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Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

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Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#191

Post by anonymous5133 »

patejam wrote: post #166
AngryData wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do fiber runs and whenever possible it is strung up on poles. It is far faster and easier than doing underground cabling because there are no utilities or gas lines or what have you to possibly hit. More of the stuff put down 15 years ago was put underground but a lot of it now is just lashed around current telephone lines.

Yeah and for last mile lines it makes complete sense, no problems there. It just seems crazy that a utility pole holds a massively important link between two cities. But I guess that's just how it is.

Yeah seems crazy but not crazy since traffic can always be rerouted and once the line is cut you immediately know its out. I think the bigger issue is that people actually experienced an interruption of service.

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#192

Post by AlphaWeaver »

thecosas wrote: post #189
AlphaWeaver wrote: post #187

Allegedly the outage due to a utility truck in North Carolina knocking down a few power lines. When I heard this, I realized it could've been what happened in my hometown! There was a video going around Facebook of a truck taking down several utility lines in Wilmington, NC. https://www.facebook.com/110795228128/posts/1015572616317812...

In case you don't want to go to Facebook: http://www.wect.com/story/38541106/video-accident-with-crane...

Thanks! Wasn't sure where to find the non-facebook link!

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#193

Post by zipwitch »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #181
dev_dull wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same thing happens when telephone service goes out because of a down power line. Nothing new here.

Landline phones generally work during a power outage in the United States.

As carriers change to fiber for all or part of their network, this is increasingly not true.

It does bring back fond memories of trying to explain to WoW guildmates that we needed to hurry up and finish the fight, because my power just went out. (Still online thanks to telco central-office based DSL and a good UPS.)

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#194

Post by ajmurmann »

tomcam wrote: post #48
ajmurmann wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course nothing will happen. Comcast is too good at lobbying and Internet still doesn't get treated with the same legal importance as other infrastructure like road, running water or even snail mail.

Snail mail is handled by one designated quasi-private firm, the USPS. Roads are often handled by contractors on a per-job basis. How would handling it like roads and USPS help?

I was referring to the fact that you might get arrested for taking photos of "critical infrastructure" like bridges and we have federal agents and laws to make sure the mail is safe and available to people in the most remote places. Internet? Mess it up all you want!

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#195

Post by andrewmcwatters »

mcculley wrote: post #131
kadenshep wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it wouldn't.

Please elaborate.

We currently have this issue with mobile data and it doesn't do a damn thing. Engineers don't optimize for mobile data consumption beyond "download for offline usage," and ISPs don't build additional infra based on consumption: it doesn't affect the industry on any level whatsoever.

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#197

Post by nxcho »

reaperducer wrote: post #183
nxcho wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden is about the same size as California but with about one third of its population (and about 2/3 of the population density of US), still it is in the top 10 internet access list in about every metric you can think of (together with for example Norway and Iceland, neither especially densely populated) so I don't think the density argument holds.

Think per-unit density, not per-geographic division. On average, houses in Sweden and closer together. Apartments are smaller than the U.S. Perhaps instead of "last mile," the term should be "last meter."

Sure, Swedish cities are a little less sprawly than American cities of the same size (I have no data on this but my general experience is that both apartments and houses a slightly larger in Sweden but a bigger part of the housing stock is in apartments), but I still don't think the geographical explanation holds especially in densely populated regions like the Bay Area. I think it has more to do a lack of interest from US politicians.

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#198

Post by grigjd3 »

patejam wrote: post #166
AngryData wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do fiber runs and whenever possible it is strung up on poles. It is far faster and easier than doing underground cabling because there are no utilities or gas lines or what have you to possibly hit. More of the stuff put down 15 years ago was put underground but a lot of it now is just lashed around current telephone lines.

Yeah and for last mile lines it makes complete sense, no problems there. It just seems crazy that a utility pole holds a massively important link between two cities. But I guess that's just how it is.

Much easier and faster to repair. The key to keep in mind is not if a break happens but average downtime over the year.

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#199

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

RickSullivan wrote: post #103
em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about bid on a variable price per bit? Just like is done with bitcoin transactions. If you are sending an important file, in an important conference call, or are receiving an important download that you don't want to wait long for, then you choose to pay more to get faster and more reliable service, but if you are streaming a youtube or doing something in the background, then you select a lower price for moderate…

You're describing the exact thing net neutrality seeks to prevent--pricing based on the type of data being sent. I think it's dangerous to let those with deep pockets prioritize their traffic over mine.

> "it's dangerous to let those with deep pockets prioritize their traffic over mine"

If only a finite amount of bandwidth is available to the world, then yes, the rich will be able to spend more to take bandwidth from us.

However more cable can always be added, so what would actually happen is that the pie would grow.

Re: Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US

#200

Post by rayiner »

ryandrake wrote: post #170
nxcho wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden is about the same size as California but with about one third of its population (and about 2/3 of the population density of US), still it is in the top 10 internet access list in about every metric you can think of (together with for example Norway and Iceland, neither especially densely populated) so I don't think the density argument holds.

Also, New Jersey is about as dense as many European countries that have great broadband and competition--yet New Jersey has crappy broadband. So, it's not due to USA's low population density.

If New Jersey were a country, its average internet speeds would be in the top 5, right after Sweden. And far ahead of comparably dense UK. https://www.akamai.com/fr/fr/multimedia/documents/state-of-t...
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