[Discuss] ISP costs for higher data rates? (20-50 MBit/sec.)

[cra at WPI.EDU (Chuck Anderson)]

On Fri, May 04, 2012 at 10:54:40PM -0400, Gordon Ross wrote:
> I've been looking into the costs of "business class" internet service
> (20-50MBit/sec) and I'm surprised at the wide range of prices quoted.
> I'm curious, what areothers paying for this class of service?
> 
> What I've found so far:  If you're lucky enough to be in an area with
> Verizon's FiOS (we're not), that service can give you something around
> 25MBit/sec for around $150/mo (or so I'm told).  Or we can get DSL
> with 7MBit/sec for around $170/mo.  Strangely, T1 service appears to
> offer lower data rates at higher cost.

FioS is a "shared" service.  Downlink is wavelength multiplexed, and
uplink is time-division multiplexed.

> Verizon reportedly has a "fiber ethernet" service too (NOT FiOS) but
> I've yet to find someone at Verizon who knows exactly where it is
> offered, or what it costs, etc.  This in spite of other tenants in our
> building reportedly using it.  (Remember "Laugh In"?
> http://www.tvacres.com/comm_ernestine.htm ... "We don't care. We don't
> have to. (snort) We're the Phone Company!" :)

Remember that there are at least 3 "Verizons".  There is the
traditional Verizon landline service company that now provides FiOS,
Verizon Business which used to be MCI/UUNET, and Verizon Wireless
which provides a fairly decent 4G LTE service.  They are separate
companies and one won't know about the others' service offerings, tech
support, etc.

If you have a good 4G signal where you want the service, it can be
economical to go that route.  I regularly get 13 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up
on my Verizon Wireless phone and tablet.  They sell 4G to Wifi HotSpot
boxes that you could use at home for your primary internet connection.
I don't know how reliable it would be in comparison to a traditional
ISP.

Verizon Business offers SES, Switched Ethernet Service, which is a
fiber-based Ethernet LAN or Ethernet Virtual Private Line service for
interconnecting different sites (like Metro Ethernet, but it can go
further than that--even nationwide), not an Internet service, although
I know of instances where SES is used to get to an ISP who provides
the IP service.  Verizon Business probably offers Internet service
over that technology too.

Pretty much all the "business" providers like Comcast, Charter, and
Verizon Business offer fiber-based Internet connectivity where you pay
to have fiber brought into your premises from the nearest PoP, CO, or
pod.  This isn't the same kind of fiber network as FiOS--it is
"traditional" fiber where you have a dedicated, bi-directional fiber
path (or wavelength(s)) back to their switch or router, and you
generally pay for a symmetric service (but they may offer asymmetric
as well).  Either way, it is "dedicated" and comes with SLAs, etc. and
you pay more for this business-class service.

> Comcast offered us 100MBit/sec down, 10 up, at around $400/mo.
> At some locations they also offer "Metro Ethernet", but here too,
> finding info. is more difficult than one might expect.
> 
> So, any suggestions for me?  If you have a "fat pipe", what are you
> paying for it?

Just regular Comcast residential cable modem service regularly gives
me over 30 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up.  I'm happy with that.