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update lead section; remove chart that is 3 years out of date and arbitrary for any current purpose
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As of (??? -- this text was added in 2012) Sudo Room has a dedicated paired fusion line from LMI.net. Upon installation our reported speeds (with dual Annex M) were 26.5/3.7. Our Sonic (we used to have sonic.net, but switched) modem is in bridged mode, and the wifi network "sudoroom" is served by an Asus RT-N10+ running OpenWRT compiled from the latest git trunk. The router is named '''torta''' - admin access is by ssh & https. Contact [[User:Yardena|Yardena]] for the key or password. | |||
This page contains a breakdown of Internet service options in Oakland and surrounding areas. See also [[mesh]]. | |||
== Internet options for Oakland residents == | == Internet options for Oakland residents == | ||
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* Other Internet Service Providers also sell DSL service over those same lines; you can get this service without any direct business relationship with AT&T. | * Other Internet Service Providers also sell DSL service over those same lines; you can get this service without any direct business relationship with AT&T. | ||
* '''Sonic.net''' is one such service. DSL plus phone costs a little under $50/month (including taxes, equipment rental, etc.) | * '''Sonic.net''' is one such service. DSL plus phone costs a little under $50/month (including taxes, equipment rental, etc.) | ||
* '''DSLextreme.com''' provides good customer service and reliable connectivity (in my experience); $33/mth for 5-6 mbps | |||
* The quality and length of the phone line between your house and the [[wikipedia:Class 5 telephone switch|telephone exchange's central office]] will dramatically affect the speed you can expect. In parts of West Oakland (and elsewhere?) the lines are very poor. On poor lines, you might get speeds like 3 MBit downstream, and 1 MBit upstream -- enough for a video stream like Netflix or a video call like Skype, but not enough to do multiple high-bandwidth tasks at the same time. | * The quality and length of the phone line between your house and the [[wikipedia:Class 5 telephone switch|telephone exchange's central office]] will dramatically affect the speed you can expect. In parts of West Oakland (and elsewhere?) the lines are very poor. On poor lines, you might get speeds like 3 MBit downstream, and 1 MBit upstream -- enough for a video stream like Netflix or a video call like Skype, but not enough to do multiple high-bandwidth tasks at the same time. | ||
* It is possible with some DSL providers (at least with Sonic) to adjust the balance between upstream and downstream speeds. See Sonic's [https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Annex_M_FAQ Annex M FAQ] for details. For a data point: my connection over crappy copper is 4 Mbps down/1Mbps up (under the default Annex A), and when tested with Annex M it was 1.4 Mbps down/1.6 Mbps up. | * It is possible with some DSL providers (at least with Sonic) to adjust the balance between upstream and downstream speeds. See Sonic's [https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Annex_M_FAQ Annex M FAQ] for details. For a data point: my connection over crappy copper is 4 Mbps down/1Mbps up (under the default Annex A), and when tested with Annex M it was 1.4 Mbps down/1.6 Mbps up. | ||
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=== Fiber optic, T1, direct ethernet === | === Fiber optic, T1, direct ethernet === | ||
* Fiber optic based Internet can be outrageously fast. | * Fiber optic based Internet can be outrageously fast. | ||
* AT&T offers fiber to the home in some parts of Oakland. There is a 1 year contract. Be sure you know what you are getting, since AT&T uses the "UVerse" brand for both DSL and fiber. [http://www.buyatt.com/u-verse-internet/] | * AT&T offers fiber to the home in some parts of Oakland. (It's technically "fiber to the pole outside your home", and then standard copper phone lines deliver the signal into your home.) There is a 1 year contract. Be sure you know what you are getting, since AT&T uses the "UVerse" brand for both DSL and fiber. [http://www.buyatt.com/u-verse-internet/] | ||
** NOTE: As of 1/14, the "Pro" and "Elite" levels of service (least expensive) each offer 1 Mbit upstream; "Max" offers 1.5 Mbit. They don't say this anywhere on their web site. | |||
* Other service providers seem to only offer it as a business service, not residential. See '''[http://sunstreamnetworks.com/internet/ Sunstream]''', '''[http://www.fastmetrics.com/fiber-optic-internet-availability-map.php#.Urnl_WRDvPc FastMetrics]''', and '''[http://lmi.net LMi]'''. | * Other service providers seem to only offer it as a business service, not residential. See '''[http://sunstreamnetworks.com/internet/ Sunstream]''', '''[http://www.fastmetrics.com/fiber-optic-internet-availability-map.php#.Urnl_WRDvPc FastMetrics]''', and '''[http://lmi.net LMi]'''. | ||
* A T1 line (copper wire similar to phone wire, dedicated to networking) is what businesses have used for decades. It's generally too expensive for residential use and there are usually better options for business use. | * A T1 line (copper wire similar to phone wire, dedicated to networking) is what businesses have used for decades. It's generally too expensive for residential use and there are usually better options for business use. | ||
* For direct ethernet, see [http://www.megapath.com/promos/ethernet-dataplus/ Megapath]. Asymetric looks fairly affordable (but more expensive than DSL, cable, etc.), but [http://www.megapath.com/promos/ethernet/ symmetric] is outrageously expensive. Their offerings are considered for businesses, not residential; so they have guaranteed bandwidth and uptime, they don't care what you do with the bandwidth (e.g. sharing with neighbors), etc. | |||
=== WiMAX/other wireless === | === WiMAX/other wireless === | ||
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* You may be able to "tether" your existing cell phone, providing Internet service to your laptop, without even signing up for a new plan; this can be really useful as a temporary measure, but is probably not practical for everyday use! | * You may be able to "tether" your existing cell phone, providing Internet service to your laptop, without even signing up for a new plan; this can be really useful as a temporary measure, but is probably not practical for everyday use! | ||
* '''[http://Monkeybrains.net MonkeyBrains]''': Currently available in San Francisco only. (Not sure about the note above, though -- perhaps it is coming to Oakland??) | * '''[http://Monkeybrains.net MonkeyBrains]''': Currently available in San Francisco only. (Not sure about the note above, though -- perhaps it is coming to Oakland??) | ||
=== Satellite === | |||
Satellite connections typically offer high downstream speeds but low upstream speeds, and higher latency than other connection types. (Latency is the amount of time it takes to initiate a connection.) Fine for watching streaming video, not so great for video conferencing, uploading your own videos to YouTube, etc. | |||
* [http://www.hughesnet.com/index.cfm?page=Plans-Pricing HughesNet Gen4] is available through dealers in Vallejo and Hayward, and should work anywhere in Oakland that you can see the sky! | |||
=== Building-specific === | === Building-specific === | ||