64k - time for an upgrade of the minimum speed?

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › 64k - time for an upgrade of the minimum speed?

Agent24

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#93433 21-Nov-2011 18:07

Why is 64k still used as the speed for connections when the data cap has been used up?

It's only slightly better than 56k dialup which is ancient now, compared to the ADSL2+ a lot of people have.

Is it about time the minimum speed was upgraded? 128k perhaps? 256k even?

Is it a data usage thing or do the ISPs just not care, 64k is the slowest they can use so they just do?

64k is barely enough for one person, but now there is usually a whole family using the internet so 256k or so would make much more sense.

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#548056 21-Nov-2011 19:51

Perhaps an ISP would be willing to step forward with a system perhaps using 128/256/512 as the capped speed on Large usage plans or have increased cap speed as a paid add-on?

RedJalapeno

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#548058 21-Nov-2011 19:53

According to the post on the Airnet forum they throttle @128Kbps

sbiddle

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#548059 21-Nov-2011 19:54

The days of traffic shaping are IMHO very much history as most people prefer the ability to buy extra data and continue with fast speeds.

Even a 128kbps connection still allows a significant amount of data to be transferred for "free" since you're in effect not paying for it.

tonyhughes

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#548062 21-Nov-2011 20:01

At Airnet, we felt 64Kbps shaping was a poor experience of days gone by.

Our users have two choices:

1. Fullspeed, paying for overage.
2. 128Kbps throttle, no excess data charges.

We agreed with the OP, 128Kbps is streets ahead of 64Kbps.

Unlikely to increase much higher than 128Kbps, as if you do the maths, you will find a fair amount of data can be pulled over an unlimited 256Kbps connection ;-P

I trialled 128Kbps at my home before the rollout (ate our own dogfood, as the saying goes), during a holiday period with two teenagers. While Youtube etc wasn't exactly stellar, Gmail/Facebook/Twitter and other sites ran very well, and the teens (who were not informed of the change), didn't notice. I was using encrypted VPN and RDP, and while noticeably less responsive, was completely usable.

lucky015

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#548065 21-Nov-2011 20:08

sbiddle: The days of traffic shaping are IMHO very much history as most people prefer the ability to buy extra data and continue with fast speeds.

Even a 128kbps connection still allows a significant amount of data to be transferred for "free" since you're in effect not paying for it.

On that same note the 64kbps connection while capped is part of the service a user pays for.

And it is often mentioned time and time again that it is the large scale peak network congestion that causes most of the costs incurred by ISP's rather than the data downloaded over a fairly long period of time while capped, An Extra $5-30 per month (Depending on the speed offered) could actually be profitable for an increase Capped speed from 64 to 128 or even 256.

RedJalapeno

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#548067 21-Nov-2011 20:09

tonyhughes: At Airnet, we felt 64Kbps shaping was a poor experience of days gone by.

That being said, your data caps/overage prices are fairly horrendous.

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#548074 21-Nov-2011 20:17

RedJalapeno:
tonyhughes: At Airnet, we felt 64Kbps shaping was a poor experience of days gone by.

That being said, your data caps/overage prices are fairly horrendous.

One of the side effects of being a comparatively smaller company I'd guess, Although in saying that with their current Double for 12 months deal I see listed on their site, $185 for 200GB is a fairly decent deal.

Also they seem to offer a collection of free services, Some of which look rather useful that I haven't seen elsewhere.

tonyhughes

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#548076 21-Nov-2011 20:19

RedJalapeno:
tonyhughes: At Airnet, we felt 64Kbps shaping was a poor experience of days gone by.

That being said, your data caps/overage prices are fairly horrendous.

We have a good range of data allocations - up to 200GB on our current promotion, and a 128Kbps throttle. No need to pay overage if you don't want to either.

If pricing is everything, I see many ISPs with cheaper rates than ours, it would pay to search Google, Twitter, and Geekzone for customer satisfaction stories when comparing.

Cheapest price, and best service are not always mutually inclusive ;-).

(Names withheld to protect those with poor international links, and terrible customer service.)

lucky015

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#548079 21-Nov-2011 20:27

tonyhughes:
RedJalapeno:
tonyhughes: At Airnet, we felt 64Kbps shaping was a poor experience of days gone by.

That being said, your data caps/overage prices are fairly horrendous.

We have a good range of data allocations - up to 200GB on our current promotion, and a 128Kbps throttle. No need to pay overage if you don't want to either.

If pricing is everything, I see many ISPs with cheaper rates than ours, it would pay to search Google, Twitter, and Geekzone for customer satisfaction stories when comparing.

Cheapest price, and best service are not always mutually inclusive ;-).

(Names withheld to protect those with poor international links, and terrible customer service.)

While your service area listed on your site is somewhat of a pity, I suppose it can only be expected considering you appear to be primarily a single city based and Wireless based ISP.

I would rather like to see one of the Big 3 ISP's take a leaf out of your book.

Capped speed of 128kbps would easily be worth another $15 for me, Or upto $30 for 256kbps.

tonyhughes

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#548080 21-Nov-2011 20:28

Agent24: Is it a data usage thing or do the ISPs just not care

Possibly more of the first than the second?

128/256/512Kbps links can pull a shangload of data.

2/4/8 times 64Kbps links even. :-P

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#548081 21-Nov-2011 20:33

256k cap speed would be great

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tonyhughes

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#548082 21-Nov-2011 20:36

lucky015: you appear to be primarily a single city based

Three cities, many towns & rural areas. ("Regional" might be an accurate term).

Wireless based ISP

We are also a wireless specialist, but we are primarily a regular telco (UCLL/PSTN/ISDN phone lines, fibre, xDSL, tolls, etc).

I would rather like to see one of the Big 3 ISP's take a leaf out of your book.

SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Capped speed of 128kbps would easily be worth another $15 for me, Or upto $30 for 256kbps.

Nawwww.... free.... with more free services too....

tonyhughes

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#548084 21-Nov-2011 20:43

lucky015: And it is often mentioned time and time again that it is the large scale peak network congestion that causes most of the costs incurred by ISP's rather than the data downloaded over a fairly long period of time while capped.

First point is very valid, but also not to underestimate the second.

lucky015

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#548090 21-Nov-2011 21:00

tonyhughes:
lucky015: you appear to be primarily a single city based

Three cities, many towns & rural areas. ("Regional" might be an accurate term).

Wireless based ISP

We are also a wireless specialist, but we are primarily a regular telco (UCLL/PSTN/ISDN phone lines, fibre, xDSL, tolls, etc).

I would rather like to see one of the Big 3 ISP's take a leaf out of your book.

SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Capped speed of 128kbps would easily be worth another $15 for me, Or upto $30 for 256kbps.

Nawwww.... free.... with more free services too....

Ah, It appears I jumped to too many assumptions lol, But I love what you are doing so far and I will be keeping an eye out for anyone doing the same in Auckland.

lucky015

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#548095 21-Nov-2011 21:07

tonyhughes:
lucky015: And it is often mentioned time and time again that it is the large scale peak network congestion that causes most of the costs incurred by ISP's rather than the data downloaded over a fairly long period of time while capped.

First point is very valid, but also not to underestimate the second.

Ah, Yes, What I had in mind at the time of writing was that perhaps 10gb used over time costs them FAR less than the sudden 10GB used by someone buying it at $2 a gb at full speed using it in a couple of hours (Think downloading a steam game)

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