Cable Internet

And now, a lesson in internet connectivity, as understood by Paul. 

I have "high-speed" internet from Time Warner, with the "Road Runner" speed package. This costs roughly $55 per month. My expectation is that it should be fast, I am paying for fast. My advertised connection is 10Mbps, which should suffice for downloading the whole internet in about a weeks time.

Funny thing about advertisements... they always have fine print. The download speeds, called "Downstream" are only theoretical thresholds. This means that my speed is "capable" of 10Mbps, while realistically, I only get a fraction of that. Why?

Because, I share my connection with my neighbors. The bandwidth (amount of data that can fit through my connection to the web) available to me is shared by me and all the other internet users in my area who use the same service. My WiFi connection finder on my Macbook shows that JUST within range of my bedroom are at least 8 other connections.

As you can see to the left, I have 8 different neighbors who all have WiFi connections. It should be noted that this does NOT mean that all 8 have Time Warner, but the likelihood is that many do. Time Warner advertises 10.0 connections in an area where 6.0 is the next highest available speed offered by the competition.

The weird thing?

6.0 could actually be faster.

The competition is Windstream, a company that offers DSL. DSL is a technology which offers a dedicated line. What that means for an internet user is that the bandwidth is not shared between the user (me!) and the nearest central office of my ISP. 

DSL does also have the added benefit of being more secure, which is important to most people. (Except for GHNW and Linksys up there, they are giving away free internet right now. Why do I pay $55 per month?)

The one caveat is that DSL is distance sensitive, so my speeds will go down the further I am from my local Windstream office. Since I don't have any clue where that office is, I can only guess that it might be faster.

DSL also often requires a contract. Since I'm not sure if I'll be living here in a year, that is a gamble as to wether or not it is even worth it to sign up. Perhaps I could pay more for the luxury of no contract, but that's not something I want to do. The only reason I still have the internet is to talk to my girlfriend overseas, and to check facebook. I can do one of the two just fine on my iPhone. I used to download a lot of torrents and things, but these days I am so tired when I get home, its sometimes a chore not to just walk right upstairs and go to bed. 

So, while DSL looks like a more attractive option in the future, for now I think I am stuck with cable. This means, Troubleshooting (or as it is often known, "assisted suicide").

I called Time Warner. I talked to a friendly fellow who told me there were outages in my area, "Ashland KY".  A quick look at Google Maps will show you that Ashland is 129 miles away. I told him that, and he stuttered a bit. He looked again, "Oh I see, you are in Richmond, there is an outage there too."  Google Maps says, "39.6 miles away". Closer, but no cigar sir.

He didn't like that I wasn't biting on the paper thin excuses he was handing me. I told him how many connections I saw in my area, and that this speed issue has been consistent for about 2 weeks. He was unwilling to help. He told me to wait an hour, and try again. If I was still having issues, to call back. He also suggested that I power cycle my router (turn it off, then on again). I already did that before calling.  Level 1 tech support is not that smart, and is often intimidated by anyone who actually knows something about computers. I got the run around.

So, tonight, I am blogging from a wireless aircard, which works off cellular technology. It's slower than DSL or Cable... but tonight its faster than Time Warner. I hope they get their act together, and I hope the shared connection isn't my bigger issue. If it continues, I only have about 125 more days until Jenny comes home... I may consider just turning it off all together. 

Technology is supposed to make life easier, to relieve stress... when it becomes a big stress, it might be time to cut the cord and enjoy life unplugged. Right after I check to make sure i don't have any more notifications today on Facebook.