What kind of Internet Service do you need?

What kind of Internet Service do you need?

Bandwidth - What is it?

By definition, bandwidth is the amount of data that can be sent or received at a certain location.  For example you could have an internet service that supplies 100Mbps Download and 12Mbps Upload speeds.  Download is what you are receiving from the Internet and Upload is what you would be sending. Is that an adequate service for your location?  Is it too much or not enough speed for your needs?  To answer this question you will need to understand what’s happening on your local network, at your location.  How is that accomplished?  That is a very interesting question!  As far as we know there is no device you can purchase, to install on your internet service that will show exactly what you’re using.  There are a few router manufactures that have this kind of data available to its owner.  That being said, most routers commonly owned by customers, do not supply that kind of data.  How should you decide on the bandwidth you require?  How would you begin to estimate such a thing?   Let’s start by stating how much bandwidth is needed for today’s common tasks on the internet, as stated by the companies that supply these services (NOT YOUR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER)..The article below is taken from the Washington Post

How much speed do you really need?

• Zoom says you only need a 1.5 Mbps data connection for calls, but realistically you’ll want at least a 10 Mbps connection for better quality.

• Netflix recommends a 5 Mbps data connection for watching HD content, or 25 Mbps for 4K video. Hulu says 16 Mbps down is good enough for their 4K movies and TV shows.

• Streaming games to your phone on services such as Google Stadia or Microsoft Game Pass? Both companies recommend having at least a 10 Mbps connection, but better speeds mean better graphics and playability.

If we go back to our example of 100Mbs Download and 12Mbps Upload, we would have an overkill on the download speeds by a bunch.  If Netflix require 5Mbps, since most people do not have 4K capabilities or in my opinion really can’t tell the difference between 1080P and 4K, you would need to have 20 TV’s running simultaneously to use up the 100Mbs download speed that you are paying for.  So why do the large Cable providers keep pushing their 300Mbps, or 500Mbps, or even 8Gbps (which is 8000Mbps) services?  Does anyone really require that?  Surely there are some large businesses or Apartment Complexes that do but a home user… I don’t think so

So why do these Internet Providers sell such oversized services?  I believe it is because it is what people think is best.  People believe that more speed will get them better service, even though they never reach anywhere near to what they subscribe for.  Think of it this way… You go to the sink to get a glass of water, you turn on the faucet and the water flows to fill your glass.  You are probably running water through maybe a ½” pipe to get to the faucet.  What if you had a 2” pipe instead?  Would the water get to the glass faster? Yes!  Did you need it to get there faster? NO, I doubt it.  Now let’s think about that from an internet point of view..  Let’s say you have a 25Mbps download service and you turn on Netflix to watch a show. Is the show going to play any better because you have 100Mbps service instead of 25Mbps? The answer is no because as stated on the Netflix Website, you only require 5Mbps to watch the show. So even at the 25Mbps service you would not need 20Mbps of the 25Mbps and with the 100Mbps you would not need 95Mbps of it.  Kind of sounds like overkill, but the population today always believes that bigger/faster is better, so the Internet Provider plays up to that realization and since the consumer has no way of monitoring this, the Internet Provider will not be seen as exaggerating the truth a bit and the consumer has no way of monitoring this to prove them wrong.  The Internet Provider also make it seem like they are helping the consumer by selling them such speeds.

What other kind of nonsense do these Internet Providers and, by the way, our Government wants you to believe about Internet Bandwidth Speeds?  The current definition Broadband, stated by the US Government, is the speeds of 25Mbps Download and 3Mbps Upload.  There are people in the government now trying to change that definition to 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload.  Why are they doing this, since we should now realize that we don’t require such speeds?  The reason is, in my opinion, these larger Internet Service Providers can supply such speeds and in order to corner the market on Government Broadband Grants they are trying to block out the smaller Internet Service Providers who, at this time, cannot compete with those larger companies.  The government does not allow anyone who cannot supply Broadband to compete for these grants.  There are so many lobbyists for these larger providers, that they can basically pass through what they need thus blocking out some competition for customers and grant monies.

What types of platforms are available? (The following is supplied from the FCC’s webpage)

Broadband can be provided over different platforms:

• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

• Cable Modem

• Fiber

• Wireless

• Satellite

The broadband technology you choose will depend on a number of factors. These include how broadband Internet access is packaged with other services (like voice telephone and home entertainment), price and service availability.

Digital subscriber line (DSL)

DSL is a wireline transmission technology that transmits data faster over traditional copper telephone lines already installed to homes and businesses.

The following are types of DSL transmission technologies:

Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) – used primarily by residential customers. ADSL typically provides faster speed in the downstream direction than the upstream direction. ADSL allows faster downstream data transmission over the same line used to provide voice service, without disrupting regular telephone calls on that line.

Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) – used typically by businesses for services such as video conferencing. Downstream and upstream traffic speeds are equal. Faster forms of SDSL, include High-data-rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL) and Very High-data-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL).

Cable modem

Cable modem service enables cable operators to provide broadband using the same coaxial cables that deliver pictures and sound to your TV set, though you can still watch cable TV while using a cable modem service. Transmission speeds vary depending on the type of cable modem, cable network and traffic load. Speeds are comparable to or exceed typical residential DSL.

Fiber

Fiber optic technology converts to light electrical signals carrying data and sends the light through transparent glass fibers about the diameter of a human hair. Fiber transmits data at speeds far exceeding current DSL or cable modem speeds. The actual speed you experience, however, will vary depending upon a variety of factors, such as how close to your computer the service provider brings the fiber and how the service provider configures the service. The same fiber providing your broadband can also simultaneously deliver voice (VoIP) and video services, including video-on-demand.

Wireless

Wireless fidelity (WiFi) connects end-user devices to the a local Internet service via short-range wireless technology. WiFi allows users to move WiFi-enabled devices around within their homes or businesses. WiFi is also widely available in many public "hotspots."

Fixed wireless technologies using longer range directional equipment can provide broadband service in remote or sparsely populated areas where other types of broadband would be too costly to provide.

Mobile wireless broadband services are also widely available from mobile broadband service providers. Mobile wireless broadband service is typically slower than either wired or fixed wireless alternatives.

Older Satellite

Satellite broadband, another form of wireless broadband, is useful for serving remote or sparsely populated areas. Downstream and upstream speeds for satellite broadband depend on several factors, including the provider and service package purchased, the consumer's line of sight to the orbiting satellite, and the weather. Satellite service can be disrupted in extreme weather conditions. Speeds may be slower than DSL and cable modem, but the download speed is still much faster than the download speed with dial-up Internet access.

For satellite broadband service, a user must have:

a two or three foot dish or base station – the most costly item

a satellite Internet modem

a clear line of sight to the provider's satellite

Pro’s and Con’s for the above platforms

DSL

Pro: No infrastructure needs to be purchased or upgraded, so the cost is much lower to deploy DSL.

Con: DSL requires using copper wires that have been in place for many years.  Some of these wires are not in real good shape.  This would mean that the quality and speed supplied by this type of service is possibly going to be not reliable.

DSL also has distance limitations to contend with.  The farther you are from a Central Office or Repeater the worse things can get.

Cable Modem

The Pro’s and Cons for this type of service are very much the same as DSL, just not quite as old.  You can achieve better service with this type of service compared to DSL

Fiber

Pro: Since you are transmitting via light, you can obviously achieve speeds up to the speed of light.  The issue with that is we have not invented a device to connect to Fiber that can do that yet.  

Speed is where Fiber shines.  There is no faster platform today.

Con: Price!!! It costs up to $90,000 a mile to lay fiber. Now if it lasted forever, like they try to make you believe with such terms as “Future Proof” it would be fabulous.  Unfortunately Fiber installed above the ground has a 20 year life span, while buried fiber has a 40 year life span.  Considering the cost of installing fiber and thinking about inflation, does it make sense to have to reinvest in this platform at such a high cost to start with?

Another con would be how much it costs to terminate the fiber at a customer location.  I have seen costs of up to $9,000 per customer to add fiber to a location.  

Fixed Wireless

Pro: The speeds that were mentioned earlier in this document can be met or exceeded on this platform.  Deployment is not difficult, you need an Access Point in some central location and a radio/antenna at the customer site.  Price for this platform is very affordable.

Con: You have to have Line of Site between the Access Point and customer location.  Certain weather conditions can cause issues depending on the frequency used ad distance.

Satellite

Pro: Good speeds and not difficult deployment.  Speeds and reliability have become much better with the lower altitude satellites than the old systems that are 22,000 miles in space. Price point is affordable (maybe).

Con: The old Satellite systems could not do VPN’s or VoIP systems because of the distance the data has to travel.  That has been corrected with the low altitude systems. Weather can also effect the operation of these systems.  It is also to be seen yet if the maintenance of the low altitude system is going to be cost prohibiting or not.  The satellites don’t last over 5 years and burn up in the atmosphere and need to be replaced. That is going to have a high cost.

In Conclusion

There is a place in our world for all of these platforms.  It all goes back to what you need to meet your own requirements.  But the Large ISP’s pushing their super speed service is just a bunch of nonsense and they are just trying to corner the market by making the consumer believe they need such speeds.  By trying to change the definition of Broadband, they are trying to monopolizing the industry and not allow the other platforms to continue to exist.  

If all you are doing is browsing the Internet and doing some email DSL might be a good service for you.  If you are trying to stream 1 or 2 TV’s (maybe more), playing some games and browsing the internet, Cable Modem, Fixed Wireless or Satellite should fit into your plans. If you are a Major Corporation, School System or something along these lines then Fiber is probably your answer.

But again how do we know what we need, when there are very few tools that allow us to explore our requirements?  Some ISP’s will supply you with the data you need if you are their customer, just call them and ask.  Maybe they will and maybe they won’t.