connection speed

[jwright]

Just curious, are other rural users finding that connection speeds are severely limiting their use of the internet. Maybe it's just my system, soon to be upgraded, 486-33 16 mb of ram, Netscape 4.x, 28.8 modem, but I'm still expecting slowness with the new system. I think most of the problem is with the ISP, since the system works adequately during off peak hours when I should be sleeping. Pardon my ignorance of new developments, but are there any high speed internet options available to isolated rural users becoming available? Jim

[jlamb]

One high speed option you may want to consider is DirecPC by telesat. This uses the conventional modem to dial out and request sites. From there the site itself is transmitted back to the farm via satellite. Your throughput (connection speed) is 400 000 bps (bits per second) on a 28.8 modem your top throughput is 28,800 bps. This does not come without a cost but if fast Internet is what you need check it out! Jory

[cdmars]

No doubt upgrading your system will have a dramatic effect especially your modem to a 56K. But some of the slowness can be attributed to large sites that outgrown their original design. An example was Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. It's site became extremely slow until they re-worked it and now even with an immense amount of information http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/ is quick to move around. I find Agri-ville an excellent source of information. However, in some areas it is very slow. Slow to the point where I have at times got tired of waiting and left. The forum area is one of the worst. My system includes a 56K modem, 266 MHz processer with 128K of RAM; maybe not blazing by today's standards but quite adequate for web surfing using phone connections. Internet connections are like farming...your production is limited by the least available resource. If you are using a 28.8 modem that is your limiting factor. On mine it is sites and phone lines. Some of the cable companies are offering Internet high speed access but not to many farms have cable. Sask Tel is offering high speed connections in some areas. But I think the from my experience slowness (when you accept that not all users can afford to be at the leading edge of technology) probably has more to do with site design and their server capabilities than user systems.

[jwright]

Thanks both of you for the information. I still wonder how many other rural people experience this extreme slowness, since my present computer was until very recently the most common configuration. As an example, I clicked on the Telsat URL in the message above and waited *many* seconds for each page to appear. Even halving the time with a 56.6 modem wouldn't make for pleasant surfing. Then I clicked on the hypertext for the Direct PC reseller and got the fatefull message *Starting Java....* whereupon the whole system locked up and after waiting for several minutes I gave up and rebooted. This is typical surfing lately, so I'm hoping the upgrade next week will help.

[jwright]

Thanks both of you for the information. I still wonder how many other rural people experience this extreme slowness, since my present computer was until very recently the most common configuration. As an example, I clicked on the Telsat URL in the message above and waited *many* seconds for each page to appear. Even halving the time with a 56.6 modem wouldn't make for pleasant surfing. Then I clicked on the hypertext for the Direct PC reseller and got the fatefull message *Starting Java....* whereupon the whole system locked up and after waiting for several minutes I gave up and rebooted. This is typical surfing lately, so I'm hoping the upgrade next week will help.

[jwright]

Thanks both of you for the information. I still wonder how many other rural people experience this extreme slowness, since my present computer was until very recently the most common configuration. As an example, I clicked on the Telsat URL in the message above and waited *many* seconds for each page to appear. Even halving the time with a 56.6 modem wouldn't make for pleasant surfing. Then I clicked on the hypertext for the Direct PC reseller and got the fatefull message *Starting Java....* whereupon the whole system locked up and after waiting for several minutes I gave up and rebooted. This is typical surfing lately, so I'm hoping the upgrade next week will help.

[ludwigbr]

One other quick suggestion is to upgrade your web browser if you have not done so already when you upgrade your computer. Many websites assume that you have at least a version 4 browser for either Netscape of Internet Explorer. This may explain some of your java problems. Both browsers can be downloaded free of charge from either the Netscape (www.netscape.com) or Microsoft sites (www.microsoft.com). Just be prepared to take a while for the download to complete using a modem connection. Brian.

[monner]

I Have a 56.6 modem that I used on my country line and I was communicating with a max speed of 28.8. When I took the same system to town the communications speed jumped to 54.4 and an odd time to 56.6. The phone lines can be the limiting factor for some of us rural types.

[dsheehan-millang]

I run an internal 56 K modem and live in a small rural Alberta town, I have three dial up choices, the best I have ever connnected at is 32,000. Phone lines do make a world of difference.

[goldrush]

Phone lines are definitely the weak link in rural areas. Our 56k service rarely reaches 48.8 and usual connection speed is 26 or 28.8. Glen

[jwright]

I'm not sure how you know what speed you're connecting at. I performed several tests at http://members.toast.net/leslie/testpage/testpg3.htm and found that my system operates at between 1/3 and half the speed that a somewhat similar system would operate at if the line length was only 1/4 mile. (some disclaimers apply) That's not great, but it's way better than the system I was complaining about above. :-)

[wwkougar]

Your connection speed has a lot to do with the availability of a 56K ISP Modem. If they do not have one, the best you will be able to do is 33.6K on a regular phone line. Contact your Internet service provider about higher speed connections in your area. This usually comes at additional cost. Our Brooks exchange is still an analog system and until they upgrade it to a digital system, 33.6 is all we get.

[hawt]

Telus has no competition, thus doesn't really worry about rural service. Digital phone service coming to the boonies will improve service and Telus will either improve or disappear. Telus is offering higher speed service(DSL) in the city, but connections can be no further than 5 miles (8 kilofarkals) from the Telus distribution point. Satelite download may be a possibility, but you still require an ISP to request files for the download. Hope that helps, Wayne Hawthorne

[monner]

Here is a web site that will give you your connect rate. http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/bandwidth/speedtest50.asp I used it, and where my computer said I was connecting at 28.8 this told me I was actually transferring at 13. Another time I used it came out to be 26.

[monner]

Here is a web site that will give you your connect rate. http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/bandwidth/speedtest50.asp I used it, and where my computer said I was connecting at 28.8 this told me I was actually transferring at 13. Another time I used it came out to be 26.