Internet Speed -- Quick survey

[coby]

We've recently had our internet fixed (correctly it seems this time) and we finally have the stability and speed we've paid for 3 months!

That said, I was curious if those of you living in QROO would mind doing a quick test for me? Mostly I want to see the speed differences between ISP and the different service plans offered in the area, as well as if there is any significant difference in Cancun/Playa.

I used this site, and the server in Mexico City to run the test.
http://www.speedtest.net/

Our service:
Cablemas 2 MB/s service
$469 MXP per month (includes 70 cable tv channels.)

Location:
Central Playa del Carmen

Our test results:


Cablemas offers a 4 MB package (as does TelMex I believe) but unfortunately the upload speed is still around 0.1 MB/s and for my business, upload speed is the delimiting factor. Thanks to all who run the test!

Edit: I knew there was another similar thread out there:
http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/view...internet+speed

mixz1, you have the TelMex 4 MB or 2 MB? I wasn't quite sure in your original posting in that thread. Hopefully a few more people will chime in this time

Edit 2: Location/pretty graphic added.

[Steve]

2 Meg Prodigy, Dowtown Cancun.

Just choose the "copy forum link" for the funky graphic and paste it into your message. Please post your location too HZ / Downtown / Playa/ Puerto Morelos etc.

[coby]

Damn Steve, pulling down 1.73 on a 2.0 connection is really good. Ours is a bit low, but a 1.3 wouldn't have surprised me. Consider me jealous

In the States we had the luxury of getting 100 MB/s fibre optic split between our two adjoining townhouses, and our peak DL was around 75 MB/s with the average probably closer to 35 MB/s.

[SamCancun]

I just knew i'd have the worst! Lol!



Location: Puerto Juarez, Cancun
Package: I believe it's 1mb Prodigy Telmex, with unlimited local calls $499 pesos a month, i have the original 'sh*t' box though, blue/grey, can't get a wireless connection unless you opened the box and managed to hang the box near computer so that it was within 0.000000001mm of the anntena!

Coby - 100mb/s, wow! I heard they were having that in South Korea in the near future but wasn't aware the states had those speeds, my boss in in Illinois and the fastest they can offer her is 12mb/s! I know in London, when i left, it was 24mb/s but 100mb/s, that's what i need, maybe in about 50 years in Mexico, they might have something close to that?

[SamCancun]

Why is the upload speed so poor by the way? I need a decent one for work as i just have to sit there and wait for hours for a 25mb file to upload, it's pathetic to be honest, it's not like we live in the Scottish highlands or anything, is it?

[SamCancun]

Was just curious, so i had a look at what they could get in my mums village in Kent, which is right out the way and had 2mb max when i left a few years ago! Now you can get 16mb download and 1mb upload for the equivalent of about 350 pesos a month, the place has like 2000 people in it and no major town for at least 10 miles, aren't there like 600,000 people in Cancun, why can't they improve the internet here?

[coby]

Originally Posted by SamCancun

Coby - 100mb/s, wow! I heard they were having that in South Korea in the near future but wasn't aware the states had those speeds, my boss in in Illinois and the fastest they can offer her is 12mb/s! I know in London, when i left, it was 24mb/s but 100mb/s, that's what i need, maybe in about 50 years in Mexico, they might have something close to that?

They rolled out in April (or May) of this year in the downtown of the last city I lived in, so it was mostly for businesses but for those of us who lived in lofts/townhouses in the city core, it was an option

The 100 MB/s was never really that fast as I said above, and it was $350 a month, but I split it with my neighbor. It was obviously more than fast enough for the two houses Most large cities at least offer 25 MB/s fiber optic in the downtown areas, I'm surprised you can't find that in Illinois.

As for getting it in Mexico...one can only wish Of course, it would probably be unaffordable!

[coby]

Originally Posted by SamCancun

Was just curious, so i had a look at what they could get in my mums village in Kent, which is right out the way and had 2mb max when i left a few years ago! Now you can get 16mb download and 1mb upload for the equivalent of about 350 pesos a month, the place has like 2000 people in it and no major town for at least 10 miles, aren't there like 600,000 people in Cancun, why can't they improve the internet here?

In NYC you can now get 101 MB/s DL and 15 MB/s UL for $100 a month. That's a freaking good deal!
Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0...-speed-record/

Same article also says you can get 160 MB/s DL in Japan for $62....makes Mexico seem pretty 300th world :/

Edit: From what I gather around the net, the current maximum residential speeds you could theoretically have with existing infrastructure is close to 500 MB/s -- but no such service exists, and I haven't found any info supporting anything faster than 200 MB/s currently available.

Edit 2: I gathered wrong. Apparently in Hong Kong you can get 1GB/s for $215 a month in a residence...wow...
source: http://www.tvover.net/2005/04/28/Hon...et+Access.aspx

[Life_N_Cancun]

I remember reading years ago that Mexico had some of the highest telecom prices in the world.. and its seems to still be the case. It technically wouldn't be difficult to get Mexico on par with the speeds in the US, as most of our internet connections go there anyway... but I think its just the same old story of people like Carlos Slim getting wealthy on the back's of the Mexican people by controlling the market....

Those Infinutum commercials really annoy me, where they brag about how fast their service is.... I had faster internet back in the 90's than I have here... and I know that they could easily quadruple the speed with just a few keystrokes if they wanted without even installing new relays.... :evil:


Mexico is 110th down and 131st up according to the stats here... out of 100 probably... :roll:
http://www.speedtest.net/global.php

[mixz1]

Here's my test to/from Mexico City:


But I think a more significant test would be to a gateway outside of Mexico, unless most of your Internet business is in Mexico.



What's most noticable here is that TelMex has finally improved their links leading out of Mexico, although they still need to work on latency. When it comes to transatlantic, sorry, Sam.

As far as the service plan and costs go, I was one of the earliest adopters of ADSL in the Hotel Zone, having signed up for it almost a year before it was available. I initially had the 1K plan at a promo price of about 60 USD per month. About a year later they had a limited-time special offer for a phone/ADSL package that got me 2K ADSL at about 50 USD per month. That's the package I have now. I benefitted from the speed increases they began rolling out earlier this year while still maintaining that 50 USD price. I think a true 4K connection would have slightly better results, even allowing 15% for overhead, but I'll take what I can get.

Sam-as far as upload speeds are concerned, ADSL (Assymetric Digital Subscriber Line) is by definition, lopsided. The early planners didn't envision people uploading other than simple requests for download content. You would need a true symmetrical line, and I don't think Mr. Slim has thought about how much he can extort for that.

There is word out among the technorati that TelMex will be rolling out Fiber to the Home (FIOS) similar to what Verizon is doing in the States; TV, telephone and very fast symmetric Internet all in one pipe. I have a feeling that you'll be forced to take Sky as part of the package and not just order phone and Internet (Oh, the horror!), but I might do that just to get the Internet speed. Nevertheless, I won't be taking down my Dish anytime soon. Keep your eyes open during the next 12 months. I don't know if they'll start in Centro or the ZH, but you know which one I'm hoping for.

Meanwhile, it's my belief that the absurdly high cost of data and voice communication in Mexico is a significant deterrent to the economic development of Mexico (hop on in here V) and that Slim's stranglehold here and elsewhere in Latin America needs to be addressed soon.

The communication packages that my sons in the US and Germany have are so much faster and so much less expensive than here that on reflection, it's infuriating. Our costs here in Mexico and the levels of service most receive here are closer to Afghanistan's, where, by the way, there's actual competition among cellular and Internet providers. It makes you wonder.

[matkirk]

God know how much we pay for these speeds!

[V]

Mixz1, I'm afraid I don't have much to contribute to such a highly technical, but nevertheless interesting, thread. I'm still a 20th Century dinosaur, even though we will soon complete the tenth year of the 21st!

As for cost, 100MBps cost $25 USD/month, as I recall, at my apt in Bangkok; as Coby pointed out, the actual performance wasn't quite that, but it was fast. I'm willing to let someone tell me that's impossible 'cause as I said, I'm not that up on this stuff, but I was surprised to see how long it takes to download a movie, here, with my speeds being what the others seem to be reporting, aside from Steve, whose is somewhat faster.

V.

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by matkirk

God know how much we pay for these speeds!

Yikes. I'd kill for that. That's not a residence, is it? If it's a business, my guess you're on a T1 connection. Please provide more info.

[matkirk]

Yes Miz - i'm at the best day offices on Bonempak - sometimes it's loads faster than that, I bet it really does cost a fortune though!

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by V

...Mixz1, I'm afraid I don't have much to contribute to such a highly technical, but nevertheless interesting, thread. I'm still a 20th Century dinosaur, even though we will soon complete the tenth year of the 21st!

Actually, I was inviting your input on the economics part of my post concerning the impact of the communications monopoly as a whole and its ramifications viz. the inhibition of the growth of the data handling and e-commerce portions of the Mexican GDP.

It is said that you cannot venture out of your home and purchase anything without somehow enriching Carlos Slim. With his stranglehold on voice and data, you don't even have to leave your home to put more money in his pocket.

The only reason for the increase in speeds that TelMex is rolling out is the pressure from a competitor in the DF. I'm sure Slim has tried to exterminate that competition, and he seems to have failed, hence the preparation of locations outside the DF for higher speed provisioning. Meanwhile, I maintain that Slim is a key player among those who enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of the nation.

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by matkirk

Yes Miz - i'm at the best day offices on Bonempak - sometimes it's loads faster than that, I bet it really does cost a fortune though!

And they let you "play" at work?

[matkirk]

I'm researching things about Cancun :lol: that's my excuse!

[V]

Actually, I was inviting your input on the economics part of my post concerning the impact of the communications monopoly as a whole and its ramifications viz. the inhibition of the growth of the data handling and e-commerce portions of the Mexican GDP.

Mixz1, even that's giving me far too much credit. I'll just resume my former position as an armchair spectator to the discussion that's going on, here.