Internet speeds

I happened to be in USA visiting my daughter doing her PhD. During my stay there, I was using her PC and Internet to check my e-mail and read news items. Involuntarily, I started comparing its speed with my Internet speed in India. There were no differences as far as the static and interactive pages were concerned. However, when it came to video streaming, the difference was huge. Even High Definition video was streaming continuously without waiting for buffering. Though there were instances of slowing of download speeds, there was neither a single disconnection nor a pause for buffering. The streaming was continuous. It was quite a pleasing experience over there.

As a test case, I downloaded a Linux distro there and checked up the speed. 700 Mb data was downloaded in 35 minutes flat. This amounts to 20 Mb/min and around 330 Kb/sec. The file host server was in the same campus and hence was physically closer. The network nodes were less and, possibly, was the fastest speed achievable. The PC was connected to the net through a router, which had the speed capability of 8 Mb/sec. This also did not choke the flow of data. 330 Kb/sec download speed is ten times faster than that is achievable in my home in India. I have tested many times in India and the speed was consistently around 32 Kb/sec.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) in USA was Comcast and was through cable. There were slowing of speeds some times, but they were temporary. The building consisted of 84 flats and they were all connected to Internet by the same provider. With so many users in the same building the speed experience was astonishing. Cable is more popular in USA than DSL. It could probably be due to availability of TV signals in the same cable. I also gather that TV signals comes free if opted for Internet service through cable.

My ISP in India is Airtel and is through DSL 512 Kb/sec broadband connection. The service is good and did not experience much problem. Only blemish was frequent connection drop-outs two weeks back. Probably, the server had some health problems or upgrade problems. I am really satisfied, but for the blemish.

Some ISPs in India are already claiming max speed of 2 Mb/sec, but the reports are not encouraging. We need to wait for some more time, before realizing the experience that I had in USA. As far as the war between cable and DSL, there is no clear winner. It all depends on the quality of ISP. Cable experience for internet in India is not that great. The situation may change in future. I am providing the link that discusses the difference between cable and DSL. http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dslvscablemodem/a/dslcablecompare.htm

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