more on Wireless Regulation Matters Even More, Now

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com>
Date: December 16, 2005 4:46:38 PM EST
To: Thomas Leavitt <thomas () thomasleavitt org>
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>, Dewayne Hendricks  
<dewayne () warpspeed com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Wireless Regulation Matters Even More, Now

Thomas, you are lucky that you can even get a broadband connection.

I live in Saratoga, IN SILICON VALLEY. I can not get DSL or Cable  
Modem from anyone. I can get IDSL (pinned up ISDN, 144kbps) from  
Covad for $129/month or a 384kbps T1 for $379/month. I can also get  
the Etheric 784kbps (with a bandwidth cap!) wireless service for $90/ 
month.

The only reason I have broadband is because I have been working in  
the wireless field for a long time and was able to arrainge a link to  
MetroFi.

But I would rather have a wired link any day. The wireless link has  
effectively variable thruput. At best I'm getting just under 1Mbps  
downstream. Sometimes though its more like 384kbps. Plus latency is  
very variable so you can't do too much VoIP (I have successfully done  
single calls that works better than cellular)

In Japan and Korea, people get 24Mpbs for around $12/month. You can  
get fiber 100Mbps (soon Gbps) for $50/month.

That is the minimums we should be shooting for. Not begging for a few  
Mbps and then the phone company and cable co saying what we can and  
can not transfer over that bandwidth.

Rob

On Dec 16, 2005, at 1:26 PM, David Farber wrote:

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: December 16, 2005 9:38:04 AM EST
> To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] re: Wireless Regulation Matters Even More, Now
> Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com
>
> [Note:  This comment comes from reader Thomas Leavitt.  DLH]
>
> > From: Thomas Leavitt <thomas () thomasleavitt org>
> > Date: December 16, 2005 5:30:37 AM PST
> > To: dewayne () warpspeed com
> > Subject: Re: [Dewayne-Net] Wireless Regulation Matters Even More, Now
> >
> > Dewayne,
> >
> >  After reading this article, I was inspired to repeat the research  
> > I'd
> > done on alternatives to DSL and Cable earlier this year, when I  
> > moved my
> > company into new offices, and no longer had "Ethernet to the  
> > Internet"
> > via an in-building connection to my ISP (and thence directly to the
> > Internet backbone). The results were just as disappointing today, as
> > they were then.
> >
> >  I live in Santa Cruz, CA, less than an hour's drive from the  
> > heart of
> > Silicon Valley. The "one path for packets that hasn't been  
> > monopolized"
> > offers me an unappetizing menu of choices, starting at a minimum of
> > $99/mo. for a fraction of the capacity offered by my local ISP's
> > rebranding of SBC's DSL network. This is hardly an "alternative". I'd
> > abandon my DSL and wireline phone for a wireless broadband network
> > connection and VOIP in a heartbeat... but not for more than twice  
> > what
> > I'm paying now (roughly $65-70/mo. between the DSL and the wireline
> > metered rate phone I use only for incoming phone calls and outgoing
> > faxes) and a fraction of the bandwidth.
> >
> >  Extensive Googling yielded perhaps a half-dozen alternatives that at
> > least theoretically offered service in my area... of the three (maybe
> > four) I was able to actually find pricing for (among quite a  
> > number who
> > have simply disappeared and had their web site URL's snatched up by
> > traffic mongers), the best deal available was from Etheric  
> > Networks, at
> > $99/mo. for a "small office/home office" connection... and, in my  
> > area,
> > actually, their rates are $129 or $149 for their lowest tier of  
> > service
> > (750 kbps guaranteed, bursting to 1 mbps, with a quota of 55.1  
> > GB). See:
> > http://www.etheric.net/soho.html
> >
> >  Compare that to the $29.99/mo. (plus another $3-4 in fees) I pay  
> > for my
> > Cruzio.com 3.0 DSL connection (rebranded SBC Internet, which I  
> > believe
> > sells for $5/mo. less direct). "Download speeds of 1.5mbps to  
> > 3.0mbps;
> > upload speeds of 384kbps to 512kbps."
> > http://www.cruzio.com/services/highspeed_access/higher_speeds.html
> >
> >  I just ran their speed tester, and it says I'm getting 2.54 mbps
> > downloads, and 458 mbps uploads. Cruzio doesn't give me a quota,  
> > doesn't
> > prevent me from reselling my bandwidth or running a server, etc.
> >
> >  You can argue that SBC isn't selling this service at their true  
> > cost,
> > but the gap between the two is more like a chasm. This hardly
> > constitutes a serious alternative.
> >
> >  I'd pay a reasonable premium (either in reduced capacity, or  
> > increased
> > monthly rates) to be able to cut the wires completely, but the market
> > isn't delivering such an option yet, as far as I can tell. Anyone  
> > know
> > why? What are the economics, such that it isn't feasible to offer me,
> > say, 1.5 mbps downloads, and 256k uploads, with a reasonable level of
> > reliability, for, say, $50/mo.? ...at which point, the economics  
> > of it
> > become pretty compelling, as the cash price, when combined with
> > commercial VOIP service, is in the ballpark relative what I'm  
> > paying now
> > (with the premium being an expected lower QOS and lower overall
> > bandwidth).
> >
> > Regards,
> > Thomas Leavitt
>
> Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
>
>
>
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Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC.
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