Comcast Speed Increase

Anyone who has Comcast cable internet notice the speed boost in December?

This is what i'm getting now! Over 2.2 megabytes down per second! Not Megabits mind you, but megabytes (The conversion is 8 megabits per megabyte.) And pretty much a full megabyte upload speed. Getting faster and faster... This is easily fast enough to stream a 1080p movie with full HD audio easily. Now I just need a provider that does just that.

Hey Spoonie G,

Still wanting for downloads to rule the home media world hey. I have Comcast and I've had speed boost since last summer. The funny thing is where I live they cut the speed during peak hours say like between 8-12pm. During that time I always notice speeds slow down. But for xbox 360 owners HD movies are already a reality. With netflix HD streaming. PS Store has it also. Now as far as HD audio don't hold your breath.

---

[Post edited by tony1569 on Jan 19, 2009 - CST 4:39 PM]

On my days off I'm on the internets pretty much all day. I haven't noticed any cuts in speed during peak hours.

spoonard,

I've had Comcast's premium Internet service for years now, and I've been very happy with it. Be aware, though, that you'll get different results from different speed tests and locations. For example, I just tried the tests at Speedtest.com and found them ranging consistently from 20,000-30,000 kb/s download, depending on where the test was located. But at Broadband/DSL Reports, their tests give me download scores between 10,000-20,000 kb/s.

The best test I've found is the one devised by "PC Magazine" called SurfSpeed 2. It's a free download from "PC Magazine's" Web site. The test suite actually connects you to a series of ten or twelve real-life Web sites like CNN, MSN, Google, Amazon, etc., and shows you how fast you connect and download a page from each site. Then it averages your download speed and allows you to compare your speed to the average for every other Internet provider in the world.

My Comcast speed is 2-3 times faster than any other ISP in "PC Magazine's" test comparisions, so, yeah, I'm happy.

Is it still fast enough to download a movie in the time I could go to the store and rent it? Probably not.

John

Unless they have changed the cable system recently it works like this: The more people on your block using the internet at the same time the less speed you will have. You are sharing the main line. DSL although slower doesn't act like this. It has more consistent speeds no matter how many online at the same time.

---

[Post edited by wolvinator on Jan 21, 2009 - CST 7:37 AM]

Quote:
The more people on your block using the internet at the same time the less speed you will have.

While technically true, this is more of a FUD scare tactic from DSL providers. The amount of people it would take to be online at the same time, and for you to notice any network slowdown because of it, in any given neighborhood is astronomical. The technician that installed my Comcast internets/phone/digital cable broke it down pretty good. he said "They keep coming up with new and improved ways to move data through fiber optic lines. For example, the Docsis 3 upgrades that will happen in 2009/2010 should up the speed potential by 50 times. What are they gonna come up with next? Right now, there is no end in sight right now."

A single strand of fiber optic cable can run transfer rates up to 111Gb/sec. And the bundles of fiber that are installed around where I live, the tech said, were as big around as my leg.

I was merely explaining that there is many times a reason why you see a drop during peak hours whether you would notice it or not without tests. Of course cable is much quicker than DSL. But you will see some kind of drop when your neighborhood decides to have a big lan party lol.

If you want to talk about sweet throughput I'd put my money on FIOS anytime before cable companies. Fiber optic all the way up to your house nevermind to stations somewhere in the area.

---

[Post edited by wolvinator on Jan 21, 2009 - CST 1:49 PM]

A report I noticed in today's Houston Chronicle...

COMCAST DRAWS FCC SCRUTINY

Philadelpha -- Comcast Corp, the nation's biggest cable operator, is being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission over concerns that it is giving preferential treatment to its phone service at the expense of similar services from competitors. In a letter to Comcast this week, the FCC asked Comcast to justify this "disparate treatment."

Philadelphia-based Comcast said it is reviewing the FCC's letter. It has until Jan 30 to respond.

Comcast last year changed the way it handles Internet traffic after the FCC cracked down on its practice of delaying peer-to-peer file sharing, an issue that outraged supporters of "network neutrality," which is the idea that the Internet service providers should not give certain types of online data better treatment than others. Now Comcast is slowing down traffic for heavy users if there is Internet congestion in their area, regardless of what kind of data they are consuming.

Comcast indicated in a regulatory filing that an Internet phone call placed when the network is congested could sound "choppy." But the FCC noted that Comcast's website says that its own phone service is routed over a separate network instead of the public Internet and won't be affected by its new network management practices. -[END]-

Also, I mentioned this previously, that occasionally during certain peak times I've noticed that my [Comcast] internet speed is slower, and even STOPS for a minute or two [no pages will load], before resuming the connection. In my opinion, the cable service is not as reliable on a recurring basis as say, your home phone line, as you run the risk of dropped internet connections, etc, because of network hiccups. They need to improve their system, and keep the download/upload speeds at a consistent level.

-JOE- (Love Hendrix!)

It's Comcast's network, they should be able to do with it what they want. If they want to build a serperate network for their own internet phone service that is seperatre from the one everyone else has to use, then they should be able to do that. I wouldn't believe that Comcast is slowing anything down with the new caps on usage they put in place recently. It's in their best interest to let people go as fast as they want unmeasured, that way they can slap them with more over-usage fees.

---

[Post edited by spoonard on Jan 22, 2009 - CST 8:26 AM]

I had Comcast internet for a couple years. Had way to many hiccups as you call them. I found myself calling them once a month having to give them my mac ID each time for them to link back up to my router. Also, I had way to many days with no internet at all. Since having Verizon DSL (although slower) I've had two days without internet in three years. That's what I call consistent service. My brother has Comcast now and the picture quality and phone service suck(he told me so). When FIOS gets here I will be a very happy camper(best of both worlds - speed and consistent).