this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2024

469 points (95.5% liked)

Technology

59588 readers

4262 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

469

We're never going to have better internet in the USA, are we? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by Buttflapper@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

180 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm an unfortunate captive of the oligopoly of the internet industry in the USA. In many places, you have 2-3 choices of internet, and all of them suck ass. I'm in this situation. All internet providers in my area have a 1-1.5 terabyte data cap. So when I download Call of Duty for 250 gb and it fails and has to update or reinstall, I've wasted 500 gb, and have now reached 50% of my data cap in just 1 day. There are crazy fees, for example, Cox Cable says:

If you go over, we’ll automatically add 50 gigabytes of data for $10 to your next bill. That's enough for about 15 hours of streaming HD video. If you use that 50 gigabytes, we automatically add another 50 gigabytes for $10 and so on until you reach our $100 limit of data overage charges or until your next usage cycle begins.

So your $90 a month internet can easily become $190 a month, which is fuckin criminal, like that is so scummy and asinine how that can even be legal. But it is perfectly legal. The FCC is also looking into these data caps but now that we have a new anti-federal government president elect... This is probably toast.... Nothing will change now that most federal agencies are about to be deleted.

From a technology standpoint too, nothing is really getting better

Comcast is still using Coax instead of Fiber Optic and desperately trying to convince people that somehow, someway coax can be just as good. Do with that info what you will, I have no opinions on it. There was a Federal program started recently to expand rural internet access, which will probably be gutted in 2025 leaving many without suitable internet again. Fiber Optic is fast, but still, not new technology, and doesn't solve a critical issue.... It doesn't matter if you have 2 Gigabit internet if no one in the world is uploading even half that fast. A single download on Steam is like 450 Mbps, Epic Games launcher is horrifically slow. I get like 120 Mbps max when downloading Fortnite updates even with 1500 Mbps internet hard wired to my router with top tier hardware

It's just sad to think about the future of internet in the USA, and knowing we'll be imprisoned by these data caps for the foreseeable future.

(page 2) 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] LogicalAIs@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Not a chance.

[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago

I had to sign up for a business account because of Cox's data cap. Sadly they're my only option and they suck ass.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

Well, we've just crossed into what will be a third-phase Corporatocracy, and a Monopoly gamed service industry.

You have other options now that are not the usual players, but then you're giving money to Starlink.

You have the option of organizing to create a local fiber concern as a public utility, but in a few months they'll pass laws preventing that from ever happening.

Your best option on the Internet between is an unlimited cell plan and a hotspot, and it's not a great option, but the competition is still so heavy that your bill won't change. Higher latency, but probably decent throughput.

[–] notannpc@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

It’s definitely not going to happen in the next 4.5 years. Paying the extra for unlimited data is basically a must these days.

To make myself feel better about it, I try to use as much data as possible every month. Not because there’s actually a good reason for the data caps, but because I’m spending the money, so I might as well. My personal best so far is 7TB in a month 😂

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

1.9TB is our high and that’s with 2 adults and 3 data hungry kids. 7TB!? Good lord!

load more comments (4 replies)

[–] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

It's just bizzare to me that there's data caps on your internet plans. Especially since you're already paying 5x more than I'm for unlimited connection. I assume there must be some other reasons for this too than just greed. Perhaps the size of your country? I mean even Texas alone is almost as big as entire Europe.

load more comments (3 replies)

[–] Shimitar@feddit.it 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Crappy (30-40mbit/sec) but uncapped FTTC here, plus 5G FVA at 300mbit/sec but 1Tb monthly cap here.

Combining both and separating heavy traffic (fucking fortnite and many steam big games) on the crappy uncapoed, and arr'ing too, leaves tons of data for high speed anything.

Total cost? 22€ + 24€ = 46€/month, no surprises. A lot more expensive than having fiber indeed, but I am deep into the woods, so.

Ah, and when i go over my 1Tb data cap on the FVA, I get throttled to 6mbit/sec, nothing extra to pay.

[–] borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 week ago (4 children)

So I’m familiar with the Fiber to the Cabinet/Curb (FTTC), but the only FVA I’m familiar with is an attenuator and I know you’re not talking about checking light levels through fiber. What’s FVA in this context?

load more comments (4 replies)

[–] FreakinSteve@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

You can't feign growth without suppressing growth first

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 5 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, you guys are screwed.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I don't know where you are or what other ISPs are involved, but skimming some discussion online, it looks like these Cox guys -- at least in the several locations I see being discussed, if not everywhere -- have data limits on all of their residential plans, though they have business plans that do not.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CoxCommunications/comments/hf6zwf/cox_resumes_unnecessary_data_caps/

I get 200 down and 20 up for $85. I came from $100 for 3Mbps DSL, so this is winning for me. I use 4 or 5 TB a month without a problem on Cox.

That particular snippit was four years back, so I suppose prices and speeds might have changed.

So might be worth looking into that in your area if that's what you're after.

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Consider WISPs like Verizon/T-Mobile. They absolutely will kick you off for excessive usage, but 1.5 terabytes would not be considered excessive usage.

[–] borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

That’s not a WISP, just fyi. That’s just a cellular hot spot. Cellular hot spots operate on frequencies in the RF spectrum, the same frequencies that your cell phone connects to.

A WISP is an ISP that serves internet over microwave radios, which operate not in RF frequencies but in microwave frequencies. They might use point to multi point radios, where a radio on a mountain top feeds signal to many smaller radios at each subscribers house in a valley below. They might also have fiber to an apartment building, with fiber to each unit, then use a point to point radio as a wireless backhaul to connect another apartment building across a river that can’t have fiber run directly to it. They’ll still have fiber running to each unit in that second building though.

TLDR; cellular providers are not WISPs.

load more comments (8 replies)

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I switched to the Tmo 5G internet a few months ago and it has been great. It’s not symmetric, DL is faster than UL, but it almost always matches or beats the 500D/50U cable service I had previously.

Looks like I did hit 1.2 TB one month but am usually half that.

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

It is definitely very area dependent because I used to live in a super rural area where the wired ISP only gave like 10 down by like one or two up and T-Mobile was doing 70 down by like 20 up. Either way, it was absolutely fast enough and had no issues.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That's more c/usa tho (politics) and less c/technology.

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Idk about data caps, but I used to get 3MB/s and I had to be happy for it. Things are better.

I think because of recent programs new ISPs have popped up all over the USA. The IIJA invested in infrastructure and startups to increase number of servicers to areas with few to no providers.

So I guess it depends on which representatives we send to Congress and the White House.

load more comments