GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - Is it True That the Internet Could Slow Down?

raymor · 11-21-2009, 03:36 PM

I've been hearing this since the mid 1990s. What some people don't seem to
understand is that there is still a bunch of dark fiber laying around - unused fiber
optic backbone lines just waiting to be needed. In the nineties, telcos and others
built their internet capability based on the assumption that the internet growth would
continue at that rate. When we launched the first live video with sound in 1998,
they figured within a few years most sites would be streaming live video. Well, the
internet growth turned out to be a bubble that burst, and most sites are still primarily
text, with a logo and a few other images - just like in the nineties. So those fiber
lines they built based on anticipated demand are still sitting idle.

Also, around 2000 wavelength-division multiplexing standard came out commercially.
In the 1990s, a fiber optic cable carried a laser beam across the country and that was
the backbone. With wavelength-division multiplexing, that same fiber line can carry
up to 160 different colors of lasers, so that was built as a 10 Gbps line can now carry
1600 Gbps on that same piece of fiber. That means the backbone currently has
about 100 times the capacity it needs.

The limiting factor is what's called the "last mile". As mentioned above, some people
can get 30Mbps or close to it in their homes. FIOS advertises 25/15 Mbps and tested
100 Mbps home connections way back in 2007. That tells you that the backbone
can support 30 Mbps. What makes some people's connection slow is the connection
from their home or office to their ISP. Phone lines were only designed for 8Kbps,
with 2.7 Kbps being the minimum. That puts a limit on DSL speeds until every piece
of wire and other equipment is tested and possibly upgraded. Running a high speed
line into your city is one thing, and that's been done, but running high speed lines to
every house and office in the city is another. Verizon has started doing that with it's
FIOS last mile fiber service, and the cable companies are testing their networks and
upgrading as needed to bring tens of megabits to each home.

11-21-2009, 03:36 PM
raymor Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,745	I've been hearing this since the mid 1990s. What some people don't seem to understand is that there is still a bunch of dark fiber laying around - unused fiber optic backbone lines just waiting to be needed. In the nineties, telcos and others built their internet capability based on the assumption that the internet growth would continue at that rate. When we launched the first live video with sound in 1998, they figured within a few years most sites would be streaming live video. Well, the internet growth turned out to be a bubble that burst, and most sites are still primarily text, with a logo and a few other images - just like in the nineties. So those fiber lines they built based on anticipated demand are still sitting idle. Also, around 2000 wavelength-division multiplexing standard came out commercially. In the 1990s, a fiber optic cable carried a laser beam across the country and that was the backbone. With wavelength-division multiplexing, that same fiber line can carry up to 160 different colors of lasers, so that was built as a 10 Gbps line can now carry 1600 Gbps on that same piece of fiber. That means the backbone currently has about 100 times the capacity it needs. The limiting factor is what's called the "last mile". As mentioned above, some people can get 30Mbps or close to it in their homes. FIOS advertises 25/15 Mbps and tested 100 Mbps home connections way back in 2007. That tells you that the backbone can support 30 Mbps. What makes some people's connection slow is the connection from their home or office to their ISP. Phone lines were only designed for 8Kbps, with 2.7 Kbps being the minimum. That puts a limit on DSL speeds until every piece of wire and other equipment is tested and possibly upgraded. Running a high speed line into your city is one thing, and that's been done, but running high speed lines to every house and office in the city is another. Verizon has started doing that with it's FIOS last mile fiber service, and the cable companies are testing their networks and upgrading as needed to bring tens of megabits to each home. __________________ For historical display only. This information is not current: support@bettercgi.com ICQ 7208627 Strongbox - The next generation in site security Throttlebox - The next generation in bandwidth control Clonebox - Backup and disaster recovery on steroids