 espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2
 ·Clear Wireless
| reply to funchords
Re: Waiting... said by funchords:We never used to talk about bandwidth as if it was a datarate versus consumption. A few people found reason to do so (the bandwidth aggregators). But why do we drink the cool-aid? Who's we?
The discussion has always traditionally been speeds and feeds. Some of the rate qualifications has dropped out of the public vernacular, but the rate is always a critical component. We talk about "10 meg" NICs and "8meg" broadband and "56k dialup", but all those things refer to the number of bits per second the interface is capable of. You can't buy a 5GB/mo interface.
I think you're missing the premise of increasing speed to improve efficiency, not necessarily to increase quantity. One of the reasons broadband providers are giving high speeds (ie powerboost) is to get you on and off the network faster. The websites you visit push the same quantity of data whether you have a 1mbps or a 100mbps line, so providing you with a faster connection gets you on and off the network faster. In a network where access EVERY SECOND is statistically multiplexed, this is important.
When it comes to broadband scaling, it's a matter of adjusting for both increasing speed to increase quantity and increasing speed to improve efficiency. Of course, some applications are natural enemies to the improve efficiency goal. |
