I've been using computers now for about 15 years. My first computer was the powerful (ok...not really -- even back then) Macintosh LC II. The LC II featured a mighty 80MB hard drive, a 16MHz Motorola 68030 processor, and 4MB of RAM, expandable to 10.
Since then, almost every facet of computing has increased in speed/size etc... at an incredible exponential pace. I currently run a computer with two processors, each running at 2GHz, over 250 times the clock speed of my LC II -- and, due to other advances in processor technology, is effectively much more than 250 times faster. This weekend, I configured a server with 4GB of RAM, or
1,024 times as much as my LC II had. And, at my office, I have a network attached storage unit that has 1TB of storage space, or 13,107 times the capacity of my old 80MB drive.
The speed of Internets connections followed a similar path -- at least for awhile. I first started using the Internets in the mid 90s. My first connection was to an ISP called OnRamp over a 14.4kbps modem. 14.4kbps begot 28.8 which begot 56k. Soon after, I got my first broadband connection through Marcus Cable, later Charter. While that was a nightmarish experience due to Marcus/Charter's total lack of competence, it was certainly fast when it worked.
I soon fired Charter and switched over to August.net DSL around 1997-98. I was getting 1mbps and it was really nice. And then came Sprint ION. Sprint's ill-fated ION service was a DSL/IP telephony combination that was in beta testing. We ran our phones over the DSL line and the data was totally uncapped. In 1999, I was getting over 7mbps (nearly 500 times faster than a 14.4kbps modem) and I was getting it for free thanks to the money-hemorrhaging folks at Sprint.
But, then, suddenly, the advancement in speed stopped. I have
never, in the 7 years since Sprint cancelled the ION program, had an Internets connection as fast as I had in 1999. I'm close -- my Time Warner cable service gets me over 6mbps. About 40 feet to my north, the fine citizens of Plano, TX have access to Verizon's FiOS service which offers a 15mbps package at a reasonable price. So, there has been a little progress, but nothing like similar progress in computer hardware technology.
Business Internets service is even more backwards than the residential realm. My business has the incredible misfortune of being just out of the reach of the cable network, so our options are DSL -- and crappy DSL at that -- or a T1. T1s are absolutely ancient technology. They costed about $1,500/month in 1997, and they cost about $700/month now. Running at about 20% as fast as my old Sprint ION service, T1s are very reliable and very, very, very slow. More than one Internets salesman has tried to convince me to buy a T1 for my office, arguing that their superior reliability somehow justifies their brobdingnagian cost, but I would sooner set my hair on fire than pay for a T1. So, we settled for SDSL, at 1.5mbps -- shared by the entire company. This is, in fact the only time I can think of when I have ever yearned for the superior technology of something 8 years in the past.
So, there you have it. The Internets have stalled. I accepted that fact, and moved on -- until a few months ago when I received a phone call from one of my business partners. Said partner offices across the street (where cable service is available, much to my chagrin) and recently moved here from Sweden. He was calling to complain that his Internets connection was slow. I had him run a speed test and he was getting 2.6mbps which was about right for his 3mbps DSL service. So, I walked across the street figuring that he probably had a massive spyware infestation causing his computer to run slowly. But, instead of spyware, I discovered that, unlike just about every other person that I work with, this guy actually understood what 2.6mbps meant. He told me that, back in Sweden, he had a 100mbps connection and that 2.6mbps was painfully slow.
100mbps!!?? Surely he was talking about his internal network ethernet speed.. Nope, he insisted; 100mbps is fairly common over there -- and not expensive either. Suffice to say, I had a hard time believing him. If Europe had Internets connections 66 times faster than my office DSL, surely there would be some fuss about it. People would be picketing in front of Time Warner headquarters, demanding faster Internets. There would be riots! I mean, think of the fantastic competitive disadvantage America would have if Europe was light years ahead in Internets speed.
Well...
it's true. In Japan, you can pay $10/month to get 100mbps. I pay $45/month for my 6mbps. Apparently, the telecom industry pocketed the money that it would have taken to improve our infrastructure and, decided to deliver crappy service instead. Imagine that. Europeans have enough bandwidth to view 4
uncompressed high definition video streams simultaneously while we are stuck with YouTube.
So, spread the word, all both of you who read my blog. People need to know about this. It's totally unacceptable.
