Internet is limiting my play time....

[CaJ]

As you are all aware of, having good Internet is more or less, a requirement to play Runescape efficiently. This character is seven years old but only has four years of being active due to myself having personal problems at the time.

 

For most of my Runescape career I used Dial-Up. Pretty much obsolete, and unreliable in today's world. Only in the past year I upgraded to a faster connection. The main problem? Both the upload and download had a capped limit. So I was using capped limited Internet, which is fine for the casual player, but a big no-no for the more dedicated ones. After some two weeks of surfing on Youtube and playing the game, my Internet shuts off. I have had over a month's inactivity of not being on Runescape as a result of this capped limit. Turns out, that the service that I was subscribing to received the worst reviews and reputation. And I was paying over $50 a month for it!!!

 

Here in America, much of the country is still struggling to give itself a decent connection. One of the articles in a recent issue of the Economist noted that broadband/bandwidth will be one of the top 10 problems that it will be facing for the rest of this decade. Now, I find myself playing second fiddle to people in South Korea, United Kingdom, Western Europe, Japan, and Canada who get faster services at lower costs. This is not only unfair, but insulting to know that at one time, America held most of the Internet services and users.

 

Want to know what my ping rate was during the past year I've been playing Runescape? Around the 500s-1000s. How am I supposed to get a ping under 100, if much of America is lucky enough to get DSL on a copper wire? Why should my capped Internet run even slower than Dial-Up if I am violating the limits? Furthermore, sites like Youtube are mainstream with people loading tons of videos each day, so why should they limit me on that?

 

I can't kill TDs, go on PVP worlds, or play mini-games as a result of my Internet. As I am typing this my Internet quit working two weeks ago and I am doing this for you all at a local library. I am hoping that within the next month, I can get something that has better frequency and speed. More reliable and user-friendly. What I am supposed to do, live close to a major city?

 

*End Rant*

[Skeptical]

First of all, RuneScape uses a miniscule amount of bandwidth: the problem you're having with you cap is a result of watching YouTube videos.

 

Speed though, is really just something that will come over time. Internet connection is necessary for development worldwide, and yet it isn't seen as an important issue.

[CaJ]

First of all, RuneScape uses a miniscule amount of bandwidth: the problem you're having with you cap is a result of watching YouTube videos.

 

Speed though, is really just something that will come over time. Internet connection is necessary for development worldwide, and yet it isn't seen as an important issue.

 

I somewhat agree. On Options there is a CPU Usage option. You can set it to Maximum, Normal, etc. I still haven't found any use for it.

 

And yes, Youtube takes up massive amounts of bandwidth. The problem comes with downloading/uploading. I personally think it's unfair to have a download limit, with Dial-Up I never had that. I consider playing Runescape to be more Uploading because there is always action going on at the screen.

 

I'm an older veteran who used Dial-Up for much of my time being on Runescape. Much of America is still open country and rural areas can't get fast Internet. The Internet is limiting my play-time because I cannot react to killing God War Bosses or Tormented Demons as quickly as others. I can still train some skills effectively, but if I were to High Alch my way to say, 99, I won't do it as quicker as others because there is a slower reaction time.

 

America is ranked 12th in terms of Bandwidth/Broadband efficiency, so don't try to tell me that we haven't lagged behind. Much of Europe and parts of Asia offer fiber optic connections with hardly any downtime. Most of America doesn't have such a luxury.

[langer]

complain to a local politician... I don't think we have enough leverage here to change your country... In this regard, the US should look up to Europe where for 50$ you get 2 months of Internet, access to cable television and a land line for phone. More competition between companies and less price fixing.

[bayba]

I am shocked to hear that, that goes on, at all! I live in the USA, small suburb outside of Boston, and the internet is always on. Unlimited, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, at a very high speed. I do pay a premium for it. I totally take it for granted. I have had FIOS, for over 3 yrs, and before that I had cable, for around 3 yrs, but either way, the speed is insanely fast, the only way I could get to a web site any faster, would be to merely "think of it" and it appears! Is what yr saying is; that because a company invested (my fios provider, which I will not name) invested time, manpower, and materials, to provide a service to consumers, it makes people like yourself, suffer? If you were to be the person, who invested the same, being: manpower, equipment, money, time, etc. you would make alot of profit, and have many happy costumers! Maybe I have mis understood your comment, which would make my reply null. If that is the case, I do apoligize. If not, sounds like your in a great position, to start a new business!

[CaJ]

complain to a local politician... I don't think we have enough leverage here to change your country... In this regard, the US should look up to Europe where for 50$ you get 2 months of Internet, access to cable television and a land line for phone. More competition between companies and less price fixing.

 

Since when did politics have to do with Internet usage?

 

So when I mention America and Europe in the same sentence, you automatically think politics?

 

This has been a major problem for several years now and I've been receiving the short end of the stick. Politicians didn't do jack to anything computer related, they are there to stand up for something that they are probably too greedy to really push forward.

 

Keep politics out of this discussion.

 

Not everyone has a fast enough connection to play Runescape. I already mentioned that I've had ping rates up in the 500s-1000s. Am I supposed to relax and wait while others have fiber optic connections?

 

I am shocked to hear that, that goes on, at all! I live in the USA, small suburb outside of Boston, and the internet is always on. Unlimited, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, at a very high speed. I do pay a premium for it. I totally take it for granted. I have had FIOS, for over 3 yrs, and before that I had cable, for around 3 yrs, but either way, the speed is insanely fast, the only way I could get to a web site any faster, would be to merely "think of it" and it appears! Is what yr saying is; that because a company invested (my fios provider, which I will not name) invested time, manpower, and materials, to provide a service to consumers, it makes people like yourself, suffer? If you were to be the person, who invested the same, being: manpower, equipment, money, time, etc. you would make alot of profit, and have many happy costumers! Maybe I have mis understood your comment, which would make my reply null. If that is the case, I do apoligize. If not, sounds like your in a great position, to start a new business!

 

I have to admit that you are lucky. Most of us would enjoy to have such a service. I don't live next to a big city. You are probably receiving the service because of your promixity to a larger city that requires faster Internet services for business and traveling purposes. Therefore, if your out in the open or living in a rural area, consider yourself lucked out.

[langer]

Economics and politics are closely related. If I get your problem right, you suffer from a lack of Internet choices in your area. The reason is that your local economy is not ready to step up to higher standards. If you can't get the service you seek in your area, either complain to a politician to get that service or move to a place where that service is offered.

 

If you can't relax because other players have a better connection or Internet deal than you, then I can't help you and I'm pretty sure no one here can.

 

I won't mention politics again, but you have to admit that it's probably an economic problem, following your statement that the US are ranked 12th in terms of Bandwidth/Broadband efficiency, once again not something I can change.

[Rudyaard]

 

 

America is ranked 12th in terms of Bandwidth/Broadband efficiency, so don't try to tell me that we haven't lagged behind. Much of Europe and parts of Asia offer fiber optic connections with hardly any downtime. Most of America doesn't have such a luxury.

 

 

12th, eh?

out of like 250.

 

I'm sorry but lol.

[langer]

 

 

America is ranked 12th in terms of Bandwidth/Broadband efficiency, so don't try to tell me that we haven't lagged behind. Much of Europe and parts of Asia offer fiber optic connections with hardly any downtime. Most of America doesn't have such a luxury.

 

 

12th, eh?

out of like 250.

 

I'm sorry but lol.

 

The US are often viewed as the top dog country in the world making people think they are the best in most categories. When looking at several aspects, they will consistently rank in the top 20 but more so lately they won't find themselves in the top 5. They have indeed laggued behind from their peak in the late 70's to early 80's.

 

Edit: Wow, sorry for being off-topic.

[CaJ]

Economics and politics are closely related. If I get your problem right, you suffer from a lack of Internet choices in your area. The reason is that your local economy is not ready to step up to higher standards. If you can't get the service you seek in your area, either complain to a politician to get that service or move to a place where that service is offered.

 

If you can't relax because other players have a better connection or Internet deal than you, then I can't help you and I'm pretty sure no one here can.

 

I won't mention politics again, but you have to admit that it's probably an economic problem, following your statement that the US are ranked 12th in terms of Bandwidth/Broadband efficiency, once again not something I can change.

 

The only thing I agree with you is the lack of Internet choices. We often forget about second, third-world countries out there do we?

 

Complaining to a politician is not going to help anything. Even if that politician agreed with the complaint, it would take a few years before an association would even consider offering new services. The US is lagging behind in the Internet world and there are already a good number of documentaries discussing Bandwidth, Net Neutrality, etc. We are well into the Internet Age and the least I would expect is reliable Internet service. I've already written a number of complaints starting about 1-2 years ago but none of them went anywhere. I'm just an average person who goes about the day-to-day work and having no Internet has put things to a standstill.

 

I took that statement straight out of a magazine. I didn't make that up. If people don't make these changes soon then we will pretty much be thrown back.

[langer]

Don't worry, I'm cynic enough to know that politicians do not work for us and that going through the machine to get something done just by popular movement sometimes take a lot of time. All I know is that the world is often unfair and you get what you get because of who you are, who your parents are, where you're born, where you are now and ultimately, how much money you have.

 

I just wish everyone had the same Internet access that I have, but I know it's not economically possible.

[qeltar]

I'm guessing you live in a rural area and are using something like satellite-based Internet? If not, where are you (roughly) and what are you using?

 

One of the major reasons why the US lags in terms of overall high-speed connectivity is geography, not politics. Also, many developing countries have an advantage because they are installing new infrastructure during modern times, rather than having to retrofit existing services.

[Dexek]

That sucks, but I've played over 4 years now on dial up. I personally feel it's great for Runescape. I find mine doesn't lag at all. The only problem is if someone wants to use the phone, which is why I got it sent through the fax line. I've tried both satellite internet and dsl through college and university, and neither compare. Both seem to have latency issues, unlike my dial up connection.

[CaJ]

I'm guessing you live in a rural area and are using something like satellite-based Internet? If not, where are you (roughly) and what are you using?

 

One of the major reasons why the US lags in terms of overall high-speed connectivity is geography, not politics. Also, many developing countries have an advantage because they are installing new infrastructure during modern times, rather than having to retrofit existing services.

 

I live in a small town. The Internet here isn't a good at it could be but it's a step up from Dial-Up. I still get capped Internet, and I'm hoping to sign a deal that allows me to get Internet through cable or at least some other wire. Yes, I used Satellite and cheap DSL. They were okay if this happened to be 5-10 years ago. But now, I just can't find a reason to still have them. I'm a little embarrassed to openly say up front that those were the services I used in the past year.

 

So the US is in a decline. I already mentioned that much of America is still open country.

 

I don't want to admit that this is going to have a major effect on how business will be run in the future.

 

I'm still typing this at the library.

[Me_Hate_Libs]

What Qeltar said, it's an issue of Geography. Canada and US fall behind because we have so much more area to cover. UK and Japan have a much higher person per square mile ratio than we do and it's much easier to provide them with service and it costs less. Rural America will always be behind on the technology front.

[qeltar]

What specifically is the service you are using, the one with the issues you are complaining about? That would be a prerequisite to any attempt to assist you.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I spent three years living in a remote area off the grid with 4800 baud analog cellular phone as my only Internet service. I had to pay by the minute for this and occasionally had monthly bills exceeding $300. And I was running websites for a living. When we got early satellite service, it felt like luxury. ;)

[CaJ]

What Qeltar said, it's an issue of Geography. Canada and US fall behind because we have so much more area to cover. UK and Japan have a much higher person per square mile ration than we do and it's much easier to provide them with service and it costs less. Rural America will always be behind on the technology front.

 

Don't forget Austalia.

 

If this has a major effect on the outcome of the future, then what is going to happen?

 

I can only see broadband being put out to the majority of people in America, Canada, and Australia within the next ten years. But by then UK and Japan may already have a huge substantial advantage.

 

So they were both ahead before this Internet Boom even happened?

 

All I want to see is reliable Internet. Not necessarily the fastest, but something that lasts. Both Satellite and DSL did not fare well with me and that's the reason why I've had a month of inactivity on Runescape in the past year.

 

What specifically is the service you are using, the one with the issues you are complaining about? That would be a prerequisite to any attempt to assist you.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I spent three years living in a remote area off the grid with 4800 baud analog cellular phone as my only Internet service. I had to pay by the minute for this and occasionally had monthly bills exceeding $300. And I was running websites for a living. When we got early satellite service, it felt like luxury. ;)

 

From 1994-2008 I used Dial-Up. I lived in a small town all my life, and I was always behind in the tech savvy world. Both Satellite and DSL felt like luxuries to me, but I realized that it wasn't quite what I expected.

 

I never asked for much. That's what I am saying here. I'm not going to mention any specific names but I'll just tell you that the services I got were both unreliable and had a lot of customer complaints. Personally, for a while, I was more happy with Dial-Up.

 

And dude, how did your bills exceed $300? That's more than twice the payments I have to pay each month for Satellite TV, Internet, Phone, HD, and Fax. With me only working part-time and going to school, I wouldn't pay my bills in time.

 

So over here, a reliable Internet is a luxury, even if it is slow. Many people still don't have Internet.

 

I quit the game for three years and I came back last Spring with Satellite/DSL. That's why I am mad about this whole ordeal. I retired, I came back, and now my Internet is down for weeks at a time for violating the limits. It might be just Youtube, but I also know that I can't play high detail. Safe Mode and Minimum CPU Usage are the settings I currently have on.

 

So if you're like me who has had Dial-Up for close to 15 years, then gets something faster only to find it is unreliable, I'm sure that would make a lot of people mad.

[Lacoste]

What are you ranting about?

[qeltar]

You may not remember the days of having to pay by the minute for cell phone connectivity. It was something like 20 cents a minute, and believe me, that adds up fast.

 

I don't understand why you won't specify what the company is, as that could let people help you, which would be more satisfying than merely ranting. If you won't, then can you at least tell us what technology it is? Dialup? Satellite? DSL? WWAN?

 

What are you using that is shutting you down? What is the bandwidth limit?

[CaJ]

You may not remember the days of having to pay by the minute for cell phone connectivity. It was something like 20 cents a minute, and believe me, that adds up fast.

 

I don't understand why you won't specify what the company is, as that could let people help you, which would be more satisfying than merely ranting. If you won't, then can you at least tell us what technology it is? Dialup? Satellite? DSL? WWAN?

 

What are you using that is shutting you down? What is the bandwidth limit?

 

Let me counter this reply back to you.

 

First off, how long ago was it when you had pay by the minute for usage of cell phones? 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago? I did not get a cell phone until about 8-10 years ago, and by then many people already had them. Are you talking about the days when cell phones were bulky and cell phone towers were not quite as numerous? If so, then say it up front. I'm not some young kid here ranting. I lived through the '80s and '90s, so to speak.

 

I already told you the technology. Dial-Up, Satellite, and DSL. Satellite has both a capped upload limit and a capped download limit. If I used too much bandwidth in a day, they shut me off. If I exceed the limit, they shut me off. If you want to know the limit, it's 3 GB. DSL had too much lagg time. Both were unreliable. Currently I'm still on Satellite looking for a Cable connection within the next 1-2 months.

 

There, I admit it. I have something that looks sleek, but doesn't compare to what other people have been using to play Runescape. What is it that's shutting me down? Maybe it was Youtube for watching the many videos it has on it's site. Maybe I have Spyware that is constantly uploading massive amounts of information. Who knows. I haven't taken the time to research as I have other personal problems to attend to.

 

Speaking of which, you say I'm merely ranting, yet this is the Rants forum. I'm technologically behind the times. And I know I am far from the only one.

[Me_Hate_Libs]

Also, no to Australia because I believe it's 90-95% of them within ten miles of the coat line. Practically no one lives in the Interior.

[CaJ]

Also, no to Australia because I believe it's 90-95% of them within ten miles of the coat line. Practically no one lives in the Interior.

 

So based on what you're saying, only Canada and America are suffering?

[qeltar]

First off, how long ago was it when you had pay by the minute for usage of cell phones? 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago? I did not get a cell phone until about 8-10 years ago, and by then many people already had them. Are you talking about the days when cell phones were bulky and cell phone towers were not quite as numerous? If so, then say it up front. I'm not some young kid here ranting. I lived through the '80s and '90s, so to speak.

I'm talking about roughly 10 years ago.

 

I'm not sure if you know any of this or not. If you do, don't take offense. If you don't, it may help.

 

There are two different aspects of networking performance that you need to consider: bandwidth and latency. Bandwidth is raw throughput (roughly speaking) while latency is response time (usually called ping time, as you mentioned before).

 

The thing is: some Internet connectivity is good in both areas, some in only one, and some in neither. In particular, satellite is moderate to high bandwidth (depending on the service) but very low latency. You *cannot* have good ping times with satellite because it takes time to bounce the signal up and down.

 

Cable and proper DSL and other similar services have both good bandwidth and latency. Dial-up usually has low bandwidth but pretty good latency -- not great, but not horrible.

 

For playing games like RuneScape, dial-up is probably your best bet. No, you're not going to solo the CB or be an uber-PKer with it, but you should be able to do 95% of the game without too much trouble.

 

As for the conclusions you're drawing about the US, I think you need to bear in mind that there is nothing new here: urban, populated areas always get new technologies first, and then they trickle down to rural areas. There are parts of the US that only got electrical service a couple of decades ago.. and some areas that still don't have it. There are places around here where you still can't get basic voice cell service.

 

It has nothing to do with the state of the country and everything to do with the cost of providing the service.

[Rock Hard]

does your macD's have a free wifi ?

 

do you have a laptop ?

 

you want fries with that ?

[Bladewing]

Here are a few options:

 

Move to another region with better cable availability.

Pay for satellite internet.

Move to another country.