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Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

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Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#241

Post by tacocataco »

mandada wrote: post #216
snarkypixel wrote: post #19

Just as a fun thought experiment, what /new/ things could be possible if we had 1Terabit/s?

From the web development perspective, the network is no longer the bottleneck; its CPU processing power. Doesn’t matter how fast your website comes if it’s shove full of trackers and ads that mobile CPU can’t handle. Put another way, what’s the point of downloading a terabyte of data in seconds when it takes your computer minutes to process it into something useful? Also, where are we storing all this data that we ca…

"what’s the point of downloading a terabyte of data in seconds when it takes your computer minutes to process it into something useful?"

Can you use the server you're connected to to compute some whatsits? Using part of the connection as RAM?

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#242

Post by bleepblorp »

gruez wrote: post #87
dbetteridge wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is all accurate, but people still expect reception and speed when travelling between those dense population centres by road or rail. Much like Australia, this means providers build the infrastructure to supply those areas but then the cost is recovered from the dense population areas. Theres also some capatilism nonsense oligopolies thrown in there, but that's the core issue.

> This is all accurate, but people still expect reception and speed when travelling between those dense population centres by road or rail. Why doesn't the consumer have a choice? I'd be willing to sacrifice coverage in rural areas in exchange for 50-80% discounted tariffs, for instance.

There is no evidence that cutting coverage in rural areas will reduce prices elsewhere.

The Canadian situation is bad-to-zero coverage in rural areas and the world's most expensive cell phone service (think of plans that charge $10 CAD per GB of data) in developed regions.

The money that Canada's two cell phone networks didn't spend covering rural areas didn't reduce prices; it disappeared into shareholder pockets.

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#243

Post by TuringNYC »

ttul wrote: post #237
singhrac wrote: post #4

I would honestly pay significantly higher taxes if we could get Swiss-quality train service in parts of the US (and especially if they have good internet). When I traveled Boston to NY in the past, compare my flight experience vs Amtrak. Flight: - Take $25 Uber to airport and get there 1 hour early to go through security and wait. - Fly to JFK (1h 20m) - land, wait to get off, go through terminal again, then take $50…

I'm quite sure Swiss taxes are lower than US taxes. A married person earning CHF 100,000 in Zurich with three kids will receive CHF 92,000 after tax and including the "family allowances", or thereabouts. In Washington State, a married person making $100,000/yr will take home only $83,666.

Your numbers on Washington State seem off. I dont think you are including Social Security Taxes (7.65%) https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes#nyI48IDDLI

Also, Washington State is atypical for the US since they dont have a state income tax. In most other states, there is an added state income tax.

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#244

Post by diffeomorphism »

Erik816 wrote: post #181
_AzMoo wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's about priorities. Swiss defense spending as a percentage of GDP is 0.675%. US defense spending as a percentage of GDP is 3.2%. I just picked a simple example, but you will find similar disparities across the board.

And part of US Defense spending helps defend countries like Switzerland. Maybe we still spend too much, but we also "defend" a lot more countries than ourselves, and a lot more territory than Switzerland.

Which is a political choice by the US and not about "defending" but influence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_...

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#245

Post by conanbatt »

ggm wrote: post #114
wpdev_63 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main problem with the US interstate train system is that it's run on freight train lines. Amtrak and Acela do not actually own the railway they use and they can only go a certain speed due to the grade of the track. I don't think you would be willing to pay the amount of taxes you would need to, to completely redo the railways haha. Anyways Amtrak are barely turning a profit as it is and while it would be great t…

> I don't think you would be willing to pay the amount of taxes you would need to, to completely redo the railways haha. This premise feels wrong: The Swiss, German, Chinese, Spanish experience is that people pay to have high speed rail services, and the G20 economies in that list pay high marginal rates of taxes just fine, for this outcome. The "you" here is conditionally the "you" of current social mores America. I…

California spends 10% of an amazon to not build a train between two cities.

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#246

Post by SnowProblem »

throw0101a wrote: post #211
SnowProblem wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if you want a high-quality train service, you should pay for it through higher fares. Saying you would pay higher taxes is sly language for saying you want to others to subsidize you.

> Saying you would pay higher taxes is sly language for saying you want to others to subsidize you. And per the IMF there are huge subsidies to fossil fuels in the US: * https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fossil-f... I think if you want to pollute the air and cause climate change, you should pay for it without those of us who use public transit subsidizing it.

No, I don't accept IMF's re-definition of subsidy, nor yours. Subsidies are not negative externalities. We can talk about a carbon tax to address externalities. I agree there should be one. We can talk about eliminating energy subsidies. I agree there should be none (in the US renewables get more subsidies per kWh). But asking me to pay for your luxury train rides is not OK.

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#247

Post by fraserharris »

mafuy wrote: post #225
Aeolun wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, so there’s some positive externalities too ;) It’s not healthy for Europe to be so dependent on the US, as has been proven over the past 4 years.

Europe also does not stir up as much conflict in the world as the US does, isn't it? So they are less in need of defense.

That state of affairs is because of the Post-WWII order the US constructed via alliances & multilateral organizations, in response to being repeatedly dragged into European wars.

https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/08/Europe-only-Armed...

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#248

Post by atmosx »

ggm wrote: post #114
wpdev_63 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main problem with the US interstate train system is that it's run on freight train lines. Amtrak and Acela do not actually own the railway they use and they can only go a certain speed due to the grade of the track. I don't think you would be willing to pay the amount of taxes you would need to, to completely redo the railways haha. Anyways Amtrak are barely turning a profit as it is and while it would be great t…

> I don't think you would be willing to pay the amount of taxes you would need to, to completely redo the railways haha. This premise feels wrong: The Swiss, German, Chinese, Spanish experience is that people pay to have high speed rail services, and the G20 economies in that list pay high marginal rates of taxes just fine, for this outcome. The "you" here is conditionally the "you" of current social mores America. I…

I find that perplexing about US politics in general. Any proposal on taxes and social benefits, throws off people that at a first glance shouldn't. Maybe large part of the voting base are millionaires.

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#249

Post by SnowProblem »

GoOnThenDoTell wrote: post #224
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We tried this "subsidise nothing" approach in britain in the 1800, people had to pay for being in jail, and for being judged. There was no public police, investigation or fire service. It was miserable, corruption was massive, streets were dangerous, and whole towns burned to the ground. Penatly for the smallest crime was death, and it didn't help. Either you accept that civilisation needs infrastructure to function,…

Do you happen to know where I can read more about how that came to be the situation, or is it more that it’s the default and anything else is gravy?

Seconded, sounds interesting. I don't accept the either-or statement at the end, but I would love to learn more about Britain's history of funding infrastructure.

Re: Stable 1.2 Gigabit/s Internet achieved in moving train in Switzerland

#250

Post by harha »

singhrac wrote: post #4

I would honestly pay significantly higher taxes if we could get Swiss-quality train service in parts of the US (and especially if they have good internet). When I traveled Boston to NY in the past, compare my flight experience vs Amtrak. Flight: - Take $25 Uber to airport and get there 1 hour early to go through security and wait. - Fly to JFK (1h 20m) - land, wait to get off, go through terminal again, then take $50…

Higher taxes won’t get stable and fast internet (or anything else being efficient) - neighboring Germany has high taxes, expensive services and very slow internet even within cities. Also the trains are notoriously unpunctual, and expensive compared to other EU countries. The cause of the internet seems to be a mix of the mobile frequency auctions that didn’t leave any money for a good network combined with low competition. The trains also have pretty bad incentives for infrastructure, eg they can have the state pay for rebuilding a line and not for maintaining it, so they wait till it breaks.

The Swiss model seems to be to think of the consequences of policies before putting them in place, the lower taxes seem to be more of a result of that.

(I’ve lived in all three countries, this is my impression)

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