12-02-2007, 09:16 PM
I know Comcast does a lot of dumb stuff, but the symptoms described are a "feature." Had you tried this a couple years ago, you would have had the slow transfer rate the entire time, not fast at the beginning. The initial burst is a feature, then it drops down to the rates they advertise.
In other words, GGD & Grim are spot-on.
What are the transfer rates of your plain? Mine are 6Mb down and 384kb up. That's the fastest residential plan in this area. However, for an extra $10/mo I can upgrade to a business plan (also available in residential areas) That's something like 10Mb down and 768kb up.
So let's say you have the fast residential plan. 384kb up is 48kB up, theoretical. Shave off 10% overhead and possibly 10% for line quality issues, and you'll get about 40kB/s. 5GB is 5,242,880kB. That should take about 131,072 seconds to transfer. That's about 36.5hrs. That's very close to the estimate 38hrs you're seeing. If you calculate in things like web surfing, checking email... and other services using your internet connection, 38hrs is just about right.
I'm a bit biased because I've had cable modems for nine years and only had speed boost for a few months. I really like speed boost so I do consider it a feature.
In other words, GGD & Grim are spot-on.
What are the transfer rates of your plain? Mine are 6Mb down and 384kb up. That's the fastest residential plan in this area. However, for an extra $10/mo I can upgrade to a business plan (also available in residential areas) That's something like 10Mb down and 768kb up.
So let's say you have the fast residential plan. 384kb up is 48kB up, theoretical. Shave off 10% overhead and possibly 10% for line quality issues, and you'll get about 40kB/s. 5GB is 5,242,880kB. That should take about 131,072 seconds to transfer. That's about 36.5hrs. That's very close to the estimate 38hrs you're seeing. If you calculate in things like web surfing, checking email... and other services using your internet connection, 38hrs is just about right.
I'm a bit biased because I've had cable modems for nine years and only had speed boost for a few months. I really like speed boost so I do consider it a feature.