[seanmcdirmid]

This is actually pretty good for inside the GFW; keep in mind links are typically overloaded to the resource you are accessing, its not just about your final leg speed. So fiber really only fixes one part of the connection, Amdahl's law still applies.

Oddly enough, I actually sometimes find sites outside the GFW are a bit faster compared to some domestic Chinese sites inside the GFW. The internal Chinese internet just has lots of problems that they haven't worked through yet.

[tomedme]

Correct. I added the day and time for reference, in the evenings during the week, the internet speed can be rated as "lol" in both directions.

w1ntermute, I'm fully aware those speeds are most definitely not fast, but relatively speaking it's usually worse than that.

(I love going to South Korea, I land at Incheon, there's free WiFi in the coach to the city, and the internet is FAST)

[w1ntermute]

> keep in mind links are typically overloaded to the resource you are accessing, its not just about your final leg speed. So fiber really only fixes one part of the connection, Amdahl's law still applies.

Is the last mile not the bottleneck in China? It is in America, AFAIK.

[seanmcdirmid]

Not when you are watching "Gangnam Style" on Youku. Anything video will be blocked in America anyways, so its Chinese sites only for that. It is true that I can't really do Apple to Apple comparisons.

[w1ntermute]

> Not when you are watching "Gangnam Style" on Youku.

Why is this? Do the ISPs not have caching systems in place?

[seanmcdirmid]

For streamed video? I don't even think that is possible. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

[w1ntermute]

Of course it's possible: http://netequalizernews.com/2010/10/26/enhance-your-isp-offe...

> To ensure better performance, my Internet provider keeps a local copy of the popular YouTube content (caching), and when I watch a trending video, they send me the stream from their local cache. However, if I request a video that’s not contained in their current cache, I’m sent over the broader Internet to the actual YouTube content servers.

I have no doubt that the vast majority of American ISPs have cached Gangnam Style. In the US at least, Google/YouTube likely assists in this process.

[mpdaugherty]

True, that is quite good inside the GFW. As a comparison, I am in Beijing in an apartment from 2002, with a DSL connection that China Unicom sells as 4Mbps (the best I could buy here):

Beijing ping - 26ms down - 2.53Mbps up - 0.53Mbps

Shanghai ping - 148ms down - .83Mbps up - .52Mbps

London ping - 410ms down - .19Mbps up - .15Mbps

[seanmcdirmid]

Try San Francisco. From Beijing there is usually a good connection to the west coast, better than to Europe.

[mpdaugherty]

Thanks, Sean. I was using London so my results would be comparable to the parent's.