Is $22 extra/month worth it for faster internet connection?

[kyphysics]

I have 50/50 mbps. I can get 150/150 for $22.00 extra per month. Plus I get some custom TV channels.

Anyone think it's worth hit? Even putting aside the TV stuff, is that connection that much better? We have 4 devices (2 ipads, my laptop, and a satellite TV thing) using the internet. Occasionally phones connect too.

So far all is fine except for uploading. Uploading stuff can take a long time (hours to a day).

 

[jedishrfu]

I think only you can decide that based on the upload speed issue as most folks use the internet to view stuff. My uploads amount to emails mostly with very few attachments so it wouldn't bother me for it to be slower but gaming could be a bigger issue as lag time either slows down the game for others or you are always left on the losing end because you can't respond fast enough.

Is this a satellite internet offering? I think these providers will use the phone line to upload and the satellite to download.

 

[Nidum]

Uploading stuff can take a long time (hours to a day).

I use cloud based FEA and CAD . Huge files flash up and down from the cloud mostly in seconds - maybe a minute or so for the really big ones .

I have broad band obviously but not a superfast connection .

I have to wonder either what gargantuan size files you are uploading or whether there is a problem with your computer or your settings ?

 

[stoomart]

I have to wonder either what gargantuan size files you are uploading or whether there is a problem with your computer or your settings ?

Agreed. The average user would never have any issues uploading with 50 Mbps, we do fine with 10+ devices on a 25/5 Mbps service. Are you running any P2P services like BitTorrent or Tor?

 

[kyphysics]

Agreed. The average user would never have any issues uploading with 50 Mbps, we do fine with 10+ devices on a 25/5 Mbps service. Are you running any P2P services like BitTorrent or Tor?

I don't know if this matters, but I was talking about uploading video files from my cell phone to my laptop.

For example, a 6 minute video file might take until the next day to appear on my Google Drive if I upload it from my cell phone at, say, 11:55PM the night before. Like, I might see it arrive at 3:00AM or something.

 

[Nidum]

That is quite a different problem and there could be several reasons why you are having difficulties . Could even be non technical reasons like contract limits on usage .

 

[dschlink]

If your phone is connected to your own wifi, the speed of the internet connection has nothing to do with the transfer. The video is going from your phone to the router and back to your computer. If the phone is using your cellular link, that's probably the bottleneck.

 

[rcgldr]

I don't know if this matters, but I was talking about uploading video files from my cell phone to my laptop.
For example, a 6 minute video file might take until the next day to appear on my Google Drive if I upload it from my cell phone at, say, 11:55PM the night before. Like, I might see it arrive at 3:00AM or something.

A transfer from cell phone to laptop is different than a transfer to google drive. To transfer video from cell phone to computer, it is normally done using a direct connection, typically a USB connection. You may or may not need special software on the laptop to do this.

For slow uploads in general, some ISP (internet service providers) cap upload speeds to a fraction of download speeds, sometimes as much as 1/10th of download speed. One of the reasons that some ISP cap upload speed at a fraction of download speed is to prevent people from using their systems as servers. You could run a speed test at one of the several sites that measure download and upload speeds.

On a side note, I have a cable modem and any throttling of download or upload requires about 30 seconds to take place. During the first 30 seconds, I'm getting the maximum transfer rate, and that's long enough to transfer small to medium sized files but not long video clips.

 

[Vanadium 50]

For example, a 6 minute video file might take until the next day to appear on my Google Drive

That means you are getting a bandwidth around 0.05 Mbps, or 0.1% of the capacity you are buying. Given that, I don't think buying more capacity is likely to help.

 

[StevieTNZ]

Many factors influence Internet speeds. But if you aren't getting decent upload speeds on your current plan, it may be worth calling your ISP to see if they can troubleshoot.