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by w1ntermute 4904 days ago
> 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.
1 comments
seanmcdirmid 4904 days ago
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.
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w1ntermute 4904 days ago
> Not when you are watching "Gangnam Style" on Youku.

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

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seanmcdirmid 4903 days ago
For streamed video? I don't even think that is possible. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
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w1ntermute 4903 days ago
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.

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