As the world of the interwebs has grown increasingly complex, websites larger and larger, content displayed with snazzy graphics, the need to have a faster connection has continued to increase.
Originally we all had dial-up. The we moved to quicker dial-up. Then arrived the apparent broad-band revolution and our download speeds were going to go through the roof. Except that they didn't really. Sure the difference was noticeable at first, but then as the web became more complex, it started looking slow again.
Those with the cash just upgrade again - double the download speeds and triple the limits - those lucky enough to an interchange (whatever that is) nearby even have the luxury of being able to choose super-fast ADSL2. This is a pattern that has always irritated me.
Now on top of this, is the somewhat extraordinary fact that ISPs can sell you a new super-go-fast internet package, and yet have no genuine obligation to provide the service they have just sold you.
Precisely.
Take our current home intermaweb situation. Initially we were on your basic broadband 1MB 256k a month thing. Then having found this excruciatingly slow, we upgraded to 2MB 512k. At first it seemed uber-speedy and exciting, but it has slowly become less useful. Of late, it has seemed ridiculous - pretty much dial-up speed.
We are about a week into our monthly billing cycle and we haven't even got close to our limit so we can't have been 'shaped'. I (slowly) uploaded our ISPs website to look for FAQs about speed and found a very useful speed tester thing - much more accurate than the online testing websites it said - download the little program and away it goes.
The advice given on the website, is that for a customer on a 512kb plan, we should expect download speeds of around 50kB/s.
I've been testing.
We haven't yet got above 30kB/s and most usually the download speed hovers around the low 20s. I've tested during peak (6ish), later at night (11ish) and in the morning (8ish) and while the results vary a little, never once have they come CLOSE to the recommended speeds.
Now I understand the business about the network being busy and all, but how can I be paying for an internet connection that is consistently LESS THAN HALF the amount I signed up for?
How is it that ISPs can pretend to offer you something they simply have no hope (or worse, no intention) of honouring?
If I bought a litre of milk, took it home and discovered it was half full/empty I'd be pretty pissed off and I can imagine the shop people would be fairly sheepish if confronted.
In what universe is it acceptable to sign someone up to a contract to supply a good/service and then supply them with half of the promised product IF THAT!?
And it's not just this lot. This has been my experience with pretty much every ISP I've ever dealt with.
Can anyone make any recommendations for ISPs that at least actually ATTEMPT to offer you the speeds you have signed up for? Cos I'm buggered if I'm going to upgrade with this lot to something that is apparently double the speed just to get to where I should be now.
/rant.
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