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The US Broadband Thread of "I can't believe these effers" (Page 8)
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Sep 4, 2015, 04:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
I think you know where I'm leading with this – so how does anyone have access to lines they didn't build?
Regulation, as said. It is of an advantage to society that there are not 20 different companies tearing up the sidewalk to install new cables every other week, so society gives whoever installs them a break (pays part of the fee, usually, or gives them a free ride in some way) for requiring them to lease the cables at cost. In countries with an old telecom monopoly, it works out rather well. The situation in the US is murkier, but one would think that this could be handled on a local level - give the local city council the power to regulate who gets to use the cables and the price for that. There is a pretty clear diminishing returns thing going on with bandwidth speeds, so I think that a good chunk of users would be served by 25/3, which is achievable by ADSL2+ to everyone within 1.5 miles from the connection to something beefier. In Sweden, 85% of the population lives close enough to phone cabinet to make that happen. Don't know what the figures are in the US, but I imagine that they'd vary widely between the states anyway.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Sep 4, 2015, 07:39 PM
 
I think it's a lot more spread out here. I'm always astounded at the DSL speeds quoted by Europeans.

When I used to have DSL, which admittedly was years ago, I maxed at 5/.75.
     
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Sep 4, 2015, 11:47 PM
 
I had 15Mb DSL for a while, was told, "that's as fast as it can go, copper can't go faster!"
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Sep 5, 2015, 06:57 AM
 
A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that 35 US states have a higher population density than Sweden (55.6 pops/sqmi):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...lation_density

Which doesn't guarantee anything, as there might be fewer, bigger phone switching stations or something, but it gives an indication about where we are, roughly. Also, looking at some charts online, it seems like you'd get something like 20 Mbps down at that range, so maybe that quote I remember was being a little generous (and includes a single signal booster along the line, as that is the way they deploy it here).

In general, I think that xDSL for the last mile connection makes a lot of sense, because where pop density is low enough that it doesn't work, there is less contention for wireless frequencies. There are experimental xDSL deployments of even higher speeds, 500 Mbit/s at 100 m cable length and even higher for shorter distances, the theory being that you run fiber to a box on a residential street and avoid going into each house and get speeds that can compete with cable.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Sep 5, 2015, 07:47 AM
 
I meant the phone boxes are more spread out.

I got my whopping 5 down in a city with 3 million people.


Canceling it was fun. When I told retention person I'm canceling because I get 50 down from Comcast, they were like "let's get this processed then, shall we?"
     
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Sep 9, 2015, 11:49 AM
 
AT&T, Verizon must pay for investigation of “service quality” problems | Ars Technica
Saying that AT&T and Verizon have failed to consistently provide quality phone service, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has demanded that the companies pay for a study of their network infrastructure.

The study is years in the making. CPUC staff recommended an investigation after widespread outages caused by winter storms in December 2010 and January 2011, and penalties for companies that fail to meet standards.
AT&T had claimed that the commission's out-of-service metric is "inherently flawed" and that the commission should "eliminat[e] service quality metrics" because of the "competitive market" and declining use of traditional landline phones.
Hey guys, if all of us offer shitty service its your standards that are flawed!

Never mind this stuff is supposed to function for during life-and-death situations. That's old hat.
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Sep 9, 2015, 11:50 AM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Regulation.

Even with regulation, they use all their might to skate around it.

I don't know if Leo still hawks cheap DSL on his radio show, but he did when I used to listen, and like clockwork he'd get people who signed up for the DSL, but couldn't get AT&T to flip the proper switches at the DSLAM.
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
Universal telephone service (especially in rural areas) was heavily subsidized by taxpayers. Continued today via the Universal Service Fund. Telephone companies were granted franchises (local monopolies) in exchange for "carrier of last resort" terms - a requirement to serve anyone who wanted service.

So we paid directly to wire up most locations, and gave monopolies for decades to indirectly pay for most of the rest. The phone companies did build the copper networks. But the public paid for most of it.
So, ignoring political implications and hurdles, its totally possible the same could be done to private fiber networks using the same justification?
     
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Sep 9, 2015, 11:59 AM
 
In theory. I don't know enough about how fiber gets routed to say with absolute authority.

The politcal hurdle is non-trivial, though. I don't think you can sell Congress on fiber the way you could copper. It's not like a lot of people can't get broadband without regulation, it's just you get taken out back and rolled for it.
     
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Sep 9, 2015, 12:19 PM
 
Ok, here's an out-there thought: Could something like that be done at a more local level? Like NYC saying: "You so completely screwed the taxpayers and failed to meet your obligations we're opening your fiber to everyone"
     
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Sep 9, 2015, 12:53 PM
 
The concept of "municipal broadband" has definitely been proposed, and I've never heard of it running into insurmountable legal hurdles.

Not sure if any of the proposals were for fiber, but they were for something "broadband".

While legal hurdles don't seem to be a problem, legislative hurdles are where this crashes and burns. Whoever has the broadband monopoly lobbies against it as if their life depended on it.

Because it does.
     
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Sep 11, 2015, 10:02 AM
 
Whatever jerry-rigging verizon did to stop my phone from going down when it rains seems to have failed after a few years. Guess I get to call customer service today...
     
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Sep 15, 2015, 03:22 PM
 
ISPs don’t have 1st Amendment right to edit Internet, FCC tells court | Ars Technica
“Nobody understands broadband providers to be sending a message or endorsing speech when transmitting the Internet content that a user has requested,” the FCC wrote. “When a user directs her browser to the New York Times or Wall Street Journal editorial page, she has no reason to think that the views expressed there are those of her broadband provider.”

By delivering content requested by customers, broadband providers are acting in the same role as telephone companies, the FCC said.
     
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Sep 15, 2015, 09:26 PM
 
Not an ISP issue directly, but Fair Use has been upheld WRT DMCA notices.

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/i...g-baby-lawsuit
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Sep 15, 2015, 10:29 PM
 
Am I the only one to notice that ever since the Citizens United case did First Amendment arguments by corporations skyrocket (usually to defend some non-sense that has nothing to do with free speech)?
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
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Sep 16, 2015, 09:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Am I the only one to notice that ever since the Citizens United case did First Amendment arguments by corporations skyrocket (usually to defend some non-sense that has nothing to do with free speech)?
None come to my mind, but I don't think they're making themselves try to look like people here, but more like an analogue to a cable company.
     
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Sep 17, 2015, 12:58 PM
 
Comcast raises prices just as CEO says “you can’t raise the price forever” | Ars Technica
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts was quoted today as saying that cable companies can't keep raising prices forever. But Comcast is reportedly doing just that again, with price increases in some markets slated for October 1.
Unlike trying to provide adequate bandwidth, Comcast is willing to put this theory to the test!

"On average, customer bills nationwide will increase by 3.4 percent," The Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday.
The current US inflation rate is slightly above zero. The full-year 2014 inflation rate was 1.6 percent.
     
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Sep 17, 2015, 01:49 PM
 
Strange. My ISP just lowered prices for us.

Comcast has the cable Internet monopoly on the east of the Red River (Shreveport), but if you cross onto the east side (Bossier City), Suddenlink has the monopoly. The only other option is AT&T's DSL service. I believe this is typical across the U.S., but it still sucks.

The only competition is Google Fiber or municipal Internet, but our city council refuses to consider municipal broadband. The common assumption is that they have handshake deals with Suddenlink.

U.S. Internet sucks.
     
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Sep 17, 2015, 01:59 PM
 
I was looking into cable internet and the google reviews were horrific. Duopolies suck.
     
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Sep 21, 2015, 01:53 PM
 
Tennessee explains why it should be able to limit city-run ISPs | Ars Technica
n a brief filed Friday in a federal appeals court, Tennessee argued that states have an "inviolable right to self-governance," which means that a state may delegate powers to its political subdivisions—i.e. cities and towns—as it sees fit. The brief was in support of the lawsuit Tennessee filed against the FCC in March, shortly after the commission voted to preempt the broadband-limiting state law.
States have a right to self-governance – but not the municipalities within them!" Stay classy.
     
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Sep 22, 2015, 06:00 PM
 
Well now we know were Jeb stands on the issue ...

Jeb Bush says he’d repeal net neutrality | Washington Post

OAW
     
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Sep 22, 2015, 10:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by OAW View Post
Well now we know were Jeb stands on the issue ...

Jeb Bush says he’d repeal net neutrality | Washington Post

OAW
I wouldn't worry about it. He's easily the least-likable character in these debates.
     
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Sep 23, 2015, 09:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
I wouldn't worry about it. He's easily the least-likable character in these debates.
Do you live in a world without Ted Cruz?
     
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Sep 23, 2015, 11:50 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Do you live in a world without Ted Cruz?
Understood, but for some reason, I find Bush more repugnant.
     
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Sep 23, 2015, 11:56 AM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
Understood, but for some reason, I find Bush more repugnant.
Yeah, I gotta ask how.
     
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Sep 23, 2015, 01:38 PM
 
Bush has about as much inspiration and gravitas as a potato.
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Sep 23, 2015, 02:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Yeah, I gotta ask how.
It was two moments in the last debate that sealed it for me. One was when he demanded Donald Trump apologize to his wife, and the other was when he was responding to Rand Paul's legalized marijuana "hypocrite" line that was clearly referencing him.

He was exasperated, shaking his head, and looked like that over-zealous second-year college student that has a disagreement with someone in a political science class. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Cruz is slimy and unlikable, but at least he seems mostly competent (not a compliment).
     
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Sep 23, 2015, 02:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants View Post
Bush has about as much inspiration and gravitas as a potato.
It was last week that I realized why George W. made it instead of him.

I always heard that their mother always preferred that Jeb be the one to eventually run for President. Joke's on her — her favored son is a dork.
     
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Sep 24, 2015, 10:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
It was two moments in the last debate that sealed it for me. One was when he demanded Donald Trump apologize to his wife, and the other was when he was responding to Rand Paul's legalized marijuana "hypocrite" line that was clearly referencing him.

He was exasperated, shaking his head, and looked like that over-zealous second-year college student that has a disagreement with someone in a political science class. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Cruz is slimy and unlikable, but at least he seems mostly competent (not a compliment).
But we were talking about likability, not competency! I hear so many people talk about how they feel dirty after Cruz talk tot he camera. Its uncanny.


Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
It was last week that I realized why George W. made it instead of him.

I always heard that their mother always preferred that Jeb be the one to eventually run for President. Joke's on her — her favored son is a dork.
I'm not sure a dork is worse than whatever W is.
     
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Sep 24, 2015, 10:16 AM
 
Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants View Post
Bush has about as much inspiration and gravitas as a potato.
"I can count to potato."
     
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Sep 24, 2015, 02:10 PM
 
He's not a dork, he simply has a washed-out personality. W, OTOH, he was a dork.
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Sep 24, 2015, 02:26 PM
 
George W: totally dominated by Cheney and Rumsfeld's personality.
Jeb: washed out personality

I'm sensing a pattern.
     
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Sep 24, 2015, 02:29 PM
 
Shrubs are weak and shouldn't be confused with trees.
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The Final Dakar  (op)
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Sep 24, 2015, 02:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
George W: totally dominated by Cheney and Rumsfeld's personality.
Jeb: washed out personality

I'm sensing a pattern.
Mama Bush doesn't strike me as a wash. I get the feeling she's the Rumsfeld of their childhood.
     
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Sep 24, 2015, 02:42 PM
 
That creeps me out because W's nickname (remember, he liked nicknames) for Rumsfeld was "Rumstud".
     
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Sep 24, 2015, 10:21 PM
 
ew, ew, ew.
     
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Oct 6, 2015, 12:43 PM
 
How net neutrality violates the First Amendment (according to one ISP) | Ars Technica
Their brief filed yesterday argues that Internet access is not a telecommunications service and thus ISPs cannot be regulated as common carriers.
     
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Oct 13, 2015, 02:12 PM
 
AT&T customer politely e-mails CEO, gets terse reply from AT&T lawyer | Ars Technica
Alfred Valrie of Los Angeles is a loyal AT&T customer, paying for pretty much everything the company offers: cellular service, a landline, home Internet, and TV.

But Valrie recently made the mistake of sending a polite e-mail to the CEO of AT&T, Randall Stephenson. (Stephenson's e-mail address, [email protected], and other contact information have been online for a few years.) In the e-mail, Valrie suggested that AT&T should offer unlimited data to DSL customers and cheaper, limited text messaging plans for people who don't need unlimited messages.

Valrie signed the message, "Your lifelong customer, Alfred Valrie."
His next bill will be addressed to Asshole Valrie
     
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Oct 14, 2015, 10:59 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Honestly, these people are scum. I keep visiting this thread, and somehow I keep being surprised.
     
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Oct 14, 2015, 11:05 AM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
Honestly, these people are scum. I keep visiting this thread, and somehow I keep being surprised.
It's like the old idiot proof joke, only this time, they keep making a better asshole.
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Oct 14, 2015, 01:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
It's like the old idiot proof joke, only this time, they keep making a better asshole.
Right on cue: AT&T blasts cable mergers, says cable companies should compete instead | Ars Technica
AT&T, which just completed a $48.5 billion purchase of rival DirecTV, is now really worried that cable companies are merging too often and not competing against each other. Cable companies are coordinating and could end up acting as "a single national cable company," AT&T claimed.

AT&T submitted a filing to the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, explaining its views on Charter's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Bright House Networks. AT&T started the letter by saying that it doesn't oppose the merger and then spent a few pages arguing that cable companies should compete against each other instead of merging.

AT&T's views here are strikingly similar to those of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who has urged cable companies to compete against each other and played a key role in blocking Comcast's proposed takeover of TWC. But AT&T just wants cable companies—those using coaxial cable—to compete against each other. A traditional telco buying the nation's biggest satellite TV operator, despite already offering a pay-TV service of its own, was just fine, AT&T said.
     
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Oct 15, 2015, 04:14 PM
 
Verizon tries to avoid building more fiber by redefining the word “pass” | Ars Technica
Verizon reps Leecia Eve and Kevin Service stated at the hearing that Verizon has unquestionably met its promise to "pass" all households in the five-borough area, which essentially means extending the fiber so that a building could theoretically then be connected to the network.

As one council member pointed out, that's like installing water pipes but not hooking them up to individual apartments: the water's flowing on by, but no one can actually drink it.

"We consider it to be passed if we're within the realm of substantial fiber placement," Service said when pressed on how the term is actually defined. "I'm not a lawyer, but here's what I would say: we're passed if, when we get the request for service and have the necessary rights of way, what we have left to do does not create a delay in bringing service to that customer. Under that Kevin Service Definition, we've passed every household."
The Fiber to the Home Council, an industry group, says a home is passed only if service can be activated "without further installation of substantial cable plant such as feeder and distribution cables (fiber) to reach the area in which a potential new subscriber is located."

Getting service from Verizon is no simple matter in New York, with city officials saying that Verizon takes credit for "passing" households even when it declines to accept orders for service installations. According to the city's audit report, "Verizon still does not accept orders from all City residents. In fact, it still informs residents that service is 'unavailable' at an address if their network has not been created on the block." Verizon has "systematically failed" to meet 6-month and 12-month deadlines to fill installation orders to residential buildings, the audit said. The report also accused Verizon of violating its agreement by demanding bulk or exclusive deals from landlords before installing fiber.
     
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Oct 25, 2015, 08:48 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Do you live in a world without Ted Cruz?
Is it just me, or do others have visions of a Munchkin from the Wiz of Oz every time he vocalizes?
To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”
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Oct 28, 2015, 05:36 PM
 
ISP fraud using Universal Service Funds. Sandwich Isles Communications, an ISP in Hawaii serving 3,659 customers. Collected $242,489,940 from the USF over a decade to improve rural broadband. But a lot of the money went other places ...
For example, the companies apparently paid $96,000 so that [company owner] Hee could receive two-hour massages twice a week; $119,909 for personal expenses, including family trips to Disney World, Tahiti, France, and Switzerland and a four-day family vacation at the Mauna Lani resort; $736,900 for college tuition and housing expenses for Hee’s three children; $1,300,000 for a home in Santa Clara, California for his children’s use as college housing; and $1,676,685 in wages and fringe benefits for his wife and three children.
$242 million, to improve broadband for 3,659, for ~120 months. Works out to $550 per month per subscriber. The USF funds were enough to give free broadband to all subscribers for those 10 years, while upgrading them all to fiber. I'm betting that didn't happen.

Company owner Hee has been convicted of tax fraud, and the FCC stopped giving USF money to his ISP. There's been no word on paying back the misspent cash. Or for that matter, on fiber upgrades or refunds for customers.
     
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Oct 28, 2015, 06:49 PM
 
Update regarding my AT&T issues. We use them for internet access at the garage (U-verse) and it's pretty crappy, but what's really crappy is the 250GB data cap (that we exceed every month, by at least double). So, we're going to sue them. My lawyers are now working on it.
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Oct 28, 2015, 09:16 PM
 
ISPs need more customer suits. Especially about the caps, which are meant to hobble competing video services, and to drop overage fees into the ISP's hands.

However, you might also consider DSL Extreme - they resell U-verse service without caps as "trueSTREAM". So far as I know, they can resell U-verse anywhere it is offered. And they can sometimes enable a higher speed tier than AT&T normally would.
     
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Oct 29, 2015, 07:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
ISPs need more customer suits. Especially about the caps, which are meant to hobble competing video services, and to drop overage fees into the ISP's hands.

However, you might also consider DSL Extreme - they resell U-verse service without caps as "trueSTREAM". So far as I know, they can resell U-verse anywhere it is offered. And they can sometimes enable a higher speed tier than AT&T normally would.
The problem with consumer suits is the cost and unless an attorney knows they're going to be reimbursed for their time and resources, they won't take the case. I tried to get consumer action groups interested but they feel it's like "tilting against windmills".
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Nov 6, 2015, 09:54 PM
 
"Data caps are really a benefit to our customers, honest!"
https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/...ember-1-135551

Not so fast...
https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/...ge-Caps-135559
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
     
OreoCookie
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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Dec 1, 2015, 07:02 AM
 
Just to make you guys a little jealous: I'll be getting a new internet connection … 1 GBit/s fiber for 4300 ¥/month (that's about US$ 35). I could have gotten 200 MBit/s for 2650 ¥/month (US$ 22), but come on.

So does anyone have recommendations as far as routers go? I was interested in Synology's router, but I can't find a reseller in Japan. Another option (at roughly the same price point) is Apple's AirPort Extreme.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Dec 1, 2015, 12:03 PM
 
Doesn't make me jealous, but I'm happy for you.
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Feb 1, 2016, 01:51 PM
 
Gather round, children, and let me tell you a short story called: “How Dakar’s Internet got it’s Groove Back.”

In the beginning there was DSL. It was 2003 and it was slow. 768 up. Still, it was good.

In 2005 Dakar moved and his DSL was also upgraded. It was 3 Mb up. It was better.

By 2009 there was no holding back the DSL Monster. Dakar upgraded to a 7 Mb plan which delivered 6.5 Mb to his door. This was the best.

However by 2012 it became apparent that the monster was being caged. Slowly but surely, speeds decreased. Down to 5.5 in 2013, 4.5 in 2014, until bottoming out to a wretched 3.5 (at times) in 2015.

Dakar was distraught. He had his phone line redone and monitored noise and such. He considered invoking the FCC. But then he considered something. He had had his modem for almost 10 years. That seemed like a long time in the technological world. He checked verizon’s website, but it seemed they still supported the device.

On a hunch, he bought a new modem. He installed it and ran a speediest. 3.5. Bleh. But a few days later something seemed different. Speed test. 4.5 Mb. An eyebrow arched.

The next week, another speed test revealed 5.5 Mb. He hadn’t seen speeds like that in three years! And when the next weekend concluded his speed was an astounding 6.75+ Mb. It exceed what it had been capable of at inception.

(TLDR) The lesson: Verizon gave me a modem 10 years ago and never thought to replace it when they switched to using ADSL2 which it didn’t support, the cocksuckers.
     
 
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