.... but apparently wiring the town to actually take advantage of it is not worth it to them.

Whats funny is that I have gotten used to it, and think the need to have to be slightly patient for stuff (as opposed to instant access to everything) has relaxed me a bit. Its help to curb some of the addictive aspects of the internet so I'm more inclined to go do other stuff rather than just get stuck online all the time.

[captmorgan72]

Only click if you really want to be ticked off at me:

Spoiler

and I actually live in a small village about 150 km from Seoul. There are a few 24 hour convenience stores, but no supermarkets. I have to take a 30 minute bus ride if I want to go grocery shopping.

I really feel for you guys. Internet accessibility has almost become a human right (of the privileged i guess) and telecom companies and govt. all over north america and england are hellbent on destroying the infrastructure to maintain power.

Wow, that is fast detourne!  Just curious but why do you live in Korea? Are you Korean?

[Xenolith]

I'm at 12 Mb/s and I'm not paying for anything but the cheap service!

[XStream]

Neat test... I am at 15mbps download and 3.6 upload through comcast.

[Deaths Jester]

I hate all of you people!!!  Even 'Mato with his less than stellar connection!!   

[UnfluffyBunny]

I've lived with internet worse than this for 2 years now >.> my average DL speed is approx 130kb/s, I'm mostly sure it's powered by some sort of small rodent on a wheel ontop of one of the nearby hills.
I have however, been guaranteed my service will reach a minimum of 2mb/s by the end of 2015......
(for reference, when I lived in the city I got 18mb)

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

S Korea is known to have some of the cheapest, fastest, most widespread internet capabilities in the world.  I think the pic detourne posted pretty much proves that.

This is the shame, because the US should be the leader in this, but our internet capabilities are pathetic, with companies whinning about needing to make it even worse in order to make even routine simple upgrades.

The intenet is a thread to the status quo.  Fortunately, there's nothing that can be done to stop it, only slow it down.  Once cable tv and traditional media both die, most of the obstacles holding us back should be gone and the US will experience a true era of the internet.

[detourne_me]

S Korea is known to have some of the cheapest, fastest, most widespread internet capabilities in the world.  I think the pic detourne posted pretty much proves that.

This is the shame, because the US should be the leader in this, but our internet capabilities are pathetic, with companies whinning about needing to make it even worse in order to make even routine simple upgrades.

The intenet is a thread to the status quo.  Fortunately, there's nothing that can be done to stop it, only slow it down.  Once cable tv and traditional media both die, most of the obstacles holding us back should be gone and the US will experience a true era of the internet.

South Korea only dominates in internet speed cause the entire country is smaller than California and has had the benefit of being able to build a completely new infrastructure with the last 50 years. standing atop the shoulders of giants indeed. the country does strive to have free or nearly free wifi access everywhere. especially in the subway system.
actually i had a bit of a shock lately.  while visiting an island here with some friends, we were checking out one of the largest caves... at the end of the cave, about 1km, there was a plaque about the lava columns... stating they were the largest in the world. well skeptical but stupid me took out my iphone to check if it was true.  never dawned on me that there wouldnt be cellphone service 1km under ground on an island.  duh!

the infrastructure is one of the main reasons i keep living here, even though my pay isnt much.

[lugaru]

So back in the 90's when I lived in Mexico I had cable internet, because they main provider in town was the cable company. Then I moved to West Virginia in like 2002 and went to a 28k modem. I remember telling my friends and somebody just straight up saying "yeah, dump the girl you moved in with".

People are passionate about internet speeds.