When will my DOCSIS 2 no longer work?

[glen]

Comcast has suggested I need to get a New modem. I get 30 mps download now according to speedtest. Wait, or buy a New DOCSIS 3 now?

 

[imagoon]

Docsis 2 will work as long as Comcast uses it. There is no "end of life" for the Docsis 2 system itself. Comcast will send you a letter telling to upgrade if the modem you have will no longer be supported.

 

[Danstek]

DOCSIS is a standard by which most cable ISPs use to deliver internet service. As imagoon said, there is no "end of life" but rather there are newer revisions of the standard that adds more features. DOCSIS 2.0 allows a max throughput of ~38Mbps downstream on a single channel. Many cable ISP now offers speeds as high as 150Mbps+ by using DOCSIS 3.0 which improves from DOCSIS 2.0 by allowing for bonding of multiple channels to achieve higher speeds.

DOCSIS 2.0 will remain to work as it is, however if you wish to upgrade to a higher speed tier from your ISP then you will need a DOCSIS 3.0 modem in order to support those speeds.

 

[glen]

I get 30mbps now. Comcast promises "up to" 30 mbps. Well, 1mbps is within "up to" 30mbps. Why can't I get some straight talk from them?

 

[glen]

Let me rephrase that. I currently have a DOCSIS 2 modem and get about 30mbps consistently. I would love an excuse to upgrade. I am an easy sell on new tech. However, Comcast can't sell it to me.
For one, they are even promising higher speeds.
Second, they say, "up to 30mbps." 1 mbps is "up to." Do they think we are that stupid?

 

[alkemyst]

I have Comcast and recently went from DOCSIS 2 to 3, my speeds went from 30Mbps to up to 80Mbps (average is around 70Mbps)

 

[imagoon]

Let me rephrase that. I currently have a DOCSIS 2 modem and get about 30mbps consistently. I would love an excuse to upgrade. I am an easy sell on new tech. However, Comcast can't sell it to me.
For one, they are even promising higher speeds.
Second, they say, "up to 30mbps." 1 mbps is "up to." Do they think we are that stupid?

In theory it might help the comcast burst thing they do. They used to let you double the connection speed for the first couple of meg. Docsis *may* let you get more from the burst if they allow it to go above the 38mbps that one channel can handle.

 

[Cabletek]

Comcast has suggested I need to get a New modem. I get 30 mps download now according to speedtest. Wait, or buy a New DOCSIS 3 now?

When your cable company requires channel bonding, and unless I miss my guess that will be some time down the road.

As to whether to get a new modem now, 30 is about the max for a D2 device, if you subscribe to a faster internet package than 30 Mbps, then upgrading to a D3 modem will allow you to make user of that additional speed. So then the question becomes is the price worth the extra speed for what you do on the internet, and that is a finance question only YOU can answer.

Watching web pages load will be identical.
Watching streaming movies on one computer will be identical.
Watching streaming movies on multiple devices at the same time [kids and other household members] may get some benefit from the additional bandwidth.
Downloading LARGE files will get some benefit from the additional bandwidth.
Online games will not get an advantage unless you have people doing other things WHILE you are online gaming, then it may get some bandwidth protection from them.

Mostly its a bragging rights thing though most people do not currently use a 50Mbps of faster internet connection to its potential.

As to the "up to", call them up and ask them what your BASE speed is, that's sales talk and cable does not work like DSL where you lose bandwidth the further you get away from a point, it has distance limits where it will work, it will not work, or you can make it work with a house amp , that's the skinny of it. The real restriction on cable is the return and splitter config...

Speedtest's speed is what they call boost, and yeah its only for the first 10 Mb of a download, alter that you get throttled to your BASE speed. You can also use a tool like shaperprobe to try and figure out your base speed.

Packages speeds were recently upgraded for most areas, blast is now 50 Mbps, preferred is 25MBps IIRC, sorry I just repair the stuff, I never was good at sales.

 

[JBT]

Upload speed will probably double. If you upload files it might not be a bad idea. Some folks see improved connection stability. Others see worse.