Some consolation for Kiwis in the state of US internet

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Ultimate Geek

# 18464 11-Jan-2008 11:40

Robert Cringely has disabused me of the belief that the US has bottomless internet - see below.

Here is one I got wrong, though it came closer than a lot of people realize. I labeled 2007 as the year the net crashed in the USA, with video overwhelming the Internet as we all learned that the broadband ISPs have been selling us something they can't really deliver. We stumbled through, though, thanks to ISPs blocking ports, capping bandwidth, shaping traffic, and imposing local multicast while claiming they were doing none of these. Why the lie? Because we came closer to a breakdown than ISPs wanted to admit. Still, it didn't happen so I got this one wrong.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2008/pulpit_20080104_003787.html

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freitasm

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# 104204 11-Jan-2008 12:30

New Zealanders believe the world have unlimited mobile broadband (not) and bottomless wired Internet (not).

Providers around the world still try to find ways to limit the "unlimited" offerings, as this article suggests.

In some ways we have good Internet penetration. Prices may not be right, but there are lots of factors to consider. However I think this will come down soon.

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freitasm

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# 104222 11-Jan-2008 13:24

And more, for those who claim "unlimited" is "unlimited" in the US:

AT&T refreshing their data plans:

The largest carrier in the US is poised to turn its entire data pricing and marketing strategy on its end according to a series of slides we've found entitled "Data & Messaging Plan Realignment - January 2008." First up, MEdia Net plans are being revised, and for the most part things seem to be getting a little cheaper. MEdia Max Unlimited, for example -- a plan that includes unlimited on-device data and messaging -- goes from $39.99 to an even $35. Next, tethering and data card plans are dropping the term "Unlimited" and imposing a "soft limit" of 5GB; users who consistently exceed that limit won't be charged overage but could be relieved of their plans if AT&T chooses to do so.

As much as this sucks, it brings AT&T's official policy in line with the way the industry seems to be trending, as it proudly points out in the slides.

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optimusprime

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# 104225 11-Jan-2008 13:31

The largest unlimited plan I know of in USA still has a 200gb limit.
I guess the theory behind it is if you are reaching this limit you are most likely doing something that you shouldn't be.

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# 104232 11-Jan-2008 14:12

optimusprime: The largest unlimited plan I know of in USA still has a 200gb limit.
I guess the theory behind it is if you are reaching this limit you are most likely doing something that you shouldn't be.

For other plans 'unlimited', make that 70GB. There was discussion of a provider on slashdot which was well known for cutting users without notice once they got near that figure (they didn't publish what 'excessive usage' actually was).

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# 104238 11-Jan-2008 14:35

pardon me but i beg to differ somewhat, i think 70gig or 200gig (for say $40 @ 10-100mbps) is still way way better than 3-5gig for $40 bucks at 2-4 mbps!

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

optimusprime

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# 104239 11-Jan-2008 14:37

joker97: pardon me but i beg to differ somewhat, i think 70gig or 200gig (for say $40 @ 10-100mbps) is still way way better than 3-5gig for $40 bucks at 2-4 mbps!

Yep, I agree, it is still far more superior than any NZ broadband plan available. Sadly even in 5 years time it will probably still be better than what New Zealand will have then.

I was in the US last year and manged to hookup a 100mbps 40GB wireless connection for $39.95 per month. Navigating websites online was as quick as browsing folders on your own computers, had trouble figuring out what to do with all the spare waiting time.

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# 104255 11-Jan-2008 16:28

joker97: pardon me but i beg to differ somewhat, i think 70gig or 200gig (for say $40 @ 10-100mbps) is still way way better than 3-5gig for $40 bucks at 2-4 mbps!

I recall an internet plan called Go-Large which despite its negative publicity, many connections (my old one and friends/family) can pull down 60GB+.

For $49.95, it was a good deal. However it was shaped like many US providers do.

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# 104259 11-Jan-2008 16:39

optimusprime:
joker97: pardon me but i beg to differ somewhat, i think 70gig or 200gig (for say $40 @ 10-100mbps) is still way way better than 3-5gig for $40 bucks at 2-4 mbps!

Yep, I agree, it is still far more superior than any NZ broadband plan available. Sadly even in 5 years time it will probably still be better than what New Zealand will have then.

I was in the US last year and manged to hookup a 100mbps 40GB wireless connection for $39.95 per month. Navigating websites online was as quick as browsing folders on your own computers, had trouble figuring out what to do with all the spare waiting time.

And guess where most of the content for the US came from? I'll give you a hint - it wasn't China.

A lot of the 'internet' heavens discussed - USA (which when you look at smaller cities and rural environments isn't such a good place), Japan, Korea, European countries etc... the traffic comes from local sources (ie. in the country) and/or have good levels of connectivity and/or high population density and/or higher other <insert OCED measurement here.

While in New Zealand, we access most of our content from overseas. Hosting content here isn't cheap, however it is the best way to get content to New Zealanders quicker.

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optimusprime

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# 104267 11-Jan-2008 17:06

While in New Zealand, we access most of our content from overseas. Hosting content here isn't cheap, however it is the best way to get content to New Zealanders quicker.

I know what you are saying but actually I think most of our New Zealand user traffic is local as google.co.nz yahoo.co.nz trademe.co.nz are the most popular sites in NZ and they are hosted locally. http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?cc=NZ&ts_mode=country⟨=none

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# 104269 11-Jan-2008 17:16

Of those only Trademe is hosted in the country.

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# 104270 11-Jan-2008 17:18

Just because it has a .nz prefix, it doesn't mean that its in New Zealand.

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optimusprime

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# 104272 11-Jan-2008 17:29

freitasm: Of those only Trademe is hosted in the country.

Well anyway, tradme accounts for a large preportion of it was the point I was trying to make.

cokemaster: Just because it has a .nz prefix, it doesn't mean that its in New Zealand.

Yes I am aware.

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# 104278 11-Jan-2008 17:54

There are also high broadband sites such as youtube, which is dependent on international links.

Streaming media sites such as Youtube and other online sites use a lot of international bandwidth which potentially can be avoided.

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