oh, and godspeed!
Any suggestions as to the latest way ahead - i get the impression that Cablecom may be the best value option? Also I only have a pay and go Swisscom card at the moment so will want to get an abondment asap.
Any suggestions very welcome....
thanks,
Richard
http://de.bluewin.ch/internetzugang/...p/adsl_speed05
This surely must illicit a reaction from Cablecom - is their infrastructure able to deliver 20+Mbps? Surely should be according to DOCSIS .....!
http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/internet...Zuerich/0.html
Looks like they could be delivering over fiber-optical cabling. Hoorah!
actually, I love it already - I have to move:
Up to 25Mbps available: http://computerworld.ch/aktuell/news/43266/index.html
edit: in addition, there will be 20 TV channels available over the web, not the six or so we have now.
As always the devil is in the details... Most of us (I would guess) are on the 65 per month plan. We'll get 15Mbit/s. But for just 75 we can have 25Mbit/s. So just 10 francs extra?
If you plan on using your connection heavily, then you should read this post . Remember that if you switch from 65 to 75 it will mean new terms and conditions, and Cablecom can then lock you into whatever they may be. So read the fine print carefully before you decide to take that carrot they are dangling.
I'd be really interested to know just whether they are going to be upgrading the capacity in their network to handle these new speeds. They seem to make the "best effort" part very clear in the press release, almost letting themselves off in advance.
So they have less for less and more for more. A sign that the market is tightening?
Add to this the 13 extra channels you can get via the web. Multicast in reasonable quality over TCP - they must be fairly confident in their network.
Yes, this is an interesting development. Interesting in that this is the first time that Swisscom have stepped up to the plate to put the heat on Cablecom, rather than the other way around.
But I think it's only fair to mention a few caveats about Swisscom's offer. Once again the upstream bandwidth is far less - 20MBit down, 1MBit up, compared to cablecom which offer 10Mbit down, 1Mbit up, and later with the 25Mbit down there will be 2.5Mbit up.
Also, while cablecom caution that it is a "best effort" service, you've got a much better chance of actually getting those speeds (unless you local segment is congested). In the case of DSL at these speeds (Swisscom), the maximum speed you can get on your own service is limited by your distance to the exchange. Therefore this 20Mbit they are selling is really only the "best case" if you are close enough to the exchange. Therefore you may not get anything like that, and your only choice would be to move closer to the exchange.
All in all, consumers can only benefit. I still remember the days before cablecom offered internet, when Swisscom kept the speed at a 512Kbit maximum, citing reasons such as "it might interfere with other services". Strangely, when cablecom arrived such technical fears magically evaporated...
I'm surprised that Cablecom didn't just convert everyone to the 25Mbit service rather than trying to getting them to spend another 10 francs per month, but as I pointed out earlier it's probably more about tying them into the new terms and conditions rather than the extra 10 francs. Offerring 25Mbit at 65 francs per month would make them the clear leader for anyone comparing. But offerring 15 when Swisscom offer 20?
Lovely that they consider my television streaming to need TCP
And yes, once we all agree it's unicast, you can run whatever the hell protocol you like!
But why talk about the TV channels we get from Cablecom? These are the guys that took the BBC away from us. They are hardly going to give it back to us as one of the 6 or 14 channels that they are going to let us watch via the internet, are they? So unless you like watching stuff in German/Swiss German/French this feature will be of little interest to EF readers.
Cablecom I have always been able to get the 10Mb in speed (1Megabyte per second), although my black router crashes when doing news and rsync/ssh transfers with the line running at 100%. Watch out cablecom line fees are hidden in your Rent nebenkosten (heating etc.) or homeowners pay direct, this means that Swisscom is now cheaper. Hearing a lot of People having problems with VDSL the new thing, will have this soon to test.
Hope it helps.
There is no need to take this base package; I don't and cablecom happily bill me just for internet and phone
The charge gives you the base collection of cable channels. You might find it's hard to opt-out, yes. But do you watch TV?
It has nothing to do with internet access - although when I lived in an apartment block, the Nebenkosten/shared house costs were pushed up slightly as the whole cable network was made ready for hispeed internet. Of course the Nebenkosten was pushed even higher by the price of oil going up.
Vergleich „Ich will analog fernsehen“ / ENG: Compare "I want analogue TV"
Mit Cablecom: Fr. 24.85 (Anschluss: Fr. 24.85) /ENG: with cablecom 24.85 for connection
Mit Swisscom: nicht möglich / ENG: with swisscom not possible
Vergleich „Ich will digital fernsehen“ /ENG: "I want digital TV"
Mit Cablecom: Fr. 30.85 (Anschluss: Fr. 24.85 + Fr. 6.- für digital TV*) /ENG: cablecom 24.85 hidden fee and 6 for digital TV
Your Nebenkosten (Pro rat/divided costs: Energy cable etc., are listed separately on your Rent Bill) in your Rent will always include the above 24.85 Sfr. The 6 Sfr is additional if you want digital TV. Cablecom will close/weld your digital 3 port Multimedia connectors if you do not pay this hidden fee. I was trying to say cablecom is more expensive with this fee, but it is voluntary but not many people know about it.
the problem is that, when living in rented apartments, it will be hard to not pay that subscription - but you should be able to fight and not pay it. Unless you watch cable TV - because then you're actually getting a service for your payment.
so if you don't want cable TV.....try to get it removed. It's hardly hidden.
So - do you watch cable TV at all?