Internet speed question.

sandman7925 · Dec 24, 2015

I don't play video games online anymore so I'm thinking of throttling my speed back and lowering my bill. Cox's lowest tier is still more than I'd like to pay. Uverse offers a 6mbps plan in my area for cheap. So I'm wondering what can I really do with that amount of speed. Because I really don't know.
Could I do the occasional FaceTime/Skype video chat?
Could I still use Netflix even if it takes a few seconds to buffer?
I live alone so it's not like a bunch of devices will be running at once with multiple users. What y'all think?

DAVE_M · Dec 24, 2015

You can do most streaming with 2 mbps

Metryshooter · Dec 24, 2015

I have the Cox 5 meg package. I watch Amazon shows and my son plays his Xbox. It's more than enough for either independently but together the video is OK but his game lags a bit.

sandman7925 · Dec 24, 2015

Metryshooter said:
I have the Cox 5 meg package. I watch Amazon shows and my son plays his Xbox. It's more than enough for either independently but together the video is OK but his game lags a bit.

You have 5mbps or 50mbps? I didn't know they offered a 5.

Metryshooter · Dec 24, 2015

It's called the Internet starter package. $35/month. I'm currently looking to shop upgrades but I haven't had any trouble with the allotted service, just the physical need for more.

themcfarland · Dec 24, 2015

If you are considering att uverse.. the technology is ADSL.. they changed the name for marketing purposes to mask the fiber fed houses and the non fiber fed.. they are both.. uverse..
I have a customer who has the fastest connection over copper.. they say its 3 meg.. I do not see it.. in fact.. When streaming netflix or amazon.. the audio goes in and out with the speed quality..

Let me say it this way, with the upgrades of more quality video and the average speed now needed to watch tv or surf ... I suggest a min speed of 5meg.. I dont game.. So I cannot reference any of that.. If you want to use it for streaming services.. get what you can afford..

alpinehyperlite · Dec 24, 2015

ATT internet is CRAP.

Robbie · Dec 24, 2015

Yes! We have had ATT Uverse for 2 years and its terrible.
Slow as heck, they come out every other month.

alpinehyperlite said:
ATT internet is CRAP.

Neil09 · Dec 24, 2015

We just had a small company last week install an antenna for us. We live in the country and nobody has been able to give us service. This company rep came and said the best we could get for now was only 2mb/s. We have been watching movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime just fine, but gets a little fuzzy when we have our phones on at the same time as movie streaming.

MTregre · Dec 25, 2015

I went from Cox to ATT to do the lower bill thing. I then had to switch back to Cox when I moved.
With Cox, I have never EVER tested near the speeds I am paying for, likewise with ATT I always tested faster than the speeds I paid for.

Just my $.02

sandman7925 · Dec 25, 2015

So it seems 5 or 6mbps should suit my needs assuming I pay for and actually get somewhat close to that. Thanks everyone.

BOSS302 · Dec 25, 2015

Find out your distance to the VRAD before you make a decision. If i recall, 4-5k feet is absolute max depending on line conditions. The farther away you are from the node, the slower your sustained mbps will be.

Dredd · Dec 25, 2015

Uverse VDSL is not the same as older ADSL if the neighborhood has a vrad. The Vrad is fiber fed then goes out on copper. If you are closer than 1,500ft from the vrad you can get 75meg speeds. Now for people that don't have a vrad in their neighborhood the service is still office fed so the max speeds attainable are lower due to the loop length. I would say to the OP that 6meg will suffice for your needs.

AustinBR · Dec 25, 2015

Tell Cox you want to switch to ATT and they will beat whatever deal ATT is offering you. They don't want to lose your business. It might take 30 min of haggling, but someone there can authorize a very, very substantial price cut for a year.

themcfarland · Dec 25, 2015

a vrad is the same thing as ADSL, how much bandwidth you think can get pushed through two wires of copper.. fiber fed or copper bonded to feed the dslam or access node.. the limit is always the loop..

Whitebread · Dec 25, 2015

Out here we have charter cable internet. We ran dsl for years with netflix and we got agrivated a lot. We have the cheapest charter package and at one time I have had netflix, facetime, and youtube vids running all at the same time without a single buffer.

Rainsdrops · Dec 25, 2015

If you stream a (2000mb) movie, at 5 mega bytes per sec. It'll take you 400 secs (around 6-7 minutes with buffering) save it. To the average Facebook/bayoushooters/Netflix user, it's plenty

charlie12 · Dec 25, 2015

I download about 22 Mb/s on my laptop in my bedroom with WiFi and if I hook it up by Cat 5 it jumps up to about 50 Mb/s on Cox

Rainsdrops · Dec 25, 2015

I remember bearshare on dial up. A 3.5mb song took about 15minutes. And AOL took forever to refresh.
My how times has changed

Cochise · Dec 26, 2015

alpinehyperlite said:
ATT internet is CRAP.

In Calhoun, ATT is the only option. We would use ANY other service if we could. ATT is the worst.

The speed shouldn't be a problem for you, when it works properly, but when it stops working on a regular basis (and it will) and when it slows down tremendously at peak times of day (which it will) ATT will not do a damn thing about it. We have gone 2-4 day stretches with no connection because of faults in the system several times in the last 3 years. Does ATT ever care? ever do anything except make excuses? Nope. They just lie and say it is our router when it is really a system problem on their end.

Internet speed question.

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