Thing is, for probably 99% of broadband subscribers -- via any media,
cable/DSL/sat, you pick -- "speed" is thought of in terms of downstream speed.
And for casual web surfing and e-mail, even for downloads of
entertainment-oriented material (music/video etc), upstream speed isn't very
relevant. 128k upstream over a satellite link is great for the vast bulk of
subscribers.
For those of us who work for a living at home, though, things are different. I'm
a telecommuting tech writer/editor, pay for my own connectivity out of my
pocket, and I upload as much stuff as I download. Hundreds of megabytes a day,
typically. I can't get any kind of symmetrical broadband service here without
paying commercial rates for T-1 or OC-3 or whatever. (Out of the question.) And
the residential cable/DSL/sat services ALL cap upstream bandwidth at some
artificial (i.e., profitably marketable) level, usually pretty low compared to
downstream. Having just built a new home here in Rio Rancho where there is no TV
cable and satellite isn't an option, DSL is really my ONLY choice. So I consider
myself lucky that my telco offers a residential product that combines a 1500kbps
downstream with an 896kpbs upstream -- not symmetrical, but better than anything
else I've had. (Satellite is not an option because I employ a VPN protocol
between here and Headquarters, and the VPN encode/decode handshaking precludes
transmission of the huge concatenated packets that satellite services use to get
around the inherent path latency. Due to this limitation, the best speed I can
get with VPN over direct satellite upstream is about 28kbps. Ugh.)
And this is a good example of a real problem in the broadband marketplace, IMO.
As technology makes truly interactive digital applications like two-way
full-speed audio/video available and affordable -- not to mention the much
tougher two-way security protocols that are bound to be in our future --
interactive, full-handshaking bandwidth is going to have to keep pace. Then the
pressure will be on the bandwidth providers to open up the upstream gates. This
is probably already happening, because three or four years ago most broadband
services I knew about were upstream-capped at a much lower speed -- typically
128-256kbps -- even with 1500kbps downstream.
Bill /W5WVO
Courtney Judd K4WI wrote:
> Bob and all, I use Direc way satellite and consistently get 600K
> down and 128K up. So much better than dialup here out in the country
> where no DSL or
> cable will ever be! 73's Cort
>
> Courtney Judd K4WI / NA4W
> 2300 County Road 61
> Uniontown, Al. 36786
>
> Check out my web site:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~k4wi/k4wi/
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers",
> "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free,
> 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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