Fibre optic upgrade

[pedruid]

Ian
I am with cool ideas on Vumatel at home. And it just works. We watch streaming TV all the time or have google music going. At work we got Iconnect with high speed and capped package, this bought out by Cellc and so far so good. I love getting the big 100MB file now, it is just so quick.

IanF, mind sharing the site you use for streaming TV?

[IanF]

IanF, mind sharing the site you use for streaming TV?

Hi
I use Netflix currently and have used Amazon prime for a few months.

[pedruid]

Hi
I use Netflix currently and have used Amazon prime for a few months.

So nothing with Rugby?

[ians]

Telkom have contacted me to upgrade my current service to fibre....no thanks... so which service? with no FUP or ties to a cheap crappy router or installation cost. It time to make provision for the fibre line or is it not better to wait and go 5 G?

This telephone/data thing starts adding up... you add the cost per month for the fix line...ADSL/fibre... then you start adding your phone contract...data purchases...add the wife and her phone and data purchases... then the kids phones and data...these companies must be printing money from all us stubborn suckers.

[Jackt]

I am very tired of "up to" speeds being quoted.
What is the minimum guaranteed speed is more appropriate.

We have fiber in our area suddenly.
I have LTE which used to be great, (mostly above 50Mbps, now hardly 20Mbps, and never above 10Mbps upload) but speeds are often slow lately, and all I get when phoning to query is that it will be escalated.

Now I ask the Fiber marketers and they can only guarantee "UP TO"
I need a guarantee of "Above" and that they will upgrade there system when it gets below a certain level.

Is this possible with any provider?

What is the benefit of spending the money for super fast fiber when my LTE is faster than fiber at the same price?

[adrianh]

LTE is NOT faster. I run 100/100 fiber and it is really fast.

Of course they can only quote "UP TO" - they have ZERO control over downstream service providers - If your Torrent site sits behind a 56K modem in Russia then there is nothing that your local service provider can do about it.

[Jackt]

LTE is NOT faster. I run 100/100 fiber and it is really fast.

Of course they can only quote "UP TO" - they have ZERO control over downstream service providers - If your Torrent site sits behind a 56K modem in Russia then there is nothing that your local service provider can do about it.

Yes, I'm very aware of that, but local speed tests should give good results.

And another question, what can we as customers do to get faster international internet?

[adrianh]

Yes, I'm very aware of that, but local speed tests should give good results.

And another question, what can we as customers do to get faster international internet?

Speed testing is a bit of a misnomer. Each service provider provides their own test bench which is really a server sitting on their own fiber network. The problem is that the test is not really indicative of real world conditions. It is like using your driveway as benchmark to show the fuel consumption of your car.

Although the speed is really good you are still limited by various factors like local network loading and international bandwidth. The thing about fiber is that it gives you bandwidth rather than pure raw speed. What I mean is that although you can only get say a 2meg download speed you can get that on multiple channels. Peer to peer downloads are super fast because they use multiple ports and of course 5 people can watch 5 different movies simultaneously in your house. I can do a 3 x 1Gig downloads simultaneously in about 15 minutes.

Be careful of small companies offering fiber services - they may not have the backbone infrastructure to give you the best possible speeds.

[adrianh]

If you do a looooooooooot of downloading then high speed (or better put - high bandwidth) fiber is for you - if you download the odd movie then you can get away with lower speeds.

[adrianh]

Another thing to keep in mind is that they quote speeds in BITS per second. The true maximum download speed is more like that figure divided by 8 to 16 so lets settle on 10. The max bandwidth you can get on a 100 up 100 down line is no more that 10 Meg.

[ians]

So what is the big deal.

I have an ADSL line - A router - A lit box - and a TV... you watch the odd netfix movie and a bit of youtube and maybe do a little searching on google... you may even message while watching the box... no big deal.

It only starts becoming a big deal as your network grows... your kids get devices ...they start gaming ...you install a home automation system and add in a few 2 Meg cameras ...then see a special on 8 meg cameras because the crime is hit an all high in the hood (by the way cameras dont prevent crime) and you want to view while at work or away from home.... you start downloading series ...etc etc...now its time to start paying attention.

So its starts...

Fibre - because you need faster speed.

Router - the router is suddenly is just not doing what is required.

Switches - you start looking at a network infrastucture with switches and POE.

Cabling - then you realise the cat 5e cca cable installed just doesnt cut it any longer.

Access points - high speed access points are installed to offer better coverage and bandwidth ...while all your mates a doing tequila shots on your neighbours wifes hooters on your pub counter ...while live on their favourite social media platform...just imagine being that guy who didnt have the speed and bandwidth