http://chattanoogagig.com/

[Howell]

Have an entreprenurial idea for how to make use of gigabit connectivity to a metro area? Here's your chance to get it off the ground.

EPB's entire 600 square mile service area is connected to Chattanooga's fiber optic network. Meaning that 170,000 businesses and homes – regardless of income or geographic location – have access to Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

 

[CougTek]

Piratebay's owners might be interested.

 

[LunarMist]

I assume that all the terrorists are aware of it.

 

[timwhit]

Howell, do you have gigabit internet?

 

[CougTek]

It's alright, we're not jealous. We know a tornado will destroy a few buildings and take the grid down there when Spring arrives

 

[Mercutio]

Once your internet is ridiculously fast, you become acutely aware of the limitations of everyone else's servers.

 

[Howell]

Howell, do you have gigabit internet?

No, I'm incredibly cheap. I have been on a non-advertised Comcast plan at something below 1Mb for a couple of years. That said, today or tomorrow I'm signing up for the fiber 30/30 plan for $58/month to check it out.

It's alright, we're not jealous. We know a tornado will destroy a few buildings and take the grid down there when Spring arrives

heh heh, the fiber optic network was originally pitched and funded by DOE as a way to increase the intelligence of the electrical grid to improve service outages from incidents like the tornados. The electrical meter is on the fiber network. Now they are selling TV, internet and phone over the same infrastructure.

 

[Howell]

We are considering EPB for one of our links to a backup/operations location as part of the DR plan.

 

[LunarMist]

No, I'm incredibly cheap. I have been on a non-advertised Comcast plan at something below 1Mb for a couple of years. That said, today or tomorrow I'm signing up for the fiber 30/30 plan for $58/month to check it out.




heh heh, the fiber optic network was originally pitched and funded by DOE as a way to increase the intelligence of the electrical grid to improve service outages from incidents like the tornados. The electrical meter is on the fiber network. Now they are selling TV, internet and phone over the same infrastructure.

Is that like C

 

[Howell]

Is that like C

Just like it.





J/k, I have no idea what you mean.

 

[Stereodude]

J/k, I have no idea what you mean.

Don't worry, he doesn't either.

 

[LunarMist]

Something is trucnating my posts.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make was that perhaps it will be like Colossus in the 60s or the 80s ripoff of that with Skynet in the Terminator series.

 

[Howell]

I thought that I had already talked about moving to a 30MB EPB fiber connection earlier in the year but I can't find the thread. Anyway, its been rock solid and entirely uneventful. Saturday evening as part of celebrating their 3rd anniversary as an internet provider they increased everybody's rates for free: 30->50, 50->100, 100->250.

 

[time]

30MB or 30Mb?

 

[Howell]

30MB or 30Mb?

Oops. 30Mb.

 

[time]

Fiber all the way to the door I assume?

Is your power (and fiber) mostly underground?

 

[Howell]

Fiber all the way to the door I assume?

Is your power (and fiber) mostly underground?

Yes fiber to the door. Most of those utilities are above ground. The electric side of the utility uses the network to control the electric grid and intelligently cut supply at incidents for safety and reroute power around a problem so only the smallest population possible is affected. Pretty cool actually.

 

[Howell]

I've been waiting to see something visible from the metro gig. Tonight they will do some kind of cross continental concert. Stream it:

http://www.riverrockschattanooga.com/events/other-events/gig-city-entertainment

 

[Howell]

At the beginning of the month EPBFI simplified their plans and pricing. Now it is just two levels, 100Mbs for $58, and 1Gbs for $70/month. At this pace I'm going to have to buy new network gear soon if I don't want to be the bottleneck. https://epbfi.com/gigsupport/

Amazon, Vudu, and Netflix would be fools to not locate video nodes here.

 

[ddrueding]

So jealous. I'm at 100/20 for $200/mo

 

[LiamC]

Hah. We had a change of govt. Instead of Fibre to the Home, it's now to the Node. Speed has gone (way) down. Prices will go (way) up. Our glorious PM cannot see a reason for people to have that sort of connectivity.

Actually the cynic in me says that a lot of telco businesses who are paid up contributors to the Liberal party are not happy with the previous govt. business model so...

 

[Mercutio]

You antipodeans are always going to be on the shit end of the stick as far as fast internets go and I've yet to hear any talk over the last 20 years that made me think anyone down that way had any idea what the hell they're doing with internet services.

On the other hand, we here in the US are run by a group of people who think science is a four letter word and the only good idea for anyone ever is to essentially treat the internet like cable TV, so it's anyone's guess as to which of us will end up with the worse overall deal.

 

[mubs]

What are y'all cribbing about? I'am at 8/0.5 for USD 22 a month. Any faster (max of 16mbps from this ISP, only faster one is 24 mbps), and it gets exponentially more expensive.

 

[Mercutio]

Hey at least your lot has the good sense to congregate in huge urban centers that it makes sense to wire for access. Oz has the same problem as the US: the people are too damned spread out. Granted most of them are on a coast, but there's quite a lot of coast to go around down there.

 

[snowhiker]

So jealous. I'm at 100/20 for $200/mo

Dang that is pricy. I can get 150/20 for $100/month via Cox cable.

I'm currently on the 50/10 plan for $68/month.

 

[ddrueding]

That is the fastest business plan available. No caps or limits on hosting, which is nice. I would kill for Google to move in, though.

 

[P5-133XL]

I trust Google only slightly more than Facebook with privacy and I don't think a 10' lead shield is enough to protect me from Mark Zuckerberg and associates.

 

[mubs]

+1000

 

[ddrueding]

I trust Google only slightly more than Facebook with privacy and I don't think a 10' lead shield is enough to protect me from Mark Zuckerberg and associates.

Privacy is a nice concept, but if you are under the impression that Google doesn't already have everything they could want and more, you are more optimistic than I. It's like trying to keep your SSN secure from the NSA.

 

[P5-133XL]

Privacy is a nice concept, but if you are under the impression that Google doesn't already have everything they could want and more, you are more optimistic than I. It's like trying to keep your SSN secure from the NSA.

I can not disagree, they probably do.

 

[Chewy509]

Hah. We had a change of govt. Instead of Fibre to the Home, it's now to the Node. Speed has gone (way) down. Prices will go (way) up. Our glorious PM cannot see a reason for people to have that sort of connectivity.

Actually the cynic in me says that a lot of telco businesses who are paid up contributors to the Liberal party are not happy with the previous govt. business model so...

Having a friend who works at a small regional ISP (he works in the provisioning dept), the whole mess is a lot worse than most people realise. (This is Gold Coast centric but will apply to most regional towns).

As we know most exchanges in Australia are fibre connected (most have multiple 1Gbps or a 10Gbps link as these need to handle both voice and data and mobile in most cases), with connections between the exchange and RIM being a mix of copper and fibre. The current plan to change the copper between the exchange and RIM to be fibre to help reduce latency and contention. If you're in an area that is either off a RIM or Exchange and your area gets on average less than 10Mbps ADSL service (that is you're not within 2km of your local DSLAM) you *should* get our own mini-exchange or ADSL2+/VDSL enabled RIM to boost you connection to a minimum of 12Mbps. (The connection point at the end of the street is a load of BS, it's more like a connection point in every 5-20 streets, as the line limit being touted as allowed/compliant is a maximum of 700m).

But the copper between the RIM/Exchange and your premise will not be changed, and from my friends reports the majority of cabling issues are either:
1. In the home.
2. Between the home and the local pit in the street. (This is where a contractor working for Telstra f*&(ked up your connection while working on someone else's in the street).
3. Or at the exchange. (see point 2).

The coalitions plan does not address where the main faults will lie, so maintenance expenses will not change greatly.

Now think about this, the coalitions technology of choice is VDSL2, which can get 100Mbps provided you are close enough and have good copper... Yes, if you close enough, then you can get 100Mbps, as but Time, Tannin, Tea and LiamC will tell you, the standard of copper installation in Australia ranges from below average to really crap...

And, some ISPs are now offering, that if you have FttN and want FttP, then they will do it, but they will pass on the cost of the fibre installation to the customer... the expected average cost for this to happen in the suburbs, between $1K and $5K for installation only... (Some ISPs will subsidise that cost, but only with a long term contract). My friends ISP has a customer in Willow Vale, a small country suburb in the north Gold Coast area. (Most homes are on acreage, a very nice area). He wanted NBN/fibre, and got a quote on the fibre installation - to lay fibre between the exchange and his home was quoted at just under $15K... (They have a ADSL1 service currently and get just on 3Mbps connection).

Yes, the NBN now sucks...

PS. I'm on a ADSL2+ plan with 60GB allowance, for $50pm. At the moment, my average connection is 9Mbps/1Mbps, which the speed tends to drop during storms but that's another matter...

PPS. Anyone else played with iiNet's BOB2? What are you thoughts on it?

 

[LiamC]

Privacy is a nice concept, but if you are under the impression that Google doesn't already have everything they could want and more, you are more optimistic than I. It's like trying to keep your SSN secure from the NSA.

Well if you have a nuclear attack submarine, then of course the NSA will want to know about it.

 

[ddrueding]

I thought they only kept track of the SSBNs