mccvip
join:2007-04-28
Iowa City, IA
|  [IA] Alternative option to mediacom in the works!
Check out this news story from Cedar Rapids Gazette. I know I'll be signing up for it!
Qwest Communications is planning "super high-speed" fiber-optic Internet services in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids by the end of the year.
The new services slated for 23 of Qwest's top markets will offer transfer speeds of up to 20 megabytes per second, the company said.
Two levels of service are planned, the 20-megabyte-per-second Qwest Connect Quantum and the the 12 Mbps Qwest Titanium.
With Qwest Connect Quantum, a two-hour movie can be downloaded in as little as 6 minutes, and 30 songs can be downloaded in as little as one minute. The service will be offered at $99.99 per month for customers who buy it in a bundled package of telephone and Internet service. It is recommended for uses such as streaming video, high-resolution photography, file-sharing and online gaming.
Qwest Connect Titanium will be offered at a bundled price of $46.99 per month. The company touts it as the "best value available in the Qwest residential service region." It is recommended for uses such as music and video downloading.
Both services will cost $10 extra monthly if purchased independently.
Previously, Qwest's highest-speed Internet package was the 7-megabyte-per-second Qwest Connect Platinum package.
The services are part of Qwest's ongoing "fiber to the neighborhood" network expansion. The company has committed to spend up to $300 million to bring the latest fiber-optic technology to customers, according to Dan Yost, executive vice president of product for the company.
The services have so far been introduced in two Iowa communities, Clive and West Des Moines, according to Qwest spokeswoman Kara Neuverth.
»www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.···094/1004 |
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devans999
join:2005-02-08
West Des Moines, IA | This is available in my area of west des moines, I think I'll give it a shot. my node on mediacom is really starting to suffer in the evenings. |
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aaronfitz
Premium
join:2004-03-06
Cedar Rapids, IA
| reply to mccvip
Shoddy reporting. It's just repeated marketing-speak from Qwest, with an added speed inaccuracy. I should've known better than to get excited from the first couple of sentences.
All the speeds, naturally, are in megabits, not megabytes.
I also wouldn't call this a "fiber-optic Internet service" as the fiber only runs Qwest's backend, and the final connection between the RT/CO and you is still a flavor of DSL... |
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jomama
join:2002-11-21 | reply to mccvip
I see no mention of building out any fiber further into rural areas either. Qwest's biggest failure is their inability to deliver all services to all customers. |
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tsduke
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Waterloo, IA
 ·Mediacom
| reply to aaronfitz
said by aaronfitz  :All the speeds, naturally, are in megabits, not megabytes. All ISP's advertised speeds are in MBPS so this measurement isn't anything new. |
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drslash
Goya Asma
Premium
join:2002-02-18
Marion, IA | reply to aaronfitz
The 12mbps service will take on Mediacom directly. It looks like the internet and phone bundle will be priced the same as Mediacom internet and phone.
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Save water...drink beer! |
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aaronfitz
Premium
join:2004-03-06
Cedar Rapids, IA
edit:
April 25th, @09:43AM
| reply to tsduke
said by tsduke :said by aaronfitz :All the speeds, naturally, are in megabits, not megabytes. All ISP's advertised speeds are in MBPS so this measurement isn't anything new. I know, but see the article
The new services slated for 23 of Qwest's top markets will offer transfer speeds of up to 20 megabytes per second, the company said.
Two levels of service are planned, the 20-megabyte-per-second Qwest Connect Quantum and the the 12 Mbps Qwest Titanium. This is good news for people looking for speeds which directly compete with the speeds that Mediacom has right now, but it's not FTTP with "super high-speed fiber-optic Internet services" that I almost crapped myself about thinking was going to be available here after reading the first two sentences  |
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devans999
join:2005-02-08
West Des Moines, IA | reply to mccvip
I setup an install for next week for the 12mbs service. I figure if it's good, then it's more speed for only 5 bucks more than mediacom. If it's bad, then I have no commitment, and maybe after a few months, mediacom might offer me a deal to go back. |
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drslash
Goya Asma
Premium
join:2002-02-18
Marion, IA
| said by devans999 :I setup an install for next week for the 12mbs service. I figure if it's good, then it's more speed for only 5 bucks more than mediacom. If it's bad, then I have no commitment, and maybe after a few months, mediacom might offer me a deal to go back. Keep us posted. I will be interested in seeing speed tests and tracerts on this service.
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Save water...drink beer! |
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Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-01
IA
edit:
April 25th, @11:36AM
| reply to mccvip
Still overpriced. 12 month promotion price if you bundle with local phone service.
I wish Qwest would start competing. Offer nationwide phone service for $29.99 and these plans should be a good start. Oh and provide service to majority of customers at least, not offer the highest tier to maybe 10% and advertise 20 Mbit to everyone.
I just did an address service check and I can get 7 Mbit service... |
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marigolds
Gainfully employed, finally
Premium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
| reply to mccvip
The rates are also price for life promotions, so you can keep the same rate after 12 months (but must sign rotating 24 month contracts with ETFs). As a side note, the contract expressly includes an ETF of $200.00 on the price for life plan and $100.00 on the 12 month plan for downgrading, suspending, disconnecting, changing isp, and moving. You are required to use Windows Live to have the 12, or 20 Mbps services, so it is only available to users of Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista. Other operating systems require the use of "an alternate ISP" that only provides the 7Mbps service. *shrug* (If you do not get price for life, the rate goes up to $120/month after 12 months).
Since I did not see it mentioned in there, the upload is 768kbps.
Obviously the price is $10 more without phone service.
Here's the city list:
•Arizona: Phoenix, Tucson
•Colorado: Denver, Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins
•Idaho: Boise
•Iowa: Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids
•Minnesota: Minneapolis/St. Paul
•Nebraska: Omaha
•New Mexico: Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces
•Oregon: Portland, Salem, Bend, Eugene
•Utah: Salt Lake City, Provo, St. George
•Washington: Seattle, Vancouver
Qwest will only be launching the service in these markets and will not be launching in any additional markets until at least 2011. As of this month, the service should be available in all 23 cities.
So, if you do not have it yet, you are not getting it.
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Geographic Information Science researcher |
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drslash
Goya Asma
Premium
join:2002-02-18
Marion, IA
| said by marigolds :As of this month, the service should be available in all 23 cities. So, if you do not have it yet, you are not getting it. Thanks for the info.
What was your source for information? The Gazette article with the Qwest spokesperson said IC/CR by year end.
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Save water...drink beer! |
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marigolds
Gainfully employed, finally
Premium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
| said by drslash :said by marigolds :As of this month, the service should be available in all 23 cities. So, if you do not have it yet, you are not getting it. Thanks for the info. What was your source for information? The Gazette article with the Qwest spokesperson said IC/CR by year end. PC Magazine had an article on it and I also went over several Qwest news releases and their rate card page.
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Professional Geographer
Geographic Information Science researcher |
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Turbocpe
Premium
join:2001-12-22
IA
 ·Iowa Network Servi..
edit:
April 25th, @03:05PM
| reply to Anonymous
said by Anonymous :Oh and provide service to majority of customers at least, not offer the highest tier to maybe 10% and advertise 20 Mbit to everyone. I'm not exactly the Qwest fan, but this really isn't exactly an issue soley to Qwest. It's part of the DSL technology in place. DSL is distance sensitive. The further you are away from the DSLAM, the less speed options you have available. This isn't a Qwest issue, but a DSL technology issue.
While I know it's not as simple as throwing a switch when Mediacom upgrades their services from 1.5mbps, 3mbps, 8mbps, (well, it's just a configuration file, but the network must also be able to handle the increased speeds) I think for cable, it's easier to do that than it is for DSL to do the same. With cable, your line distance really isn't a factor with speeds, but with DSL, line distance is an enormous factor.
With DSL, you either have to deploy a remote terminal, or you have start using newer technology to get past the distance limitations.
By the way, Anonymous, I'm pretty sure you know this already. But I'm sure there are many who may not. |
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Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-01
IA | I do but they could invest more and upgrade their network. |
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djweis
join:2006-04-02
West Des Moines, IA | reply to marigolds
No worries about getting hit with ETF for changing ISP's, this is a qwest.net/MSN only network. No 3rd party ISP's are going to be allowed on in the forseeable future. The only option is completely resale. |
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devans999
join:2005-02-08
West Des Moines, IA
| reply to mccvip
Got the 12mb dsl installed today. Obviously too early to tell how reliable it will be, but speed has been good all evening. I've done a few tests here and there, and gotten in the 10000-10500 down, and 675-725 up range pretty consistently. With mediacom to the same sites (speedtest.net), I was getting ~7000/450. Latency is definitely higher than mediacom however, so online gamers might be a little wary. |
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drslash
Goya Asma
Premium
join:2002-02-18
Marion, IA | Can you post a tracert to show latency?
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devans999
join:2005-02-08
West Des Moines, IA
| reply to mccvip
here are 3 VOIP providers, not the most variable of sites, but the rest of the systems are work related, and I didn't feel like editing out info from the pics. You can obviously see when I switched..;)
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Turbocpe
Premium
join:2001-12-22
IA | I assume this is due to Qwest's use of Interleaving. It used to be something that could be removed, per connection, if you got the right person in Qwest and your line was ideal. Otherwise, it's there as error correction.
Correct? |
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