Can VOIP work well in Cancun? (speed test inside)

I don't buy that at all.... I'm pretty confident that they can increase bandwidth at will, so long as the "Nodes" are sufficient to establish connections to all their users.. the bandwidth is just a configuration setting. I don't know which system they use, but I have a hard time thinking that its so limited, especially given that the demand on the system isn't as great as it would be in a "richer" country where EVERY house has internet service. I've been hearing these rumors of increasing speed for a long time now, but I havent seen it here, and I'm right in "centro" on Yaxciallan Ave. I suspect that the "Delays" in improvements are driven more by area marketing.. (ie: how many new clients/existing you can ripoff/sell more expensive plans to, before you have the area as saturated as it will get) than technical issues.

It is rather annoying to hear about people who live very nearby, with the same company (telmex) paying less and getting more for no apparent reason... but since they are a virtual monopoly they can get away with pissing off the customers, since the alternatives are no better and owned by the same guy! (ie:Slim)

 

Wow, Life_N_Cancun. That's a great broadside, but unless you can backup your technical opinions, I suspect your're basing that opinion on some not-to-well though out ideas. A doubling of speed provisioning might be, on the original DSLAM, simply a switch setting, say from a 768 to a 1024 receive digital line. Provisioning that same DSLAM for 4096 and higher involves mechanical, fiber and wire swaps. That takes time and money. BTW a DSLAM is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer. Uses a big, climate controlled, electrically expensive space with lots of copper and fiber coming in and out (underground, I hope). One more thing to consider is that a DSLAM can't be much further than 5400 meters from the furtherest customer. Build a condo with 200 units 10,000 meters from the DSLAM and you have to beg Telmex to build a new DSLAM and figure out how to make it reach the network.

As you may realize from some older posts of mine, I am no great fan of Carlos Slim. In fact, I consider him a major impediment to the economic growth of Mexico. But blaming the speed increase delays on marketing at this point of development in Cancun doesn't cut it.

IMHO, here's why: The user density down here in the ZH is much less than in Centro. Major distances between houses. Many part-timers who aren't here most of the year and big hotels taking up lots of space, providing maybe 10 to 20 desktops with Internet access.

So we got ADSL years after Centro, probably because of the marketing strategy you outline: Major expense to build a new DSLAM with few potential customers, a long wait for the mega-condos to be built and an uncertainty to how many months a year the typical unit will be occupied.

When I moved here in 2004 ADSL was not available, period. Way down south we didn't get provisioned until the new Quintana Roo DSLAM facility in the ZH was completed post-Wilma in 2006. Much newer equipment equals easier, flip a switch upgrades. The older DSLAM that serves Centro is taking a bit more work. As equipment arrives it's being installed and new fiber and copper arrives weekly. But it would not be unusual for two streets that lie next to each other to be (temporarily) on opposite sides of the upgrade.

Below is a cut and paste from How Stuff Works.

The DSLAM at the access provider is the equipment that really makes DSL happen. A DSLAM takes connections from many customers and aggregates them onto a single, high-capacity connection to the Internet. DSLAMs are generally flexible and able to support multiple types of DSL, as well as provide additional functions such as routing and dynamic IP address assignment for customers. For more information about ADSL, check out How DSL Works.

DSL is a distance-sensitive technology: As the connection's length increases, the signal quality and connection speed decrease. ADSL service has a maximum distance of 18,000 feet (5,460 m) between the DSL modem and the DSLAM, though for speed and quality of service reasons, many ADSL providers place an even lower limit on the distance. At the upper extreme of the distance limit, ADSL customers may experience speeds far below the promised maximums, whereas customers close the central office or DSL termination point may experience speeds approaching the maximum, and even beyond the current limit in the future.

You might wonder why, if distance is a limitation for DSL, it's not a limitation for voice telephone calls, too. The answer lies in small amplifiers, called loading coils, that the telephone company uses to boost voice signals. These loading coils are incompatible with DSL signals because the amplifier disrupts the integrity of the data. This means that if there is a voice coil in the loop between your telephone and the telephone company's central office, you cannot receive DSL service. Several other factors might disqualify you from receiving ADSL:

Bridge taps - These are extensions, between you and the central office, that service other customers.
Fiber-optic cables - ADSL signals can't pass through the conversion from analog to digital to analog that occurs if a portion of your telephone circuit comes through fiber-optic cables.
Distance - Even if you know where your central office is (don't be surprised if you don't -- the telephone companies don't advertise their locations), looking at a map is no indication of the distance a signal must travel between your house and the office. The wire may follow a very convoluted path between the two points.

 

HaHaHa.. I feel like I'm back in school.. LoL! You obviously know more about the implementation of dsl than I, but....

As I said I dont know what switches (dslam) and routers they are using for their dsl system, but even the antiquated Cisco 6000 standard ISP systems can handle something in the range of 100, 1-Gbps trunks, which could then be connected to the dslams all over town via the AN and then ported to the customers.... not knowing what switches they use I cant say how many end users each dslam ports to but the physical nodes, filters, and lines, should already be in place for existing customers... as for the speed/distance factor then it would depend where you are, but for centrally located people like myself I know I'm within a km of a telmex site which should give me access to speed of ~22mb without issue as far as the lines are concerned... and I'd bet that most everyone in centro is within 4km of a switch which should allow for 8mb speeds.... I doubt they have switches with physical 2mb or 4mb limitations.. as any of the modern ones would have far greater capacity I would think...

and you have to admit for a HUGH company like telmex, money shouldn't be an object anyway, if they really want to improve their user's experience they can... but as with all things involving Slim's organization, I think it boils down to providing the least possible services at the highest possible prices with the least possible expenditure.... which is fine in a free market, but terrible in a monopoly situation.

I could be wrong.. the whole of Cancun's Internet maybe running on a 80's vintage switch board with vacuum tubes and tape drives.. but I doubt it...

 

We have no argument about Slim and Telmex. If you recall, this whole speed increase was spurred by the emergence of a viable competitor in the DF. As we saw with Slim's humbling in the US when he tried to compete on a level playing field (purchasing CompUSA) he failed, partially because his strategy of engulf and devour doesn't work under the US legal system. Here in Mexico, since he hasn't succeeded (yet) in killing off this competitor, his response is to up the service. I hope the competition can survive as it's good for us.

As to tubes and drives, probably not. But 90's switches, probably yes. And probably old HP crap and not Cisco, either.

And since you obviously know a lot, here's something to laugh at. I love the sign in the 4th picture.

 

WoW.. how did you sneak into the TelMex datacenter to get those actual pictures of their operation??? :wink:

 

I did not mean to imply those were Telmex, but I did intend for you to infer that Telmex is probably worse :lol:. I suspect that the Telmex DSLAMs probably resemble these with the addition of hamster cages for the low power stuff and mule wheels for the high power stuff. Maybe some wind-driven units, too.

 

LMAO

Responding to way earlier Mix: yeah, the concrete walls are probably the bigger problem, but it sounds like Telmex offers better equipment too. We have Cablemas and received a brand new modem/router (Netgear CG814WG) after all our internet woes but still don't get usable signal outside of the bedroom

 

Get a cheapo access point and put it just outside the bedroom door, bridge it to the Netgear and be happy.

I was never a big Netgear fan. I inherited a Netgear 802.11G wireless print server that has half the radio range of my 2Wire modem/router. I wound up using it as a wired bridge.

 

More Competition

Yet another competitor is entering the Mexican broadband market, widening the crack in the Telmex stranglehold on communications.

From http://www.advfn.com/news_2nd-UPDATE-Mexicos-MVS-Plans-Broadband-Deal-With-Clearwire_40553404.html?

MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexican communications firm MVS Comunicaciones has reached a preliminary agreement with Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) and Intel Corp. (INTC) to invest $700 million in a wireless broadband network covering 23 cities, a top company official said Friday.

Felipe Chao, MVS vice president of institutional relations, said in a telephone interview that a formal joint-venture deal hinges on the Communications and Transportation Ministry renewing the company's spectrum licenses in the 2.5GHz band in about eight cities, including the key markets of Monterrey and Guadalajara.

"We also have to go out and find the $700 million. Not everyone has that lying around in a drawer," said Chao, who declined to go into further detail on how the partners plan to structure and fund the project.

"Clearwire is a minority shareholder in MVS, and their announcement is independent of our plans to cover up to 120 million people [in the U.S.] by the end of next year," Clearwire spokeswoman Susan Johnston said in an email.

Intel didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

BBVA Bancomer telecom analyst Andres Coello said in a report late Thursday that he expects the authorities to renew the frequencies given MVS's commitment to rolling out its network.

"In any case, we should note that this is the No. 1 risk facing the project, and may potentially delay it," he wrote.

Clearwire--whose strategic investors include Intel, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Google Inc. (GOOG) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC)--provides high-speed Internet in 24 markets in the U.S.

If the licenses are renewed, MVS and its partners hope to start deploying a network using WiMax technology during the second half of 2010, with commercial service starting in several cities during the fourth quarter, Chao said.

MVS currently provides publishing, radio, restricted television and wireless broadband services. It's also the majority partner in Dish Mexico, a satellite-TV venture with EchoStar Corp. (SATS).

Competition from Dish forced Mexico's largest satellite-TV provider, Sky Mexico, a unit of media giant Grupo Televisa SAB (TV), to offer its own low-cost package earlier this year.

Should they come to fruition, MVS's broadband ambitions would be a direct challenge to fixed-line incumbent Telefonos de Mexico SAB (TMX), the country's biggest Internet service provider with 6.3 million broadband accounts at the end of September.

Telcel, the country's No. 1 mobile operator and a subsidiary of wireless giant America Movil SAB (AMX), has also invested heavily to upgrade its network in recent years to offer high-speed data services.

A new wireless broadband competitor would also put greater pressure on small phone companies such as Axtel SAB (AXTEL.MX), which is rolling out its own WiMax network, and cable TV companies that are slugging it out with Telmex in the phone and Internet markets.

"We believe MVS will follow the same strategy that led to Dish's success: offering a good service for a price substantially lower than the competition," BBVA Bancomer's Coello wrote.