Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Comcast Promising Ultra-Fast Internet

Posted by kdawson on from the whole-lotta-hd-video dept.

Espectr0 writes "Comcast's CEO Brian Roberts gave The Associated Press a preview of his speech for the Consumer Electronics show, and said that Comcast expects to demonstrate a technology that delivers up to 160 megabits of data per second over cable. At that speed you could download a high-definition copy of 'Batman Begins' in four minutes. The technology, DOCSIS 3.0, will start rolling out this year." Here's a note about Cisco's announcement of their DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem.

7 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. That's Incredible. by cromar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Too bad we aren't going to see any speed close to that for personal use, at least not without forking over hefty sacks of bling.

    1. Re:That's Incredible. by Shakrai · · Score: 4, Insightful

      was waiting to see if they'd roll out FIOS TV too and get the package (dump Comcast altogether)

      Why wait? Dump 'em now. I dropped my cable package down to "lifeline" service (local tv stations only) and wouldn't even have had that if I could have gotten decent reception with rabbit ears.

      I actually like TV but it's just not worth the fucking money. In my area it now costs $55/mo for basic cable. $660/year. More if you want digital cable, DVR, or any of that. And it goes up every year. I can recall before Time Warner came in and bought up the local cable companies -- basic cable cost about $25/mo for 60 channels. Now it's $55/mo for 68 channels. I guess those five home shopping networks, BBC America and Spike TV really cost them $30 more....

      It's just not fucking worth it. Having the networks will get you most new shows. Cable only shows can be downloaded, oftentimes quite legally (The Daily Show). There's also DVD rentals of older shows (Netflix anyone?).

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  2. bittorrent by sankekur · · Score: 4, Insightful

    maybe fast for other things but not for bittorrent

  3. Promises promises by Kelbear · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'll believe it when they actually offer it, there are plenty of ways for them to tie down that speed into an undesirable product. Excessive pricing, throttling, bundling, lock-in, hidden caps...

    How fast is the upload, and for that matter, how many download sources are there that can actually hit that speed for numerous users? Even in a torrent it's tough to find enough seeders to equal those speeds. If it can be done, how many suscribers can hit that speed before they crowd each other out?

    I think the biggest boost to my practical download speed would be an increase to other people's upload speeds. That sort of breakthrough would be far more exciting.

  4. Re:They can't deal with what they already provide? by jbeaupre · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because they can charge more for delivering the same thing.

    --
    The world is made by those who show up for the job.
  5. Re:Slick! by garcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    All this shows is that it doesn't make one bit of a difference if it's DOCSIS 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 because Comcast is still going to throttle you via a config file and you will probably never see 150mbit connections on their network unless you're getting on-demand movies.

    If we were currently seeing 38mbit/(9|27)mbit connections now, I might be inclined to say, "yeah, they're going to give us 150+" but because they're operating at about 6mbit/less than 1mbit for the majority of connections (yes, they go a higher for short bursts) this is nothing more than fluff for CES.

  6. Re:Its advertising that counts, not the product. by C0rinthian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Believe me, many of us are aware. Damn the telecom industry. Damn them to hell.