[RTC List] Advertised versus actual ... Suddenlink broadband speeds

[Sean McLaughlin]

As Humboldt, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz might say:  "We're not in
Texas anymore..."

Or as Suddenlink's press release might say, "Humboldt is 'elsewhere' to us."


http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Suddenlink-Launches-107-Mbps-Service-107632
*Suddenlink Launches 107 Mbps Service*
And the high-end broadband marketing wars continue...
10:00AM Tuesday Mar 30 2010 by Karl
Bode<http://www.dslreports.com/useremail/u/141383>
tags: business <http://www.dslreports.com/blog?cat=14> ·
bandwidth<http://www.dslreports.com/blog?cat=20>·
cable <http://www.dslreports.com/blog?cat=22> ·
Suddenlink<http://www.dslreports.com/blog?cat=119>
Most carriers realize that speeds faster than 50 Mbps aren't really
necessary for most people (yet). But that hasn't stopped carriers from
pushing their higher-end tiers beyond 100 Mbps in order to gain some press
attention and bleeding-edge nerd cred.

 Last April<http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Cablevision-101Mbps-For-9995-102133>,
Optimum Online launched a $99 (plus $300 "activation fee") 101 Mbps service,
and last December <http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/105837> Mediacom
announced a 105 Mbps tier. Suddenlink has now jumped into the bragging
rights arena with a press
release<http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100330005321&newsLang=en>stating
the carrier is offering a new topheavy 107 Mbps/ 5 Mbps broadband
tier dubbed "High Speed Internet MAX 107.0."

"Based on our research, we believe this residential download speed to be the
fastest available in the U.S. today," Suddenlink CEO Jerry Kent announced in
a statement. Technically that's not
true<http://www.paxio.com/Residentialinternet>,
as one of our readers reminds us that a company named Paxio in the Bay Area
offers 1000Mbps service. Meanwhile Suddenlink doesn't provide any price for
the new tier in their release -- so we've had to inquire about the price and
will update this post when we have it.

According to Suddenlink, the new tier is part of "Project Imagine," a $350
million investment plan through 2012 aimed at upgrading networks to DOCSIS
3.0 technology, pushing HD channel counts in all markets past 200, and
upgrading On Demand services for all users. For now, it appears than only
suburban Austin (Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Leander) will be graced with
this new, 107 Mbps speed tier.


According to the Suddenlink press release:
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100330005321&newsLang=en

*Suddenlink (**suddenlink.com*<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suddenlink.com%2F&esheet=6231551&lan=en_US&anchor=suddenlink.com&index=1&md5=a573c8d90017e5fb36c7e8b04d511a87>
*) is among the 10 largest cable broadband companies in the United States,
supporting the information, communication and entertainment demands of
approximately 1.3 million residential customers and thousands of commercial
customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and
elsewhere. Suddenlink simplifies its customers’ lives through one call for
support, one connection, and one bill for TV, Internet, phone, and other
services.*



Sean McLaughlin
Executive Director
Access Humboldt
P.O. Box 157, Eureka, CA 95502
tel: 707-476-1798
dir: 707-476-2873
fax: 707-476-1702
cel: 707-616-2381
DC: 202-495-0616
e: sean at accesshumboldt.net
http://accesshumboldt.net
http://digitalredwoods.net

"Local Voices Through Community Media"
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://redwoodtech.org/pipermail/list_redwoodtech.org/attachments/20100330/721cda4e/attachment.html>