Wideband Internet services - Enquiry Trådens avsändare: mediamatrix (X)
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mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 21:59
Spanska till Engelska
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After several years of suffering with a 56 kbit/s dial-up internet connection, I may at last have the opportunity to get what the Chilean telcos like to call a 'wideband' connection. The best things now on offer in my town are a 4 MB ADSL line or a 1 MB WiMax connection.
Now I'm well aware that in much of the developed world those data-rates would no longer be thought worthy of the label 'wideband', but that is not the motive behind my enquiry today.
I have been readin... See more After several years of suffering with a 56 kbit/s dial-up internet connection, I may at last have the opportunity to get what the Chilean telcos like to call a 'wideband' connection. The best things now on offer in my town are a 4 MB ADSL line or a 1 MB WiMax connection.
Now I'm well aware that in much of the developed world those data-rates would no longer be thought worthy of the label 'wideband', but that is not the motive behind my enquiry today.
I have been reading the contract for the 4 MB ADSL connection and it clearly states that the company guarantees only 10% of the contracted speed.
Also, the guaranteed 'up-time' (i.e. percentage of time that the service is guaranteed to be actually working) is only 99%.
On reading that, I visited some local Internet cafés and friends' homes to check out their 'wideband' speeds. Most of them were actually getting about 15% of their contracted speed - and one was well below 10% (this poor user has a 400 kbit/s 'wideband' (ADSL) connection that actually runs at about one-half of the speed of my 56 k modem).
My investigation has prompted some people here to ask me to find out if these conditions are 'normal' in other parts of Chile - and in other countries. Of course, everyone in the worldwide Proz.com community is an intensive Internet user so ... where better to ask?
So, here come the questions (which assume you've read your wideband service contract!!!):
1) What type of connection do you have?
(A)DSL, WiMax, Cable modem, Other (what?)
2) What is the connection speed stated in your contract?
3) What percentage of the contracted speed does your service-provider guarantee to provide?
4) What 'up time' does your provider guarantee?
5) Does your provider actually deliver what they've guaranteed? They probably have a connection speed tester on their web-portal - try it!
6) Do you think it's reasonable to guarantee only 10% of the service for only 99% of the time?
and finally, for the lawyers out there:
7) Would 'guarantees' such as those offered here in Chile be legal in your country?
So, on behalf of many disgruntled surfers in an economically deprived town in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, I invite all readers to help with this enquiry.
Many thanks in advance.
MediaMatrix
To facilitate the analysis of replies to this enquiry, please quote the following summary of the questions and insert your answers:
*****************************
Q1 – Connection type:
Q2 – Contracted speed:
Q3 – Guaranteed speed (% of contracted):
Q4 – Guaranteed up-time (%):
Q5 – Actual speed when tested:
Q6 – Is it reasonable…?
Q7 – Are such guarantees legal in your country (state country name)?
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[Edited at 2008-05-02 22:15]
[Edited at 2008-05-02 22:16] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Boris Kimel 
Israel
Local time: 04:59
Engelska till Ryska
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Sorry for not answering all your questions, but it seems you exaggerate the problem here. I do not know the legal details of my contract, nor would I care about anything "guaranteed" in this area. I would switch to another ISP immediately if not satisfied with real service level. Here, in Russia, competition drives the ISPs to deliver at least acceptable performance.
I am using an ADSL with something about 3Mbit downstream, an... See more Sorry for not answering all your questions, but it seems you exaggerate the problem here. I do not know the legal details of my contract, nor would I care about anything "guaranteed" in this area. I would switch to another ISP immediately if not satisfied with real service level. Here, in Russia, competition drives the ISPs to deliver at least acceptable performance.
I am using an ADSL with something about 3Mbit downstream, and it works all the time as per specifications.
The only way to get a 10% ratio is to mess up bits and bytes - haven't you? It's difficult to imagine how can one guarantee only 10% of what is being paid for.
Yes, and to initiate any kind of legal proccedings against an ISP would be the last thing I would think of. Therefore any guarantees are simply irrelevant no matter how legal they are.
[Редактировалось 2008-05-02 21:56] ▲ Collapse
| | | | mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 21:59
Spanska till Engelska
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TOPIC STARTER | No mess-up here ... | May 2, 2008 |
Boris Kimel wrote:
The only way to get a 10% ratio is to mess up bits and bytes - haven't you?
No, there's no 'mess-up' here. I've worked in telecoms for over 35 years and I know my bits from my bytes.
Boris Kimel added:
It's difficult to imagine how can one guarantee only 10% of what is being paid for.
I agree - but that's exactly what the contract says. And that's why I appreciate your comment on this.
Thanks for your input.
MediaMatrix
| | | | Boris Kimel
Israel
Local time: 04:59
Engelska till Ryska
+ ...
| Sorry about the bytes | May 2, 2008 |
I could have taken a look at your profile at least.
My ISP states no guaranteed uptime at all, and states a service level as "acceptable" per some legally nil document, which, in turn, defines "acceptable" as the lowest level possible with e.g. no limitations as to IP packet travel time, availability etc.
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Marina Soldati
Argentina
Local time: 22:59
Medlem (2005)
Engelska till Spanska
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| ADSL in Tandil - Argentina | May 2, 2008 |
Hi mediamatrix,
These are my answers:
Q1: ADSL
Q2: 256 Mb
Q3: I don´t know, this was my only choice when I signed the contract (and a 512Mb service with the same company, but it was too expensive for me at that time)
Q4: Idem question 3
Q5: The icon in my computer says 608Kbps at this moment. The service has been down for only 4 hours in the last three years, so I can´t complain.
Q6: No I don´t think it´s reasonable.
Q7: Don´t kn... See more Hi mediamatrix,
These are my answers:
Q1: ADSL
Q2: 256 Mb
Q3: I don´t know, this was my only choice when I signed the contract (and a 512Mb service with the same company, but it was too expensive for me at that time)
Q4: Idem question 3
Q5: The icon in my computer says 608Kbps at this moment. The service has been down for only 4 hours in the last three years, so I can´t complain.
Q6: No I don´t think it´s reasonable.
Q7: Don´t know either.
We`ll have a cable modem service next year here, which is less expensive, so maybe I´ll change service provider.
Regards,
Marina ▲ Collapse
| | | | | DSL in Germany | May 3, 2008 |
Hi mediamatrix,
since you asked... I signed up for 6 MB, but the actual speed is 10 MB. I guess it's one of the rare instances where I can't complain about the biggest service provider in my country (I am pretty sure that someone made a mistake). A comparison doesn't seem to be valid though, because I am living in a major city.
But I have friends who had a similar problem. Their contract states that their connection speed would be 2 MB. Then they realised that their con... See more Hi mediamatrix,
since you asked... I signed up for 6 MB, but the actual speed is 10 MB. I guess it's one of the rare instances where I can't complain about the biggest service provider in my country (I am pretty sure that someone made a mistake). A comparison doesn't seem to be valid though, because I am living in a major city.
But I have friends who had a similar problem. Their contract states that their connection speed would be 2 MB. Then they realised that their connection was considerably slower. After some serious complaining (he's a lawyer) it got better, but they still have a rush-hour problem - when everybody gets home from work and the traffic load is high.
The legal information in your contract reminds me of a disclaimer I recently translated for s Swiss company. The wording was something like "the coverage information is without obligation." Somehow this sounds like a get-out-of-jail-free card: we can't deliver? So, what's your problem?
It is not fair and definitely no way to treat a paying customer.
I wish you luck and hope it get's better.
Regards,
Sonja ▲ Collapse
| | | | Patricia Rosas
USA
Local time: 18:59
Spanska till Engelska
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In memoriam | partial answers | May 3, 2008 |
mediamatrix wrote:
Q1 – Connection type: DSL
Q2 – Contracted speed:
Download Speed:
Up to 1.5MB
Upload Speed:
Up to 896K
Q3 – Guaranteed speed (% of contracted): NO CONTRACT
Q4 – Guaranteed up-time (%): NOT STATED BUT APPEARS TO BE CLOSE TO 100%
Q5 – Actual speed when tested:
Download Speed: 1336 kbps (167 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 758 kbps (94.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Q6 – Is it reasonable…? You are asking about YOUR CONTRACT, right? No, to me it sounds outrageous.
Q7 – Are such guarantees legal in your country (state country name)? United States, but I don't know . . .
*****************************[/b]
My one complaint about my service is that they have some very convoluted plans that "bundle" the phone line, DSL, cable, and even cell phone service. For each additional service you get, they reduce the price; then they have "first-year" specials, etc. I was recently promised a rate of $35.99 (the only service I have is Internet), but now it turns out to be $49.99. I lost my notes from the conversation where the salesperson promised me the lower rate so it appears I'm stuck with that.
I'm not alone in complaining; everyone I know complains, but this is the only telephone, DSL, and cable service in my area. I, too, searched for a better deal, but couldn't find one.
HTH!
[Edited at 2008-05-02 22:15]
[Edited at 2008-05-02 22:16]
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Broadband cable
Nominal speed: 7MB/s I think
Don't think there's a guaranteed speed
Ditto
Actual speed: 1 to 5 MB/s
Here, everyone knows the nominal speed is basically a maximum.
If the ISP consistently provides 1/3 of that I'm happy. 1/10 sounds horrible tho.
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Samuel Murray
Nederländerna
Local time: 03:59
Medlem (2006)
Engelska till Afrikaans
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1. ADSL
2. 384 down, 256 up
3. No guarantees
4. No guarantees
5. No, they don't guarantee anything, but they do deliver what I'm buying.
6. Depends on the modem:user ratio, doesn't it?
| | | | mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 21:59
Spanska till Engelska
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | On Samuel's modem:user ratio | May 5, 2008 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
...
6. Depends on the modem:user ratio, doesn't it?
Thanks for the data Samuel. I'm not sure how the above answer tallies with Q6, which was:
6) Do you think it's reasonable to guarantee only 10% of the service for only 99% of the time?
I'm assuming, of course, that there's only one user on the connection - i.e. we're talking here about the output from the ADSL 'box on the wall', regardless of how the user distributes the connection in a local network.
MediaMatrix
PS (If I may...) I was amused to see your post here in the light of your (very interesting) thread here http://www.proz.com/forum/business_issues/103846-what_to_judge_job_quoters_on.html about 'following instructions'
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