[clug] ADSL2+ speeds (Sakari Mattila)

[Robert Edwards]

Alex Satrapa wrote:

> I will never ever use "3" for this reason. If you drop off 3G 
> connection, you are charged at normal data rates for GSM/GPRS. Actually, 
> that should be "when" not "if".
> 
> Watching my girlfriend's supposed-3G connection through a provider whose 
> name is not relevant, we'll be sitting at the dining room table with a 
> 3G signal, and in the course of 10 minutes it will drop to GSM, back up 
> to GPRS, then sometimes back up to 3G. Even worse, in the course of 
> these channel/speed adjustments it will randomly get a new IP address. 
> The best way to guarantee 3G connectivity is to keep hands off the 
> computer (ie: do nothing for a while). The best way to guarantee that 
> the connection drops back to GPRS or GSM is to start using the Internet.
> 
> 3G wireless works fine for casual web browsing, but is unusable for 
> anything that requires a session for longer than a few minutes, or more 
> than a few dozen kbps speed.
> 
> This dodgey connectivity occurs in suburbs such as Holt and Isabella 
> Plains. In some suburbs we have no connectivity at all (eg: certain 
> streets in Dunlop). My experience has been that having no connectivity 
> is easier to cope with than having dodgey 3G connectivity.
> 
> In the six months we've been using it, had we been using "3" we would 
> have racked up a couple of hundred dollars in traffic charges. 
> Thankfully we're not using "3".
> 

Actually, the situation with "3" is not quite that bad. The USB modem I
have is default configured _not_ to drop to GPRS when there is no 3G
service available. I have to enable that (using a 'doze app. and I don't
run 'doze, so not much chance of that happening any time soon...)

I can still go over my monthly allowance and rack up additional charges.
Not too hard to manage this, though.

I don't think there is any difference between "GSM" and "GPRS" (unless
you mean that it drops to an analogue modem style connection over GSM,
but my Huawei modem can't do that, and I am not aware of any that can,
or would want to). "GPRS" is the "GSM" data service.

Cheers,

Bob Edwards.

> Alex
>