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Author
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Topic: Broadband to the Home - What's Your Experience?
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AndyN
Wainhouse Research Posts: 345
From: Sarasota FL USA
Since: Jul 2000
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posted 07 August 2000 08:45 AM
   
Let's get a handle on the real-world of broadband connections to the home by exchanging our experiences. Can you get broadband? What form and from whom? Do you have it? What kind of throughput are you experiencing? Is it reliable? Was it a real hassle to order and install? How much do you pay? Has it changed the way you work? Do you recommend your solution? I'll be the first to post next.
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AndyN
Wainhouse Research Posts: 345
From: Sarasota FL USA
Since: Jul 2000
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posted 07 August 2000 09:10 AM
I've been a satisfied cable modem user for two years now; my cable service is Roadunner from MediaOne. The good news is it was totally hassle-free to install and, except for an occasional mail-server outage (which has nothing to do with cable), it has been 100% reliable - with the minor caveat that you need to power down the cable modem every 6 months or so to purge some internal error log or else it freezes. The bad news is it's a little slow from a broadband throughput standpoint - I seem to average around 200kbps but have seen it as slow as 128kbps. (fyi - your bandwidth can be measured using 2wire's bandwidth meter) It costs $40/month including the rental of the cable modem; the cost w/o rental is $30. I am running the cable modem to my main PC, which is running Win98SE's Internet Connection Sharing to my home LAN which shares the connection with 2 more PCs. This works like a champ (especially DHCP), highly recommended. Videoconferencing is variable. To other MediaOne subscribers it is very good; once you go off net it can vary widely, but generally has been better than I would have expected with the state of inter-cloud QoS, etc. My quality is about a 128kbps call which is my demonstrated bandwidth. I would like to get DSL someday for the increased bandwidth, but for the moment my local CO is 'full', so no new gear is allowed - DSL is not an option. Has my cable modem changed the way I work? Definitely, probably first due to being always on then speed. Working home w/o it would be a drag.
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Keisuke Hashimoto
Sr. Member Posts: 377
From: Funabashi Japan
Since: Aug 2000
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posted 04 June 2002 03:12 PM
I used to use ISDN for Internet connection, but since I installed ADSL(1.5mbps and recently switched to 8Mbps) for the Internet connection at home/office,I really felt that I could not go back to ISDN for the Internet connection.It has really become much much faster when downloading files from remote servers and uploading files etc..since I swithed ISDN to ADSL. After switched to 8Mbps ADSL service, the throughput is 3Mbps downstream/680kbps upstream as my home is 2.5km away from the switch. I pay 3,100JPY(25USD) per month for ADSL service and 800JPY(6.5USD) per month for ISP usage both flat rate. I am thinking about having IP video on my ADSL connectivity to see how it goes. Keis [This message has been edited by Keisuke Hashimoto (edited 04 June 2002).] IP: Logged |
Joe Qazi
Member Posts: 6
From:
Since: Mar 2002
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posted 05 June 2002 09:52 AM
At home, I use the following:Comcast Cable Modem:
Have had for about 3 years now. Set up in a single day, no problems. Cost is $45/month (leased modem). Throughput averages around 250kB/sec. Verizon DSL (640/128):
Have had for about 2 years and took 3 months for them to set up and get it right. Cost is $40/month and throughput averages around 90kB/sec. Machines at home all run Win XP. ------------------
Triple Point Group, Inc.
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jason partridge
Member Posts: 22
From: UK
Since: May 2001
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posted 25 June 2002 04:58 AM
I have used the following Broadband services in the UK at different levels of bandwidth provision for IP Videoconferencing:BT
NTL
Demon.net
Clara.co.uk
Blueyonder
etc... Each one yields wildy different results when comparing like for like at the same level of service with the same test conference kit. The limiting factor for a useable broadband IP videconferece from these results therfore is not defined by the level of connection it is dependant on who provides the connection. jason.
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Lance Wicks
Sr. Member Posts: 83
From: London & Southern England
Since: Feb 2002
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posted 03 July 2002 06:14 AM
Just to add my Two Cents worth.I have trialed VC from a BT OPenworld Home ADSL line. Using a ViaVideo, worked okay even at 384k (suprisingly). As you would expect the quality varied depending on where and when I was calling. Lance IP: Logged |
adhocvideo
Sr. Member Posts: 47
From: Plano,Texas, USA
Since: Jun 2002
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posted 07 July 2002 12:18 PM
We have a cable modem installed from AT&T Broadband, with an in home office LAN that consists of 2 desktop units and 1 laptop. All 3 units have complete access to the cable modem connection. We are heavy business users for from 7AM until 8PM. The rest of the time we are users that are more traditional web surfers. During the business day we transmit and send many large files that include spreadsheets, Power Point presentations and Video Emails. These files range from 600kbps to 5MB. In addition we do a lot of video conferences with clients and friends around the world. Understanding that most cable and DSL connections only get true BB down stream, (we get an average of 1.5MB) and much less upstream, (we get an average of 128kbps). We are able to do a business quality 2 way full duplex call over the Internet to any user that also has DSL or cable, without the need for QoS. We can also do a 3 way business quality full duplex call if each user has 128kbps upstream bandwidth. In this case the window size msut be set at 176x144. Again no QoS is assumed. We pay $49.95 for our cable connection. There are no on-going charges for the video conferencing usage. IP: Logged |
jodonnell
Sr. Member Posts: 51
From: Simsbury, CT 06070
Since: Feb 2001
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posted 14 July 2002 09:13 PM
I have ATTBI service. It connects to a router which connects to 2 PCs. Performance is very good. About 200K up and 1.3MB down. Reliability is another issue. Plagued with email issues last year and the @home bankruptcy was a real fiasco. Then they changed their network and my old modem would not work properly. Customer service is pathetic, but hey, it is AT&T. So from a performance standpoint, it is excellent. From a service and reliability standpoint, they leave much to be desired. As soon as SBC gets their act together, I’ll try DSL.
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johnmkerrnj1
Member Posts: 2
From: New Jesey
Since: Jun 2002
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posted 22 July 2002 05:01 PM
quote:
Originally posted by AndyN:
Let's get a handle on the real-world of broadband connections to the home by exchanging our experiences. Can you get broadband? What form and from whom? Do you have it? What kind of throughput are you experiencing? Is it reliable? Was it a real hassle to order and install? How much do you pay? Has it changed the way you work? Do you recommend your solution? I'll be the first to post next.
I get comcast@home..cable It's fairly reliable, when it's down, it's only for a few minutes. The price is right, $40/month and it allows me to send and download larger files. It was very easy to install and order. There is one drawback. If you need a service technician to visit, there is a two day wait. I haven't had this problem, because usually a reboot of the modem fixes the connection. John Kerr
Accordent Technologies
jkerr@accordent.com IP: Logged |
Shaft_323
Sr. Member Posts: 168
From: Houston, TX USA
Since: Jul 2002
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posted 21 August 2002 07:03 PM
I have Time Warner's roadrunner. Throughput is all over the map but they say that they guarantee downspeed to be of ISDN quality or better at all times. This is from a test I just performed (Your throughput is 458 kilobits per second) but it varies!I have 3 machines running XP pro (2 wired desktops and a wireless laptop), a Win2K server, 1 VTEL videoconferencing system running wireless and Win98, and one laptop runing Win2K pro. All connected to a Linksys cable/dsl router (I got it before going XP or I might have used ICS instead! I regularly do 128K videoconferences and have yet to have a problem! I stay connected via VPN to my corporate network 24/7 and rarely get dropped. I have had the same cable modem and service in 4 different locations for about 4 years. I simply move it, plug it into the new cable outlet, and I am off! Had Soutwestern Bell DSL for a bit but it took 2 tech's about a week to get it going and I lost signal on it a couple of times. I can do the cable modem myself, I will stick with it. IP: Logged |
dalaisama
Member Posts: 29
From: USA
Since: Jul 2001
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posted 23 August 2002 10:06 AM
quote:
Originally posted by AndyN:
Let's get a handle on the real-world of broadband connections to the home by exchanging our experiences. Can you get broadband? What form and from whom? Do you have it? What kind of throughput are you experiencing? Is it reliable? Was it a real hassle to order and install? How much do you pay? Has it changed the way you work? Do you recommend your solution? I'll be the first to post next.
Andy...The real issue here is security and connectivity to the enterprise - not BW. As many on this string have noted, video performance will vary depending on SP and access service (i.e., DSL vs. Cable); but in general the benefit of doing IP video from the home probably outweighs the cost - in this case sometime poor performance. All VC calls are 2-way and its reaching the far end that's critical here. If the far-end is in the enterprise, most IT groups will restrict access without secure VPN. While many companies support secure VPN services of some sort, the vast majority do not support real-time capabilities effectively making it useless to both video and voice. There is a market opportunity in my view for VC vendors to include HW based VPN services in the codec. Of course the enterprise must support such services at their end as well. If the VC system supports a switch as well where I can hang off a PC, IP Phone, whatever - the VC system essentially can be a serurity gateway to the enterprise for all home/office communication tools back to the enterprise. IP: Logged |
Lance Wicks
Sr. Member Posts: 83
From: London & Southern England
Since: Feb 2002
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posted 23 August 2002 10:18 AM
Very True!NAT & Firewall are a pain in the proverbial butt for VC. I have been involved in dealing with these issues across a network of 10 separate lans, 3 wans, one national service. There are loads of solutions from leaving VC kit in the DMZ to VPN's and traversal solutions. IMHO the Ridgeway systems solution is the most elegant to date, especially if dealing with multiple networks. The perfect solution for security would be full VPN type scenario, but the effort is extreme for home workers. Like all VC solutions however, the key is making the solution suitable for the user organisation. Too often I hear resellers and the like say "just put it in the DMZ" or "just open up all these ports" or the old chestnut, lets put in a entirely separate IP pipe!
I'm not saying they are bad solutions, it's just that the solution is normally just not that clear cut! Rant over, bye. Lance
Lance
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