aDSL upstream rates & WebAccess problems - a suggestion

[northernlights]

   

Colin137 wrote:
ouch... that is pretty bad for video streaming. Increasing the upload speed would only be a potential option through your ISP, and you would most likely need to pay more. ~1.5 mbps download is normally paired with at least 512 kbps uploard, you may want to call your ISP to see if those speeds are normal.

 

My ISP connection details:

DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT Annex A
Downstream Rate: 7616 kbps
Upstream Rate: 448 kbps
Channel: Interleaved

Connection Type: PPPoA

 

Background:

I work for one of the biggest DSL providers in the UK (naming no names), and I can categorically state that on our consumer platform the highest upload we offer is 448kbps, you cannot purchase any higher. Admittedly we are still using adsl in the UK (adsl2 is still trialling & even when live, would still need to rolled out to all exchanges). As nearly all adsl provision in the UK is managed by British Telecoms' wholesale division, this means virtually all UK consumer DSL ISPs have the same upstream restriction (and connection method, as above) unless they live in an http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_loop_unbundling#United_Kingdom" target="_blank">unbundled exchange area. Even with unbundling, I'm currently unaware of any consumer DSL offering in the UK market that offers a significantly higher upstream rate.

 

Problem:

Given that DSL is available to 99% of UK premises (cable has a far lower penetration rate here, I understand it to be the reverse in the US), this makes WebAccess fairly useless for a lot of LinkStation users over here, eg trying to stream a 1.5Gb video file across the net via DSL; in fact even high bitrate mp3s are badly affected.

 

Suggestion:

It would be unreasonable to expect Buffalo techs/programmers to be aware of our DSL upstream limitations in the UK, but it might be helpful for them to know what some countries have to work with, they may think everyone has the luxury of cable upstream rates. I doubt the UK is alone in this situation.

 

If they did know, perhaps measures in future WebAccess iterations could help improve the situation for the aDSL / low upstream users out there. Such as an option for WebAccess to transcode to a lower quality stream, h264 perhaps? I'm no expert so I'm not sure what can be done, but the way I see it, if you're unaware the problem exists, nothing will be done.

 

As such could you pass this info/suggestion along if it's deemed appropriate please?

 

Cheers,

Mike

 

P.S. I was going to post this to the original iPhone thread, but this affects all clients using WebAccess via aDSL, not just the iPhone etc.

[Memoryman]

   I'll pass it up to the Buffalo engineers in Japan.