ARTS & FARCES internet

All the talk about broadband penetration in the US notwithstanding, I’m not getting the bandwidth for which I’m paying. I’ll bet neither are you.

Here’s how to find out: Access speedtest.net and wait for the Flash application to load. Select the server closest to your geographic location. Make a note of the results. Repeat over the course of several months—different times of day and different days. I think you’ll be shocked at what you find.

I’m regularly getting roughly 25% of the bandwidth for which I’m paying. Here’s a table of some of the highlights over the past few months (all entries are with no traffic on the DSL circuit except the test traffic).

Not bad for a 1Mb line. Except I'm paying for a 4Mb/768Kb DSL circuit.

It's not my line (it's fully capable of much higher traffic) and it's not my hardware (Cisco 877 router, properly configured). Somebody -- either my ISP or Qwest, the circuit provider -- has oversold its capacity. I don't think it's my ISP because they've been incredibly helpful and informative.

My money's on the monopoly Qwest as the culprit. I opened a trouble ticket weeks ago and haven't heard squat. And whenever I email Qwest's small business technical support, I get a canned response that I can expect a response in two business days and then a canned response from "Kathy" saying that "Once the Qwest has done a speed test on the line, would determine the route Qwest will take in reference to your Broadband service. Please contact our Repair Department in reference to your trouble ticket and they will be able to assist you." Each time with a new case number. That's certainly helpful. And I just adore the reference to "the Qwest."

I'm thinking it's time to complain to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. This is exactly why "free" markets in the US don't work and these bastards need to be heavily regulated.