Broadband Internet Connection Opinions...

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 10:42 pm

I’ve been using a 56K modem dialup connection since 2000.
When I first used the Internet in 1997 I had a 14400 modem, but sites were a lot “lighter” back then.

I'm fortunately, this 56K is getting just way too slow for my demanding downloading needs, so I’m thinking about upgrading to a Dynamic IP, 512K / 128K ADSL Phone broadband connection.
This ADSL Phone package includes a 512K / 128K unlimited ADSL broadband internet connection & 2 telephone lines (+500 hours of free telephone per month)
For a total of 52.83 Euros / month ($ 62.50)

They also offer:
384K / 128K & 2 telephone lines (+500 free hours) for 43.79 Euros / month ($ 51.86)
1024K / 256K & 2 telephone lines (+500 free hours) for 78.30 Euros / month ($ 92.73)

This is the best offer I could find, as telecommunications are still very primitive in this part of the world...
But I think this specific 512/128K, is the better offer to go for.

So, what type of internet connection do you guys have and how much are you paying per month?

Any opinions will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:00 pm

I'm about £30 a month for 4mb Broadband which is unlimited. This is in the UK through Telewest Bluyonder. I have nothing but praise for them. There support is excellent, plus I have free telephone line rental for a year. I get Digital cable TV through them as well.
**EDIT**
I did a speed test and I got
Downstream : 3790kps
Upstream : 367kps

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:14 pm

That's how much I would pay for a 384 / 128 ADSL here!!!

That's an excellent deal!

I envy you...

Here in Athens / Greece, ADSL standards usually go like this:

1024 / 256
512 / 128
384 / 128

And they're very overpriced!

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:44 pm

$0 for satellite (company benefit)

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 12:38 am

Basically, what they told me is that with the 512/128K ADSL, I’ll be able to download at 55-58Kbytes/s from http / ftp servers and at 42-44Kbytes/s with the 384/128K ADSL connection. (The maximum theoretical download is 48KB/s for 384K & 64KB/s for 512K)

I was told that my downstream will be crippled by my 128K upstream when using any peer 2 peer!
Will it restrict me to only be able to download as much as my upstream is?
I've never used any peer 2 peer other than Emule at work where I have 1Mb DSL, but I didn't notice any restriction to tell you the truth?

One other important factor that worries me, will I be able to play Online Deathmacth games like Quake4, Unreal 2003/4, Doom3, Command & Conquer, etc (When Connected to EU or USA online-game servers), at a good speed with no lag and what ping should I be expecting if I was to choose the 512/128K offer? Would the 1024/256K line be a better choice perhaps?

Post by **Shatterhand** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:01 am

I have a 256/128 connection here, but it's divided between 4 computers (Though I believe I use more than 80% of the bandwith). The cost of the whole thing is about US$ 27 per month.

My max speed for download then is 32 kb/s , which I can achieve most of the time.

On Emule, I've seen it reaching 28 kb/s , but I have a low ID.. I think it could reach 32 kb/s ....

I can play online games and even kalilera easily with servers that are on Brazil... anything that goes out of Brazil make so many hops...

Still, I've been able to play Half-Life Classic Deathmatch on foreign servers with a 250-300 ping, which is FAR from good, but it was better than when I used dial-up (and I could still kick ass

). Problem is that Classic Deathmatch has few servers... I've seen foreign servers that had a ping of 100-150 in other games, which would make the game playable.

A friend of mine who is an avid online player had the same connection, and could enter a few Call of Duty foreign servers and play decently. Nowadays he has a 1024/512 connection, and he manages to play well nearly anywhere.

And, well, that's my experience with it.

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:11 am

I'm on Verizon DSL here with a maximum 3Mbit down \ 769K up line that I pay roughly $30 a month for (plus the cost of basic landline phone service.) I just ran a quick speed test at dslreports.com and got a result of 1491 down \ 680 up (I've had better results on the download speed, but the upload speed is in line with what I usually see (I don't do any P2P stuff, so I don't pay much attention to upload speed.) We also have Comcast cablemodem service here, and you can get a 6MBit connection (not sure on upload, I think it's 512) from them for roughly $50 a month. That's shared bandwidth though, so your speeds will probably vary depending on how many people in the neighborhood are using it at any given time.

Even those speeds pale in comparison to what you can get in Japan though... For the equivalent of $30 a month you can easily get a 15Mbit line from what I've heard...

Actually, if you figure in the cost of landline service along with my DSL (which sounds like the case on yours) then you're actually not too far off on price from mine, even though the speed is still pretty low.... Gotta' love government telco monopolies....

cigsthecat · Post by **cigsthecat** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:23 am

Tried the dslreports thing and got 2447 down, 170 up.

I pay $40 a month although I split that with a roommate.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 9:21 am

By the way, what's the most reliable way to test your ping as you would test your down/upstream at http://www.dslreports.com/

When I use the command "ping www.google.com" from dos prompt whilst connected with my 56K dial-up, I get an average of 187ms and 117ms when I ping www.ote.gr and 108ms for www.otenet.gr which happen to be the largest telephone service / ISPs in Greece (Which I’m currently using).
Where as, I get a 121ms when pinging www.vivodi.gr which is the other Greek Telephone / ISP that offers the above said ADSL connection that I'm interested in.

So what should I expect with a 512/128 from them?

Thanks in advance.

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:41 pm

1,021 kb/s download, 8 kb/s upload, seems as though it could be faster for me, but the download part seems about right.

russ · Post by **russ** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:29 pm

3212 down, 765 up. I'm using verizon fiberoptics, which is 40$ a month that I split between roommates. Easily the best connection I've ever had, even blows away my school's T1 line. I recommend it to anybody who lucky enough to have it in their area