FCC chair wants to boost broadband standard to 100Mbps::First refresh of minimums in eight years for the country that invented the internet

  • Psythik
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    11 months ago

    Not only that, 100Mbps is so 2018. Quit pussy-footing around, FCC, make the standard 1Gbps, both ways. And make bandwidth caps illegal. I’m lucky enough to not have one but for years I had to put up with a 1TB limit from those Cox suckers until Verizon came to town.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      11 months ago

      Do United States really doesn’t want to live in the 21st century does it?

      The slowest speed by internet service provider offers is 250mbps.

      • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        We spent like 5k per household to get fiber everywhere in the US. Then the companies who were supposed to do it just decided to take the money and not do it.

        • soulifix@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          And the government continues to give them more money. I’ve figured it out now.

          People want better broadband. ISPs promise to broaden internet. Government gives money. ISPs spend a considerable amount of the promise of better broadband in marketing. Doesn’t happen. People still want better broadband. ISPs promise again. Government gives more money. ISPs continue spending on marketing.

          Over and over.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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          11 months ago

          Yeah that would explain it. We don’t have anyone who would have that kind of power.

          In my country the big telecom companys were broken up in the mid 90s under anti-competition laws. Most of Europe has either done something similar or never really had a big mega corp in that position to begin with.

          It’s worth noting that the fastest internet in the world is in South Korea. Because they have their entire network rebuilt a couple of decades ago for some reason probably some war something.

          • Overzeetop@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Oh, we broke up the big telecom in the 80s. But the behemoths which arose from those (and there were only 2 or 3 after two decades of mergers) and the cable TV companies which “compete” with them for data customers now are effectively regional monopolies anyway. Once a house has a provider, nobody else is willing to spend the money on fiber in the ground to compete. It’s not even regional, really, but community to community or apartment building to apartment building (some of which have kick back deals to the landlord for exclusive service access to all the units). My neighborhood is less than 2km from a very large university with probably a Tb of connectivity. Everyone in my neighborhood has access to Comcast/Xfinity which, until last year ranged from 25/2 to 300/15 service, or Verizon DSL at 7.5Mb/768kbps speeds. There is fiber 300m from my house. I’ve contacted the fiber provider and talked with the CEO. He said they intend to do the whole town, except the captured apartments, but our neighborhood will be last if it ever gets done at all because the cost to install is higher than the newer and more dense neighborhoods.

    • GlendatheGayWitch@lib.lgbt
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      11 months ago

      I wish my verizon service worked that well. I have the 5g home internet. It’s supposed to be 300 mbps, but I do good to get 18 mbps download and 1-2 upload.

      • Psythik
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        11 months ago

        Do you have a clear and direct view of the tower with nothing like walls, trees, or buildings blocking it? Did you make sure you’re actually getting a 5G connection? These Verizon boxes will drop down to LTE or even 3G without telling you, if you don’t have a reliable signal.

        Don’t put up with a crappy connection. Go to http://192.168.0.1, and make sure that it’s showing “5G UW” and at least 3 bars. If not, power cycle the gateway and see if it’s able to grab a 5G signal then. Failing that, you’re going to have to reposition your gateway. Call Verizon and have them send out someone if you need help. Explain to them that you’re getting a only 18Mbps and they’ll help you out. They won’t even charge you for the service call, either, unlike other ISPs. So you’ve got nothing to lose.

        • GlendatheGayWitch@lib.lgbt
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          11 months ago

          The only place in the apartment that the router could get any signal was inside the closet. It didn’t have any signal near the windows.

          I’ll check the gateway to see if it says 5g when I get home. Thanks for the helpful comment!

          • Psythik
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            11 months ago

            Well I can already tell you that if it’s in the closet, you’re not going to get 5G speeds no matter what. It has to have a clear view of the tower with no obstructions, or you’ll never get 300Mbps. (Speeds are actually closer to 1100Mbps if the gateway is mounted properly. Seriously.)

            Once again I would suggest calling Verizon and scheduling a service call. Roof mounting may be an option for you (even if you live in an apartment). Remember, the FCC is on your side, here. IIRC, It is illegal to deny someone the right to install an antenna, and the Verizon 5G gateway qualifies as such.

    • LukeMedia@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      You know what, I’m just happy some progress is being made if 100 becomes minimum. A lot of rural areas have much less than that. I wish 1gbps was the new minimum though.