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Comments on news posted 2014-08-12 14:23:25: A new map created by a company named Broadview Networks offers up insight into the broadband speed peaks and valleys across the United States. ..

jimmyd87
join:2014-01-12
North Highlands, CA

jimmyd87

Member

Meets expectations

Seems fairly as expected... no real surprises here...

WhoWhatWhere
@66.249.83.x

WhoWhatWhere

Anon

Regional differences

The lower Mississippi Valley states drag behind the rest of the US as do Kentucky & West Virginia. The Old Confederate states are still paying the price for losing the Civil War and trail the US economically

ybgrsfd
join:2013-08-21
united state

2 recommendations

ybgrsfd

Member

Re: Regional differences

Yeah, Montana should have chosen more carefully....
moulder3
join:2007-05-21
Boston, MA

moulder3 to WhoWhatWhere

Member

to WhoWhatWhere
said by WhoWhatWhere :

The lower Mississippi Valley states drag behind the rest of the US as do Kentucky & West Virginia. The Old Confederate states are still paying the price for losing the Civil War and trail the US economically

Moron.
Great argument except that Virginia (that's the state in the dark green on this map, as you probably need help finding it) was part of the confederacy.
StLCardsFan
join:2011-06-06
Lafayette, LA

1 edit

StLCardsFan to WhoWhatWhere

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to WhoWhatWhere
where do you come up with this? Do you make it up? Unemployment is >1% in Southern Louisiana and I happen to also have 1gbit x 1gbit fiber.

existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Conflicts with Ookla data...

...but it depends on methodology. Ookla shows what people are getting, not what service/options are available to them. IE, many be subscribed to 15-30M but have 50-100M or more available to them.

edit: scroll down to see the states, which is very different than other study...
»www.netindex.com/downloa ··· -States/
sonofsmog
join:2003-09-09
Ontario, CA

sonofsmog

Member

Re: Conflicts with Ookla data...

I trust OOKLA's numbers a lot more since I can break them down all the way to town by town and run comparisons:

»explorer.netindex.com/ma ··· y=United States

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

VA scoring top does not shock me. Comcast provides high speeds throughout its footprint here (all ex-Adelphia and a huge chunk of the state). Cox service is also good in the state. Verizon's population dense pockets of FIOS in Fairfax, Eastern Loudoun, and the Richmond areas serve to bump the average higher. Dont know much about CenturyLink's ex-Sprint footprint but DSL is pretty common in those areas.

However, do not let this map fool you. There are still major problems. Verizon has a large footprint that remains stuck in the 1980's/90's - many counties are stuck with Comcast or Cox as the only choice. An example of this is Fredrick County - FIOS in 4 or so small new subdivisions, the rest of the county has a Comcast monopoly on broadband.

Areas too rural to be served by either a Cable MSO, ILEC DSL, or ILEC Fiber are really in a bind. WISPs exist but their prices are sky high - they overlap yes but they barely compete. 3mbit for $99 a month and an install fee of $150 is the best deal as it has no caps...another provider offers 1.5mbit for $99 + $350 install and a 1.5gb transfer a day limit.

So, TL;DR Urban/Suburban areas of VA push up the average hiding the poor rural situation. Some counties are worse than others with this - i.e Fredrick forced Adelphia to build out in a majority of the county, Loudoun let Loudoun Cablevision slide and just build out in the small pockets of population centers leaving rural western loudoun with mostly nothing outside of towns.
margegenever
join:2010-08-19
USA

margegenever

Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

You're right on about Loudoun county!

This report must measure speed for only those who have service.

I live in Loudoun, 40 miles from the White House and 8 miles from the Ashburn/Dulles datacenter complexes, but have ZERO options for broadband - dialup or satellite only!

The county let Verizon and Comcast cherry pick the highest density areas & skip the rest. They ignore county contracts that require them to serve areas with greater than 15 houses per mile, while the county board of supervisors is afraid to take them on (campaign contributions?)

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

Are you in west or east? I know of some WISP's you could try but it's not that great. Waterford has a CLEC offering DSL now - they had the audacity to make VZ use its ancient copper for something other than dial tone.

Also, when T-Mobile completes its LTE rollout they may be an option for you. Their coverage in Loudoun is pretty good even in the rural spots.
margegenever
join:2010-08-19
USA

margegenever

Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

West. I'm familiar with the WISPs. Shakey 1 MBS service for $99/month, assuming that you have line-of-sight to their tower. Not exactly "broadband"....

LTE is capped, right? Not much use for home broadband.

I've gotten used to having a cup of coffee while my kids do their homework at the coffee shop.

Loudoun county government won't do anything to fix roads or enforce the broadband contracts. They do get the tax bills out on time.

Moved here from Texas last year. I lived in the boonies there & had great broadband with a choice of 2 ISPs. Sadly, it never occurred to me to ask about broadband. Hard to imagine that a county like Loudoun would lack service. I didn't ask about electricty or copper phone lines either. I guess I got lucky there

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

Yeah, T-Mobile LTE with the unlimited plan has a tethering cap. But no overages.

If you live in a rural subdivision, you could try out this form and submit it to the county, you will need neighbors signatures:

»www.loudoun.gov/index.as ··· NID=3094

I dont know if anyone ever got service due to completing that form. Might be a pipe dream but worth a shot?

woody7
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA

woody7 to margegenever

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to margegenever
Loudoun county government won't do anything to fix roads or enforce the broadband contracts. They do get the tax bills out on time.

ha ha. In my early sixties, work IT at a High School for the last 20 years, and hear and understand what you are saying, but for it to change , we have to reboot and get younger people involved to make it happen and unfortunately they are very apathetic (hope correct word and spelling) Our leadership was designed to be "old" for a reason I guess JMT...........
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz to margegenever

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to margegenever
VA ranks 10th on Ookla list, though different methodology..
»www.netindex.com/downloa ··· -States/
Brim77
join:2012-03-16
Lansing, MI

Brim77 to Zenit_IIfx

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to Zenit_IIfx
Virginia is also headquarters of the CIA and TISCOM. You know Uncle Sam ain't got time for DSL.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

Yeah, the ILEC's and MSO's give great service to Uncle Sam. But as for us peon citizenry...its not as clear cut.

Trust me I know how much FedGov is around, I live in this state. Its the major employer and a source of the wealth in the area (FedJobs + Contractors)

If Uncle Sam had to deal with a VZ T-1 as its only outgoing connection you would see broadband fixed so fast
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT
·Frontier FiberOp..
Asus RT-AC68

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That's exactly the problem. VA doesn't have universal coverage. Sure, FIOS brings the average up, but here in CT, where we only have FIOS in one town, we have 100% cable build-out, so no one is left behind, even if their cable company sucks, and can deliver "only" 25mbps...

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

"only" 25mbps would be a godsend to many of the people in undeserved areas of the nation. VA is not the only one where broadband deployment virtually skipped over the rural areas for the most part unfortunately :/

After all, the minimum definition of broadband per the FCC will soon be raised from 6 to 10mbit, so 25 is well over that minimum definition.

25mbit DOCSIS cable is a lot better than 3mbit ADSL from the ILEC for sure.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

I'm rural and have a 50/5 connection

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

For the most part rural broadband is hard to find - there thankfully are exceptions. Some counties did better than others in negotiating franchise agreements with Cable MSO's.

Some were rather non-forceful and said "do what you want we don't care - so long as the Board of Supervisors can get it were happy". Others mandated near universal service.

Do you know the density of homes per mile in your area? Around here it has to be 30+ for Comcast to be forced to build, with distances of 150ft from home to tap for free install, with that 30+ home clump within 1mi of existing Comcast facilities....
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

1 edit

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

82.43 per sq mile: »zipskinny.com/index.php? ··· ip=23035 and our small community insisted that the Board of Supervisors get us broadband ...and they did

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

Wow, you all have less housing units and people per sq.mi but our dumb county just left most of our ZIP in the dust:
»zipskinny.com/index.php? ··· &x=0&y=0

The two towns and surrounding dense subdivisions get service, I am lucky to live in one. The outer areas typically have nothing, excluding 2 or 3 roads where Comcast built randomly.

Only 2 Verizon CO's out of 8 even offer DSL, one offers FIOS to like 2 subdivisions and a stretch of rural road (to get to a new subdivision)...

Your community did a good job getting Metrocast to build out then - how much of a battle was it with the BoS to get them to move?
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: VA #1 - probably a tie with NJ and NY

not much of a battle, after all .. they wanted it as much of the rest of us. There is zero business growth in a community that does not have broadband ... and that needs to be wired - not wireless
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT
·Frontier FiberOp..
Asus RT-AC68

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Yeah, that's my point. Here in CT, the bad connectivity is way better than some rural areas. And that includes Charter's monster system in the quiet corner, where there are some moderately rural areas with low density.

It's not a technological issue, it's just a political issue to have the will to force build out. Except for the most insanely rural areas, both HFC and FTTH will deliver excellent broadband speeds...

That sucks hardcore for people who can't get real broadband, as it is probably tough to even sell their house without it...
AmericanMan
Premium Member
join:2013-12-28
united state

AmericanMan to Zenit_IIfx

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Yup agree. I know someone who lives in Virginia, less than 5 miles from one of the biggest growing parts of the city and they are using 3G for Internet since both Cable & Fios run all around their subdivision but never in it.

I was trying to help her get an antenna & amplifier from 3GStore to help improve their speeds.

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

1 recommendation

cableties

Premium Member

BS...

Break it down by counties.

Damn if I don't get upset when they twist metrics for this. If you gather all the ISP data, all the household services (dialup, dsl, broadband (>5mbps), FTTH (both >10Mbps and >50Mbps)) and then show it accurately (no skewing, or bias), you will see all the areas not served by regional services. Worse, you will see why the FCC needs to amp up competition.

Note: see how "fast Virginia is"? And where is Broadview formed? Virginia, Mass and NY..all Dark green or Green states on the map. Corp Office in Rye Brook NY. Could be potential for their selling VoIP...

Karl..see what some more digging can do! You do inspire!

About "Broadview Networks" ... is a leading information technology and cloud services provider serving business customers since 1996. Broadview has built and operates its own advanced communications network and offers next-generation services including cloud-based phone systems, integrated networking services, cloud-computing services, as well as traditional voice, data and Internet services. Unlike other providers, Broadview seamlessly blends all of these services to solve today’s business challenges

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: BS...

Exactly. Actually I would like to see the VA map like a cell coverage map - technology available and speed. As the situation within a county can vary dramatically.

There was a map made by the state gov to show access technology. It has a few errors though - like a huge pocket of FIOS over the Bluemont, VA CO which is not a VSO and has no FIOS equipment, no DSL, no ISDN. I know people who live in that blob and there is NOTHING.

Maps cant be perfect though, I understand that.
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Re: BS...

Can break it down on Ookla data...
»www.netindex.com/downloa ··· -States/
ITGeeks
join:2014-04-20
Cleveland, OH

ITGeeks

Member

Re: BS...

But Ookla didn't release the map above. Broadview did. Broadview is only worried about selling their products, and horrible products at that.
ITGeeks

ITGeeks to cableties

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to cableties
Broadview is BS itself. They have a horrible rep with customers that report not having contracts but end up in when when they're not happy. Dispute it with Broadview and end up in collection for stating that you never signed one. Anything that comes from Broadview I would run from.

Gilitar
join:2012-02-01
Mobile, AL

Gilitar

Member

You can almost see AT&T's footprint

With a few exceptions you can see where AT&T drags the corresponding stats down.

•••••
asdfdfdfdfdf
Premium Member
join:2012-05-09

asdfdfdfdfdf

Premium Member

More evidence...

of how those commie liberal states on the west coast and northeast are stifling innovation and killing business while the god fearing american red states are basking in the sweet glow of free market capitalism?

Any similarities with this?:
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi ··· tate.svg
mingkee27
join:2013-06-21
Brooklyn, NY

mingkee27

Member

NY isn't bad

However, tri-state area should be on higher list.
majortom1029
join:2006-10-19
Medford, NY

majortom1029

Member

Re: NY isn't bad

I think the non cablevision areas of NY and NJ drag the states down.

runnoft
Premium Member
join:2003-10-14
Nags Head, NC

runnoft

Premium Member

Averages of not much significance

Mildly interesting in that it confirms what anecdotal reports would suggest, that there is widespread average variation among states.

But beyond that, so what? What counts to any one web user is what kind of speeds are delivered at what cost in his or her location, not the average speed in the state which may be widely different from the user's experience. If the user's experience is painfully slow, he's not going to be mollified by living in a fast state.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Land area matters

More land area + less densely populated = slower speeds.

Massachusetts is higher on the list while my home state of Iowa and Maine (where grandma's house is) is lower.

Massachusetts has less land area but is very thickly settled. Iowa and Maine are more rural. Iowa can be miles of cornfields and Maine can be miles of pine trees between cities and towns while on the other hand Massachusetts the cities and towns are right on top of each other, particularly in eastern Mass. Western Mass is where it's more rural.

As for ISP investment, they tend to invest in thickly settled urban areas, which explains why Massachusetts is up there on the list. The fastest we can get at my grandmas house in Maine is 50/5 but I can get 150/20 at my house in Springfield, MA (I currently have 105/10).

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia

Premium Member

Re: Land area matters

Funny thing is Arkansas is deep red but right now I am back in Massachusetts for a few months....same old crap speeds high prices in my part of MA. One thing I will appreciate when I get back to Arkansas is my Cox 50/10 line that is cheaper than the 20/2 I am temporarily on from TWC. Verizon...don't make me laugh-up to 6/1 in select areas close to the CO and 3/768k otherwise. Anything above 20/2 on TWC(35/5 is top package) is crazily priced. As it is, I am paying $10 more a month in MA for 20/2 with evening congestion than for 50/10 in Arkansas without the congestion. I guess Fort Smith is not representative? There is Cox, AT&T uVerse and fiber in select spots. In MA, it's TWC or DSL in these parts. So where do these averages matter? Seems to come down to what specific town you live in...
etaadmin
join:2002-01-17
united state

etaadmin

Member

Looks a lot like an electoral map

Red states (republican) are red or orange, blue states (democrat) are yellow to green.

Could this be a coincidence?

koolman2
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK

koolman2

Premium Member

Misleading

This map is misleading. Some states have very large amounts of rural areas with slower speeds. Alaska is one such state. The main cities (Anchorage and surrounding areas, Fairbanks, Juneau) all have access to 200 Mbps and I'd bet the average is at least 10 Mbps, maybe even 15. Villages have anywhere from 1 Mbps to 6 Mbps as the fastest.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Statistics...

If Alaska has a 7mbps average and the best state, Virginia, is getting 13.7Mbps average, I say that's a pretty narrow margin to declare "green" vs. "red" state victory dances. 7Mbps supports streaming HD video. What's the problem?

Far more interesting is average cost, availability and the definition of "unlimited" in each state.

For instance, if 97% of Alaska residents have access to at least 7Mbps with "unlimited" defined as 350GB/month for $50/month and 91% of Virginia residents have access to at least 13.7Mbps with an average definition of "unlimited" at 250GB/month for $60/month, which state is better? Even that doesn't consider the cost of living in each state. It probably costs more to buy stuff in Alaska given shipping costs but I understand that historically, taxes are less burdensome in Alaska.

Another factor to consider is variance or deviation between the population in a state. Living in Missouri, a state whose color wouldn't indicate HSI happiness, a lot of St. Louis customers now enjoy 100Mbps courtesy of Charter's recent speed upgrades. On the western side of the state in Kansas City, folks enjoy Google's truly unlimited 1Gbps service for something like $70/month. That's a huge contrast to the rural areas where my parents live. They have fixed wireless service for $50/month that provides 3Mbps/1Mbps service. Surprisingly they actually have two wireless providers who offer similar services. However it's extremely unlikely they will ever have a hard line option even though they are about four miles from a town served by Charter where folks probably enjoying at least 60Mbps if not 100Mbps service.

•••

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

Look at those at&t native states. (Old SBC footprint.)

... all fail. Some of the Bellsouth states they bought are faster, most not.
decifal7
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN

decifal7

Member

chat

Hmm, from what i've heard, its apparent that chattanoogas fiber has boosted the entire states average... We have advertised speeds of faster than the average it has here, but actual speeds are a different thing..

/shrug doesn't matter, neither teleco nor cable comes to my house. I live in the nexus of internets