Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| reply to Steve Mehs
Re: Powerboost is the lamest gimmick ever.
said by Steve Mehs  : One call to 1-866-756-FAST for Biz Class service is all it takes and I will not be forced to change what I do on the net every day and how much I do it. Things are a little tighter now, with my monthly payment for my new Lincoln SUV, but I can still swing a $200 cable bill and more if need be. Then why pay that much for 6/1? Move to Hualalai Resort in Kona, Hawaii. No one is sure of the price yet but Oceanic is currently offering those home owners 100mbps/100mbps. You can probably afford whatever price they end up with.
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"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16 | You couldn't pay me enough to live in Hawaii. Buffalo is my home |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
| reply to Cthen
Regarding the DLink DCM-202, from what I have heard, Comcast cannot/will not enable Powerboost with this modem. BUT, if you are on Cox HSI, they have no problems providing PB speeds with the DCM-202. Last month, I had my spare DCM-202 hooked up to be sure a problem I was seeing wasn't caused by my usual SB5120 modem. I was signed up for 12 Mbps download speed, but, testing within the Cox network, I saw close to 28 Mbps at one point. Obviously, PB was working for me.
Now that other ISP's (such as TW) are moving to PB, I don't know if their policy regarding the DCM-202 will be Comcast's or Cox's. |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA | reply to MacLeech
Now that ISP's other than Comcast and Cox are moving to Powerboost, it is possible the various speedtest sites will change their tests to deal with this technology. Time will tell, I suppose. |
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RoadRunner79
join:2008-01-19
San Antonio, TX
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to Rombus
said by Rombus :said by RoadRunner79 :regardless if my speed is better than a lower package a lower package should not be matching my X amount of reference numbers on my line speed. But why? What difference does it make what the numbers mean if you know your on the turbo package? And its only going to match for the first seconds of the connection. My best guess is $$$ |
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mckenna797
join:2004-08-25
Astoria, NY
 ·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to daveinpoway
said by daveinpoway :Regarding the DLink DCM-202, from what I have heard, Comcast cannot/will not enable Powerboost with this modem. BUT, if you are on Cox HSI, they have no problems providing PB speeds with the DCM-202. Last month, I had my spare DCM-202 hooked up to be sure a problem I was seeing wasn't caused by my usual SB5120 modem. I was signed up for 12 Mbps download speed, but, testing within the Cox network, I saw close to 28 Mbps at one point. Obviously, PB was working for me. Now that other ISP's (such as TW) are moving to PB, I don't know if their policy regarding the DCM-202 will be Comcast's or Cox's. i have the d-link 4100 and have no problem with power boost ,with twc of nyc |
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rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
3 edits | Uh, the DCM-202 is a cable modem. The 4100 is a router. Different animals.
That said, it's odd that the DCM-202, which is a DOCSIS 2.0 cable modem would not be supported for powerboost on Comcast when it will work with other cable providers. Do you suppose this has something to do with Comcast rolling out DOCSIS 3.0 and not about powerboost in general? |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
| Someone in the Comcast forum had a theory that a firmware problem is responsible for the DCM-202 not being able to get Powerboost on their system, but I don't know if this is correct or not. All I can say is that the issue(s) do not appear to affect Cox HSI. |
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rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
1 edit | I suppose that could be possible. It's a fact that Comcast claims in their Powerboost FAQ that all you need is a DOCSIS 1.1 or better cable modem. The DCM-202 is a DOCSIS 2.0, so it fits their definition. This may show that just because they say something in a FAQ doesn't mean it is true.
I checked the D-Link site for firmware upgrades, but the only ones that they show are at this link.
»www.dlink.com/products/support.a···firmware
I'd be hesitant to change the firmware on a cable modem without checking with tech support at the cable provider. Plus, I have never flashed a cable modem, only my router. I suppose flashing would be done in the same way, via the network connection. While I have flashed my router a few times, I think I'd leave a cable modem alone if it's working. |
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MacLeech
The one and only
Premium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
| said by rcdailey :I'd be hesitant to change the firmware on a cable modem without checking with tech support at the cable provider. Unless the modem isn't following DOCSIS spec, the end user shouldn't be able to update the firmware on the cable modem, only the provider should be able to do that.
Updating the firmware may cause issues with the CMTS it's connected to, causing more problems than it fixes. |
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rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
1 edit | That was something I was thinking, too. There is no new firmware for my modem, so it's irrelevant to me. I was surprised to see that firmware for the DCM-202 was available for download from the D-Link site. The one identified for Comcast users is dated in 2004. I doubt that one would be right for the current era. The other is dated in 2007, but it seems to have been released to support Vista.
Besides, it should be possible to view the firmware date(s) within the modem pages. My old modem has firmware from 2003, but it works okay. |
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MacLeech
The one and only
Premium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
1 edit | The dlink DCM-202 file for Vista is the USB drivers.
Firmware normally doesn't change with the OS. |
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rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
| Right. I misstated that. For firmware, it wouldn't make any difference what the OS is, anymore than it makes any difference with a D-Link router. The firmware from 2007 is just the current shipping version. There's no indication as to whether it works with Comcast or not. |
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Rombus
Premium
join:2007-04-11
Columbus, OH
| reply to RoadRunner79
said by RoadRunner79 :My best guess is $$$ No you did not understand my question
Why do the number matter to you? if you know your connection is faster, why do your numbers HAVE to be bigger than someone who isn't paying for turbo even though you know for sure your package is faster |
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Smith6612
Premium
join:2008-02-01
united state | reply to Xizer
Well, my only guess is try using Filefront.com if you want to see your full speed (in which case you need to know your conversions). They've been able to max 20Mbps FiOS and keep it maced until the download finishes. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| That site doesn't allow download unless you give up your privacy. Road Runner should not force me to have to use a site like that to determine my speed. My hosts file, and Customize Google firefox extension, were diverting the Google Analytic crap there but that site sure tried. Plus, if you don't allow cookies you can't download there.
If RR is going to offer a gimmick like this then they need to allow users to turn it off if they don't want it. I don't see why RR can't simply offer more speed all the time instead of a crappy gimmick designed ONLY to fool the average user who knows nothing about Road Runner, speed or anything else.
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"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
| The reason they aren't offering "more speed all the time" is that this costs money for system upgrades. What Powerboost does is to "borrow" bandwidth from others on the system if they aren't using their allotment at the moment- no upgrades required, since the total system bandwidth is the same. |
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Flashfox
Eco-Text -- Why print E-mails?
join:2003-10-01
Carlsbad, CA
| Bingo! You het the nail right on the head.
These "powerboost" schemes do offer "temporary" advantages while limiting the amount of network upgrades that are needed.
They are great marketing tools and, to be fair, they do offer some user benefits although limited.
The problem appears when a provider decides to charge you for this fluff. That's when you need to question the ROI. |
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Flashfox
Eco-Text -- Why print E-mails?
join:2003-10-01
Carlsbad, CA
| reply to Xizer
If it's free, then who cares? (like others mentioned, why moan & groan if they offer it for free?)
As for sustained 15 mbps DL, I have pretty good luck if the file I am looking for is cached on a RR supported server. If not, then I am limited to the Internet traffic congestion and to the UL limits of the host site.
As an FYI, I was a COX user until I moved into RR territory last year. I "enjoyed" PowerBoost while on COX and IMHO, RR is late with this offering. On the other hand, they did offer a 15/2 plan, which was better than COX' 10/1.
I first tried AT&T's U-Verse and was totally disappointed (granted, it wasn't all their fault as the cabling in the new condo complex I live in has some problems). |
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MacLeech
The one and only
Premium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
1 edit | reply to Mele20
Have you contacted Visualware to see when they're going to get with the times and upgrade their Myspeed speed testers to accurately reflect speeds with Powerboost?
Three of the biggest cable MSOs in the country are using Powerboost now, probably with more subscribers using it then Visualware has customers who licensed Myspeed... |
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