Next major Internet Connection type?

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Well, I've been on Cable Internet ever since it was avilable in my area for the most part because we were already paying like $40 a month ($20 for an extra line and $20 for service) so we switched over right away. I'd say I've had it 2, maybe 3, maybe 4 years. I thi nk its between 3 and 4 years now. Anyway, when is the next step in speed?

I know most homes still don't have broadband but that won't happen till prices drop to around $30 without any contract or deals, just standard rate. I can't ever download faster than 300kbps, which is still fast but I'm guessing there is probably something better to show up within a year or two... anyone have any ideas?

 

[magomago]

I forsee everyone having T3 servers in their homes within 20 years

 

[Schadenfroh]

i would like to see 802.11 towers placed all over the country like cell towers, complete wireless fast internet. play cs with your buddies online as you are in a bus

wireless is the future

 

[fredtam]

Electric Internet at 20Mb/s?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
i would like to see 802.11 towers placed all over the country like cell towers, complete wireless fast internet. play cs with your buddies online as you are in a bus

That would be nice, they could possibly even add them onto existing cell phone towers. I would go for itg as long as they can keep the price of it down, I'm not going to pay $60 a month for wireless internet...

 

[BeauJangles]

what's next? Cross your fingers and hope that US companies take a look at most european countries where, for about $40 a month, you get 10 mbit up / down.... now THAT'S speed

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
what's next? Cross your fingers and hope that US companies take a look at most european countries where, for about $40 a month, you get 10 mbit up / down.... now THAT'S speed

Yeah, I'd love that too. In order for that they'd need to make the areas that 'share' a single large connection smaller which I don't think they'll do, because many of those European countries are more dense in terms of population.

One thing they could do is allow 10mbit connections but dynamically control it with the need for speed from more users. Here is what I mean:

Say there are two users and a 20mbit connection. They give each one a 20mbit connection to that line so when one user is using it, it gives all the bandwidth to him. When a second user signs on and both are saturating the limits, each one gets 10mbit, or when User 1 needs 15mbit, he gets it and if #2 needs 5mbit at the same time he needs it. Maybe something along those lines to help downloads finish sooner freeing up the speed sooner.

 

[Sarge1]

Electric Internet at 20Mb/s?

I'm with fredtam on this one. Internet over power lines. Most of the country does not have access to broadband, it would not be profitable to install cable, and DSL in it's present form is not practical in many rural areas. Satellite broadband is slow, real expensive and definitely not worth the price. Installing enough towers to cover the entire country would be real pricey too (not that it wouldn't work where there are existing towers).
Just about everyone in the country has electricity, and their houses would already be wired for networking.
This is from the perspective of someone who lives in farm county, about 10 miles from town, with about 5 houses per mile on most roads around here.

 

[MikeMike]

um, how bout dsl??

MIKE (28.8 dial up user)

 

[neutralizer]

Stupid RR gives me only 1.5 Mbps downloads and like 15 KB/s uploads and I pay $40+... my neighbors all have cable .

 

[StraightPipe]

I use DSL, usually get 1500/275. It's great, even using an evil program like KaZaA dowloading 18 simutaneous tracks usually would't use it all up. My bigest problem isnt ISP speed, but network congestion.

but I'll never go back to dialup, my problem with cable is that, if you are in a congested area, you dont get speed unless either you pay extra (and screw regualar users out of their bandwidth), or your cable company decides to double their servers (not Charter!) any way, It's pretty good if your ISP isn't getting used too heavily.

 

[OverVolt]

Originally posted by: StraightPipe
I use DSL, usually get 1500/275. It's great, even using an evil program like KaZaA dowloading 18 simutaneous tracks usually would't use it all up. My bigest problem isnt ISP speed, but network congestion.

but I'll never go back to dialup, my problem with cable is that, if you are in a congested area, you dont get speed unless either you pay extra (and screw regualar users out of their bandwidth), or your cable company decides to double their servers (not Charter!) any way, It's pretty good if your ISP isn't getting used too heavily.

Get Kazaa lite, that WILL use all of your available bandwidth.

 

[ElFenix]

gen 4 cellular. or maybe even 3g. useful as hell.

 

[Dan]

...I'm guessing there is probably something better to show up within a year or two...

I've had cable modem for almost 4 years. Prior to that I had DSL for over a year. At this point, I'd settle for a cable modem that consistently performed at the speeds I was promised.

 

[randumb]

Come on! We gotta all get OC192!

On a more serious note, as more people get broadband, cable is gonna degrade, since more than one house shares the cable line. DSL on the other hand, runs through YOUR phone line.

 

[wacki]

Just to let everyone know vDSL is something to check out. You can tranfer 52mbs over your single pair phone line if the service is in your area. The service is rare, but available in some cities and wealthy neighborhoods, and its growing. Its also known as fiber to the curb.

check out http://www.howstuffworks.com/vdsl.htm

 

[UlricT]

well... is anyone here from Korea? I have heard people say crazy stuff about the speeds they get over there! seems like they have out of control price-wars going on between ISPs.... lucky them

 

[cmdrdredd]

There are many frequencies inside the electric pulses sent over standard power cables. There are many thousands of unused cycles available. This is definately untapped potential for communications. I've been reading some tests from I believe MIT or some tech school with info about it in various forms (magazine, newspaper, internet) about the different possibilities. How long away it is before it's mainstream and made into consumer usable product is anyone's guess.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Sarge1

Electric Internet at 20Mb/s?

I'm with fredtam on this one. Internet over power lines. Most of the country does not have access to broadband, it would not be profitable to install cable, and DSL in it's present form is not practical in many rural areas. Satellite broadband is slow, real expensive and definitely not worth the price. Installing enough towers to cover the entire country would be real pricey too (not that it wouldn't work where there are existing towers).
Just about everyone in the country has electricity, and their houses would already be wired for networking.
This is from the perspective of someone who lives in farm county, about 10 miles from town, with about 5 houses per mile on most roads around here.

Problem is you ignore the technical issues with distance from head end equipment with this theory. Everyone has phone lines too, but DSL doesn't work because of range problems. I assume powerline networking has the same limitations.

 

[fredtam]

Originally posted by: Rainsford
Problem is you ignore the technical issues with distance from head end equipment with this theory. Everyone has phone lines too, but DSL doesn't work because of range problems. I assume powerline networking has the same limitations.

Judging by what I can see they have gotten around this problem in the areas where they are testing and it seems much cheaper than upgrading switchboxes(dsl) or fiberoptic for cable. See <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://i]

Originally posted by: Sarge1">pdf.</a> Now that they have overcome most obstacles and seem to have the blessing of the FCC I would expect most power companies to adopt it very quickly if it is deemed profitable in the test areas.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: fredtam

Originally posted by: Rainsford
Problem is you ignore the technical issues with distance from head end equipment with this theory. Everyone has phone lines too, but DSL doesn't work because of range problems. I assume powerline networking has the same limitations.

Judging by what I can see they have gotten around this problem in the areas where they are testing and it seems much cheaper than upgrading switchboxes(dsl) or fiberoptic for cable. See <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://i]

Originally posted by: Sarge1">pdf.</a> Now that they have overcome most obstacles and seem to have the blessing of the FCC I would expect most power companies to adopt it very quickly if it is deemed profitable in the test areas.

Well, I sure hope they get it installed here in rural Indiana, and quickly, but whether that will happen in only 1,000 years or 1,000,000 is anyone's guess. Dialup sucks, but there's no motivation for companies to install affordable and usable (i.e. not satellite) broadband in small towns and rural areas.

 

[XBoxLPU]

I am still on 56k

Going on 4 years

 

[Macro2]

I'd settle for fibre all the way into the house.

I'm sure wireless off towers will gain popularity too.

 

[Regs]

Fiber Optic cabling in place of coaxal telephone lines with TCP/IP 2 . Not only wires, but a new way of networking. Since there still is some bottle necking between nodes and server ports.

 

[bocamojo]

Most likely, it will be a number of new technologies, coupled with a better internet, that will shape the future of broadband. Broadband over electric certainly seems like an exciting new technology with promise, however, I doubt the average user will get 20mbps. I remember when cable modem technology was being studied / hyped. They said that they could get 10mbps, but of course, your average Joe will not get the maximum, but some sort of capped or rated bandwidth. That's just the business / commoditization side of technology. Now, something else interesting that is coming out is Fast TCP. This has the possibility of revitalizing the entire internet structure. And on top of that, the super fast Internet 2, which is now the exclusive domain of universities and research institutes, but could one day form the backbone of a more robust internet structure, much like the original ARPA network served as the framework for the first "internet".