Dutch ISP Demos Symmetric 100Mbps DOCSIS3 159
Mark.JUK writes "CAI Harderwijk, a DOCSIS 3.0 based Cable Modem operator in the Netherlands, has apparently managed to achieve a world first by demonstrating symmetric broadband internet access speeds of 100Mbps. The tiny Dutch operator is home to just over 16000 customers and was already planning a switch onto Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology, although this may now be delayed. The test itself is important because cable operators are still, perhaps unfairly, seen by some as being inferior to fully fibre optic-based broadband services. In reality, cable operators are, for the most part, continuing to keep pace."
That wasn't the news part (Score:1, Insightful)
The notable words are "Cable operator" and "symmetric". A cable operator showed that they are able to deliver 100/100 Mbps speeds (as opposed to the 100/10, which is much more common) and generally tries to debunk the idea that cable operators are (becoming) inferior when it comes to ISPs. No "Groundbreaking news" there but I still think that TFA was a decent way to spend one minute of my life.
Re:Fibre good because of less obvious reasons (Score:3, Insightful)
No, but it's the same as me saying that I'm in the US and I visited Northern America recently, or I'm in China and I visited Asia recently. Europe is a continent, the US is not (despite its ambitions).
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That said, it's obviously implied to mean "elsewhere in Europe", or "Mainland Europe". And surveys shows that most English (UK, but that's another geography lesson) people don't class themselves as European. How would you like it if we referred to the US using the same word as we do for Canada and thus didn't distinguish between the two of you? How many people think English or even Welsh or Scottish when they refer to their European friends? The UK / Europe is a very difficult subject sometimes. Hell, calling a Welshman English is likely to incur substantial dental bills on it's own, and they are both "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", in fact they are both Great Britain.
Tip: Don't refer to English people as European if you're doing business with them. It can leave a bad taste.