Google Fiber to launch ultra-fast 20 gigabit internet service in Triangle at $250 per month (Cary: house, transfer)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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What is the purpose of a consumer grade 20 gigabit connection when 99.99% of devices sold today aren't able to process more than 1 gigabit over ethernet? It sure would be nice if ISPs focused on expanding their footprint to areas in the Triangle without fiber rather than this PR stunt..
Wi-Fi 7 will be pushing 40 Gbps wireless, but even without that, being able to serve multiple devices at 2+ Gbps each is a big upgrade.
Do most people need 20 Gbps for $250/month? Of course not, but there absolutely are people out there who want it and that number is only going to increase.
I don't see working to push the speed limits of their technology versus expanding their service footprint as exclusive efforts. The footprint buildout has been much slower than many had hoped for, but I don't think that has anything to do with what goes on in their labs.
Cat 5e (Category 5 enhanced) is the least expensive, but also the slowest. It supports data transfer speeds up to one Gigabit per second (Gbps) at 100 MHz up to 328 feet. Crosstalk among the wires within the cable is reduced, resulting in less interference and less chance of transmission error. Certainly, it will provide capable performance for most of today’s applications, but Cat 5e also leaves less opportunity for upgrading in the future.
Cat 6 is pricier and faster than Cat 5e, but also limited by distance. Cat 6 supports data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps at 250 MHz with even less (or no) crosstalk interference, due to the cable’s improved insulation. However, its 10 Gbps speed is effective only up to 164 feet. Despite this limitation, Cat 6 cabling is more qualified to handle the fast pace of Gigabit Ethernet networks. It’s likely Cat 6 will eventually replace HDMI as the audio/video transmission standard in the future.
If you’re looking to set yourself up for a successful long-term Gigabit Ethernet network, Cat 6a (Category 6 augmented) is the right choice. Yes, it’s more expensive than Cat 5e or Cat 6, but the hardware you’ll be connecting to your network will only become more sophisticated—not less—as technology grows. Cat 6a supports the same 10 Gbps transmission speed as Cat 6, but up to 328 feet and at 500 MHz. And, of course, with even less crosstalk than Cat 6.
Yeah, I mean that's the ideal, right? No need to run cables everywhere.
That's what they want to do (and some like Verizon and T-Mo are already doing) on a bigger scale...serve homes and businesses without needing to run any physical lines to them at all. Use small cell transmitters with mmWave tech to deliver fast wireless and save zillions on infrastructure buildout.
But yes, even with wired Ethernet throughout the house, this is more about serving many devices with good speeds than a single device at ludicrous speed.
I spent an hour or so last week uploading hundreds of huge photos to Flickr albums. The pace was breathtaking.
About 700MB upload speeds are sufficient for my needs.
WiFi is OK but I struggle with maximizing it. We are not gamers and have few professional needs in retirement, so I have a hunch that my CAT6 will support my needs for some time to come.
But, I remember BellSouth dial up and the excitement it created, and then the Amazement of RoadRunner that far surpassed BellSouth when we lived on Willoughby Lane in Cary, so I was easily excited.
They've been tearing up everyone's yard in my neighborhood for the past month to get those cables laid.... doesn't look pretty at the moment but definitely ready to tell Spectrum where they can shove it soon!
What is the purpose of a consumer grade 20 gigabit connection when 99.99% of devices sold today aren't able to process more than 1 gigabit over ethernet? It sure would be nice if ISPs focused on expanding their footprint to areas in the Triangle without fiber rather than this PR stunt..
20 seems crazy but I’ve seen some people with some pretty advanced work from home setups plus they have 3-4 kids, all of whom may want to stream different things. So, at some point I can see the merit of needing a bigger connection to the internet than each individual connection within the home as they all add up. Obviously this is aimed and making some bank off of people that want the best and just don’t care about the cost and/or true super users.
I’ve thought of going from 1gig to 2. My current Ubiquiti setup can take 10 gig from the provider if I configure it right. I have a ton of wired drops but since the house was built in 2006, they’re all Cat5e. Now, I do have wired connections in every room so that helps but all my switching is also 1gig and I’m not sure if it would be worth it, other than just for extra headroom. It would be interesting to see what the real throughput would be if I put a 10gb switch on each end of the run as I have nothing close to the rated distance limit.
I do move a lot of photos and backups around so some extra speed would help at some point, but I always wonder if the other end would slow that down.
I can see how some folks with multiple devices might need greater bandwidth, but as others have said, the advertised delivery speed is not what matters, what matters is the slowest speed in the pipeline ( computer, hard drive, ethernet cable, router, modem, website, etc. ). So if one or more of those is slow, having ultra-fast internet won't make much difference.
I have four gaming computers and have upgraded all my cables and routers, and I still cannot use more than about 300 Gbps, and most websites are not even close to that fast.
I have AT&T 1 Gbps fiber. But, what surprised me was that my own Asus mesh router was twice as fast as the router that AT&T provided. Their router was great with a hard wire connection, but their wifi was only around 300 Gbps. Had to place their router in bypass mode and connect my router to theirs in order to get wifi connections in the 600-800 Gbps range ( which I just need for backing up data to local NAS ).
I don't trust any of those "real world" Wifi 7 numbers they're claiming. I have a gigabit connection and can get a solid 940mbps hardwired (NIC limitation for 99.9% of modern devices) but can only get ~500mbps via Wifi 6, even when just a few feet away from the router. This was true with my previous Linksys AC 1900 router and still holds true with my current Netgear Orbi mesh setup.
Many will be surprised when they pay $250/mo for "20 gig" and can still only pull 940mbps hardwired and/or whatever their wifi setup will limit them to.
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