The truth is out. All those who signed up for pricey internet broadband access services may have been short changed all along. IDA statistics recorded that a consumer who used a 30 Mbps service in September achieved only 1 Mbps downloading from a US website. Even the download speed from a local Singapore site clocked only at 27 Mbps.
IDA should also take a look at the state of our HDTV development. In April 2010, StarHub announced it was updating its digital terrestrial delivery platform from MPEG-2 to advanced MPEG-4 compression technology from Grass Valley™. Apparently it had been using ViBE MPEG-2/4 SD and HD compression equipment for its mix of SD and HD channels. The company's digital terrestrial television (DTTV) service was supposed to migrate completely from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 in two stages. The new StarHub DTTV platform was scheduled to be on air using Grass Valley's MPEG-4 products by mid-Q2 2010, and the company's cable TV MPEG-4 HD expansion was set for late-Q2 2010.
What this means is that, prior to Q2 2010, or whenever they finally get their act together, Starhub's subscribers have not been benefitting from full HD quality delivery.
On an interesting note, Grass Valley is undergoing an reorganization announced in March 2010 by parent company Technicolor, which has been trying to sell Grass Valley since early 2009.
Technicolor said the moves were being made to adapt Grass Valley to "a strongly deteriorated business climate" that saw its revenues fall 31% between 2008 and 2009, and losses total $109.5 million. In an effort to bring the business back to the break-even point, Technicolor will eliminate 25% of Grass Valley's workforce, totaling 625 jobs worldwide.
Early adopters beware!
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The REAL connection speeds for Internet users across the world
ReplyDeletehttp://royal.pingdom.com/2010/11/12/real-connection-speeds-for-internet-users-across-the-world/?
This data set shows Singapore internet access speeds average 2.7 Mbps, max at 11.7 Mbps.
ReplyDeleteTechknowtimes Global Download Speeds
Wonder where the local ISPs get their numbers?
They promised but never deliver. Over the years my service provider keep on telling me about giving me faster internet access but I hardly notice the difference.
ReplyDeleteNow that they have installed optical fibres, I just wonder whether I should change and pay a higher price for a higher speed, which may not end up as expected.
I wonder how many realise that the original Ethernet speed is limited at 10 Mbps. You need a Fast Ethernet card like 100BASE-TX to carry traffic at 100 Mbps.
ReplyDelete'Thursday, November 18, 2010
ReplyDeleteSingtel Slammed'
A post that most probably provides the most relevant explanation.