Cablevision To Offer 101 Mbps Down, No Caps 375
nandemoari alerts us to news over at DSLReports that Cablevision will be offering subscribers 101-Mbps download service, a new US record. That's fast enough to download an HD movie in less than 10 minutes. The package, known as "Ultra," will launch on May 11 and will cost $99.95 a month. Upload speed is 15 Mbps and there are no monthly limits. Cablevision is also doubling the speed of its Wi-Fi service, which is available free to subscribers using hotspots across the Northeast. "...the company will be launching a new 'Ultra' tier on May 11. The new tier features speeds of 101Mbps downstream and 15Mbps upstream for $99.95 a month. That's an unprecedented amount of speed at an unprecedented price, suggesting that Cablevision just took the gloves off in their fight against Verizon FiOS. ... Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella confirmed for me that the $99.95 price is unbundled, and the new tier does not come with any kind of a usage cap or overage fees."
Re:Yes, BUT! (Score:1, Interesting)
Neither will Comcast as of May 1.
But does cablevision have retroactive immunity? (Score:2, Interesting)
Does anybody know Cablevision's deal with Congress?
Dubious speed claims (Score:5, Interesting)
OK, so they double-bond cable modems, giving you twice the usual speed to your desktop. Then you get on the same clogged, shared network as the rest of your neighborhood, and hope they have enough bandwidth upstream to handle the potential doubling of clients (from double-bonding). In a dense residential area (urban apartment buildings for example), I have never seen a cable company actually be able to back up their claims of speed, upload or download.
To me, this sounds as bogus as the dual-bond 56K modems where you had to buy two phone-lines just for data, and then you would want one for voice, and heck maybe even a fourth for FAX.
What's next, a seven-bladed razor?
Yay for Cablevision (Score:5, Interesting)
Now all we need is for Cablevision to drop the price by one order of magnitude. Then we can be competitive with South Korea!
Oh, and for all of you in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, I hate you. I hate you from the depths of the Charter service area, in the midwest. Bastards.
Re:Hmmm (Score:1, Interesting)
Are you implying the RIAA is subsidizing high speed internet in order to catch people uploading their content?
Wow...
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Great for botnets (Score:1, Interesting)
The constant blinking was most likely ARP requests. Since your neighborhood cable is basically a LAN segment carrying dozens (hundreds?) of users, there are a lot of ARP messages floating around. Normal activity.
Comment removed (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:DOCSIS 3.0 (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, but are they rolling full IPv6 support, too? I couldn't care less about 100mbit speeds if I'm so NATted that most applications where I could make use of it don't work
Re:Funny how behind the US is (Score:3, Interesting)
I did read about an irrigation authority that was suing a farmer because he installed too efficient of a rain water catching system on his land. They said that the rain water should be flowing to the irrigation system or the water table and the farmer should then get his allocation from the authority. This was in central Washington IIRC. In central WA, all politics are water.
Re:Canada (Score:3, Interesting)
I routinely get above my rated line speed from my ISP for down/up. Sadly since I am at the threshold for their DSL service it's 1024/512, but still, that I routinely pull 1060, I'll not bitch about it. They also have stunning customer support, no caps that I need worry about at my speed, and no overage charges even if you do exceed a cap.
Per the CSR:
At your speed you will never hit the cap, even 24/7. If you move to where you can get 10/5 then you could hit the cap. If you did, the first time you would get a note on your bill informing you that the next time you exceed the cap you will be throttled to 5/2.5, then 2/1, then 1/.512 where you will stay till the next cycle. This throttling is in 1 gig blocks.
Basically this means if you exceed the cap of ~100 GB, then your connection will slow down. If you notice it and pause your torrents then the rest of your month should be fine for everything else. If you don't notice they'll slow you down till you do notice, but at no time are you cut below 1 meg down, and they don't charge overages. It's the most sane plan I've seen yet. Also off the record he requested I use uTorrent or another program with internal throttling and gave me times they would like to see reduced bandwidth consumption, which indecently would keep you from mathematically hitting the caps unless you really did fully saturate your downloads for the entire month. And as a coup he noted a website internal to the company that you could pull deb/ubuntu distros and packages from without bandwidth counting.
The big assed downside? Cost. My 1024/512 costs $45.00/month 10/5 costs $99/month if you live close enough to get it. Still, at least they are sane with their TOU and enforcement policies.
-nB
I used to work there: GOOD company on many levels (Score:0, Interesting)
NYC, New Jersey, also parts of Connecticut too... that's where they covered (in part, I think parts of PA are covered too, but it's been a while)...
Hey - I used to work for them (was told "anytime you're back in NYC, your job's waiting for you: Come back, anytime..." - when I solved a problem they & Compaq had)
(I.E.-> Compaq was blaming cablevision for their routers, most compatible kind I ever saw in fact, in Motorola "surfboard" units iirc, from back in 2003 when I worked for they that year - I did the research after my boss directed me to do so, & in the particular model of COMPAQ/HP system involved (it was only 1 in fact, rest worked)? They were way, Way, WAY "over-aggressively" configuring the NIC, & once I 'stepped that down'? Those customers were working FINE again, & it got COMPAQ/HP off our backs... proving THEM, wrong!)
Thus, I have NOTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT THEIR COMPANY! They gave ME 'freedom of movement' to solve problems, for 1 thing...
(I can't say the same for other spots I have worked for... & that, as I am sure others in this field can also say? Is sometimes, a rarity)...
Yes - CableVision's a decent company with GREAT customer service (Well, THIS part admittedly, CAN vary & especially @ Level I support based on the tech's skills, & most really "hi-powered talent" gets placed higher than that most times, if not eventually going to NOC) and, F A S T connections (when 2-3mb/sec. was say, Time Warner speed max? CableVision was hitting 6mbps std. for ordinary home user customers).
No, I don't work for they anymore, but, I could IF I were in their geographically locked coverage areas... &, I would. I was going to be pulled into higher better paying position too, but, money was getting 'tight' during the wait (NYC housing costs a MINT) & my boss could only move so fast on it, or, so he told me &, yes, I believed him (actually a good boss, Hi Tim)... In the end, in any event, "family problems" drew me back to where I originated from, & pretty fast (personal stuff, can't get 'into it') too, so had to leave...
(AND, once more? Truly, I have nothing BAD to say about them (which is MORE than I can say for many a company I have worked for in the past 20++ yrs. I have around this art & science/field by now @ this point (16++ yrs. as a pro, the last 16, & a few years on midranges + mainframes in the 1980's before it, & I 'took a break', until I saw GUI computing & said "time to get back into it, that's ART & SCIENCE NOW, in 1 box"...))).
APK
P.S.=> They do a GREAT job - &, if you see this (the VP I know will know what & who I mean):
"Hi Leon"
(He's a pretty damned brilliant pal of mine whom I met in academia in the very early 1990's while grabbing STRICT coursework towards a 2nd degree around this field on my part, in straight comp. sci. & this guy? He IS exceptional!)...
He is now a VP there, & IS A SUPERIOR COMPUTER SCIENTIST as well as a good mgt. person too, & doing great (Won an EMMY no less for some pretty heavy tech work involving Scientific Atlanta boxes - and, I'd strongly wager HE & his colleagues are a large part of this latest/greatest from they, alongside their NOC team - great boss, because when his coders/software engineers were 'stuck' on tough issues? He's the kind of leader, that in SECONDS, will come up with a valid, working, SMART solution (everytime))
NOW, I want you readers to realize something: I said all that above, because it takes REAL PROS in mgt. too, that have "risen thru the ranks/trenches", & NOT just MBA bearing fakes we're all 'burdened' with, to make a company, great, & from what I've seen in their mgt. largely? THEY HAVE THAT... competent, saavy, & smart leaders!
That makes a HUGE difference...
(Especially in this field, & others of HIGHLY technical nature - because I'm sure others in this field, especially in the "trenches", will agr
Re:Starting to pack my things... (Score:3, Interesting)
GP is most likely talking about a community that has all of its infrastructure (schools, commercial centers, utilities, police/fire, etc.) designed and constructed at roughly the same time, instead of the more traditional organic growth model that characterizes most areas.
One example of a planned community that I used to live near is Ashburn Village [wikipedia.org], in Virginia.
Re:Starting to pack my things... (Score:2, Interesting)
Now I need to find a town [...] to move to...
Anywhere in Japan.