Australian internet fails pigeon test

[Lukeyson]

A pigeon has transferred 700MB at a faster rate than Telstra ADSL.

A pigeon has transferred a 700 megabyte file faster than a car or a Telstra ADSL internet connection in rural Australia.

The bizarre experiment, conducted in rural New South Wales, was prompted by a comment by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Parliament last week whilst attacking the Liberal Party for its opposition to the bill that proposed to split Telstra.

"If the Liberals had their way Australians would be left using carrier pidgeons for the future rather than accessing an internationally competitive broadband network," Rudd said.

ABC television's Hungry Beast program thought they'd take Rudd up on his challenge.

The hosts noted a similar test that had been done in South Africa where an IT company tested their own internet speeds by replacing it with a carrier pigeon. The pigeon won.

"Surely our internet speeds are faster than a pigeon," asked co-host Dan Ilic.

The race started in Tarana New South Wales and finished 132 kilometres away in Prospect.

The pigeon arrived first clocking in at one hour and five minutes, the car two hours and ten minutes and the internet dropped out twice and didn't even make it at all. When the upload began on the internet connection the estimated time of upload was between four and nine hours.

"So Prime Minister, maybe you should think twice before dissing carrier pigeons," Ilic said.

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/159232...geon-test.aspx

[Peuty]

Hahaha that doesn't surprise me one bit. Good comparison though.

[platinumXR]

BigRort ADSL2+...

[ThePistonHead]

Bit pointless? How can internet which does cannot be measured with it's distance (no relevance) be measured with something which does?

Lets see who wins if the pigeon races a 700mb file sent from here to canada..

[Karnage]

From anywhere outside of metro cities, there a fair chance it still would!

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by XR8fella

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/159232...geon-test.aspx

A little loaded there. You can always massage the figures to make the pigeon come out on top every time.

Do it 1000 times and see which one is more secure and more reliable.

[Peuty]

It'd still be the pigeon, guaranteed.

[Mark^^]

An African or European Pigeon? (Montypython reference)

[cs123]

If they did the math they would know that you can't upload 700MB of data on a basic ADSL service that quickly

[EFPWR]

Originally Posted by Rodp

A little loaded there. You can always massage the figures to make the pigeon come out on top every time.

Do it 1000 times and see which one is more secure and more reliable.

If it's Bigpond, then the pidgeon. :P

[snappy]

I love hungry beast. Great show


<beep> panda

[saber]

Originally Posted by Rodp

A little loaded there. You can always massage the figures to make the pigeon come out on top every time.

Do it 1000 times and see which one is more secure and more reliable.

Which would be cheaper?? Pigpond charges like a wounded bull, I heard a figure (it may not be true, please correct me if I'm wrong) that you can be charged up to $150 per gig you go over your cap

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by saber

Which would be cheaper?? Pigpond charges like a wounded bull, I heard a figure (it may not be true, please correct me if I'm wrong) that you can be charged up to $150 per gig you go over your cap

Depends on the plan you sign up for. I gave Bigpond the heave-ho many years ago so I couldn't tell you.

Try playing Forza 3 online via carrier pigeon. :P

[onfire]

Originally Posted by ThePistonHead

Bit pointless? How can internet which does cannot be measured with it's distance (no relevance) be measured with something which does?

With time.

Using the pigeon may be the extreme, but it shows how slow the aust network is.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by Mark^^

An African or European Pigeon? (Montypython reference)

Well that depends, how would it carry the 700mb. I mean, it can't carry it in its beak can it....from a string etc. Just carrying on the monty python storyline...

Originally Posted by Peuty

It'd still be the pigeon, guaranteed.

damn right peuty. Having lived in rural/regional qld i can vouch for totally useless net speeds and very ho hum reliability. I know a guy that raised carrier pigeons and he told me that even in bad weather (where the pigeon often has trouble finding its way) a well trained experienced pigeon will have a virtually 100% return rate. Sometimes they arrive late (up to a day or two over a long distance) but pretty much the only reason they won't turn up is if they are dead....period. Chances of that happening are probably like 1000 to 1. So do it a thousand times and i reckon the net won't even connect 200-300 of those times. A pigeon beats that easy....

[Karnage]

Originally Posted by saber

Which would be cheaper?? Pigpond charges like a wounded bull, I heard a figure (it may not be true, please correct me if I'm wrong) that you can be charged up to $150 per gig you go over your cap

Works out at $153 a gig for Optus. Just convenient when its constantly dropping out and you have to keep reloading pages you still pay the data.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by onfire

With time.

Using the pigeon may be the extreme, but it shows how slow the aust network is.

Not really.

It was a challenge that was always going to go to the carrier pigeon as that was the comedic and desirable outcome.

Upload speeds are inconsequential on most people's internet connections - probably by design and conditioning though. If it was a test of download vs carrier pigeon (which would be a whole lot more relevant), they'd strap a 4GB USB stick to the pigeon and get the same result. But that ruins the joke - I'm a heavy internet user and I don't think I've ever uploaded a 700MB file.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Not really.

It was a challenge that was always going to go to the carrier pigeon as that was the comedic and desirable outcome.

Upload speeds are inconsequential on most people's internet connections - probably by design and conditioning though. If it was a test of download vs carrier pigeon (which would be a whole lot more relevant), they'd strap a 4GB USB stick to the pigeon and get the same result. But that ruins the joke - I'm a heavy internet user and I don't think I've ever uploaded a 700MB file.

I was going to say who the heck sends a 700MB file via email? Imagine how big our hard drives will have to be once that becomes common place..ah!

The biggest ive done is maybe 14MB if that.

[Spudz27]

I read this yesterday but am reading again as it makes me laugh. I live in a regional centre with over 50k population. I can't get a speed higher than 8mb unless I go telstra or a carrier who piggy backs them so charges a fortune. As it is my 8mb connection costs me more than a 24mb connection my relitives get in the big smoke. I am not even that far away only 400km. I travel the state a bit and you see people in real regional areas have satellite as they can't even get ADSL through their phone line. Something needs to be done.

[Riksta]

They also did the same thing in South Africa, very similar.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8248056.stm

[Springfield_Johny]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

Well that depends, how would it carry the 700mb. I mean, it can't carry it in its beak can it....from a string etc. Just carrying on the monty python storyline...
damn right peuty. Having lived in rural/regional qld i can vouch for totally useless net speeds and very ho hum reliability. I know a guy that raised carrier pigeons and he told me that even in bad weather (where the pigeon often has trouble finding its way) a well trained experienced pigeon will have a virtually 100% return rate. Sometimes they arrive late (up to a day or two over a long distance) but pretty much the only reason they won't turn up is if they are dead....period. Chances of that happening are probably like 1000 to 1. So do it a thousand times and i reckon the net won't even connect 200-300 of those times. A pigeon beats that easy....

"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow"

Sorry had to carry on the Monty Python theme too - one of the great movies of all time

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Not really.

It was a challenge that was always going to go to the carrier pigeon as that was the comedic and desirable outcome.

Upload speeds are inconsequential on most people's internet connections - probably by design and conditioning though. If it was a test of download vs carrier pigeon (which would be a whole lot more relevant), they'd strap a 4GB USB stick to the pigeon and get the same result. But that ruins the joke - I'm a heavy internet user and I don't think I've ever uploaded a 700MB file.

Yes but you are a private not commercial user.

Upload speed is not important for porn, forums, facebook or youtube and whilst to many that is all the internet is used for to others it is actually a business tool.

I often see data CDs and DVDs emailed as well as upload many files larger than 700Mb.

Saying that no one does this because you don't do this is like saying no one needs to travel at more than 100km/h because you live in a city and take the train to work or PABXs are not need because you text everything.....

[cs123]

Originally Posted by flappist

I often see data CDs and DVDs emailed as well as upload many files larger than 700Mb.

I get what you're saying but I've never come across a email server configured to allow a 700MB attachment.

In my world files that size are always scp/ftp, never emailed.

[Riksta]

Upload speed is relevant on private torrent trackers where you need it to maintain decent ratio ;)

[Fev]

Uhoh - Internetz have failed.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by flappist

Yes but you are a private not commercial user.

Upload speed is not important for porn, forums, facebook or youtube and whilst to many that is all the internet is used for to others it is actually a business tool.

I often see data CDs and DVDs emailed as well as upload many files larger than 700Mb.

Saying that no one does this because you don't do this is like saying no one needs to travel at more than 100km/h because you live in a city and take the train to work or PABXs are not need because you text everything.....

Was the test conducted on a business premisis with unrestricted bandwidth?

Comparing upload speeds of a connection that is most likely nobbled to 512kbps is disingenuous. If I bothered to go to the office, a 700MB file could be uploaded in less than a few minutes to the US - strap a pigeon to a Saturn V rocket and it'd still lose that race.

Businesses that are required to upload large data files, common sense dictates that they will have invested in the infrastructure to do so. If they haven't, no use pointing to the network and suggesting that carrier pigeons are a better alternative in distributing large files.

It's a loaded test to meet a pre-determined outcome, nothing more, nothing less.

I'd also suggest that most email servers would reject a 700MB file. The several I'm on most certainly do.

[flappist]

Well every single email server that I work with (several hundred of them) are all unlimited in email size as they are used by ordinary people not computer geeks who understand all the issues of file size etc. They email CDs of parts catalogs etc between offices on a regular basis and telling them not to is like telling kids not to SMS.

It is somewhat amusing how there is this idea that "common sense" is in any way involved with anything to do with internet.

Not long ago there was no ADSL, no optical media, no SMS or any of the technologies that are "expected" to be available. How did we survive?

I remember installing $100,000 servers that had a single 16 bit CPU, 2Mb of RAM, 300Mb of storage and serviced 50 terminals and wondering why anyone would ever need a computer bigger than this. iPhones are more powerful.

Why would anyone need HDTV or a screen bigger than 26" or whatever.

Technologies first appear in the commercial sector and then move to the private sector.

I remember installing 2Mb/s E1s that cost $5000 per month when everyone was using dialup for home connection and the big players had 64k ISDN. No one could possibly need an internet connection faster than 2Mb/s could they?

The test was not contrived. Comrade Kev made the mistake of making a sarcastic statement and someone took him to task.

Media stunt maybe but the results were just as valid as the expectation that if one driver on a good day in a falcon can do a 12 second 400m then all drivers on all days will do the same......

[cs123]

Originally Posted by flappist

The test was not contrived. Comrade Kev made the mistake of making a sarcastic statement and someone took him to task.

This is what Kev said
"If the Liberals had their way Australians would be left using carrier pidgeons for the future rather than accessing an internationally competitive broadband network," Rudd said.

The test, if not contrived, backed that statement up 100%. A standard internet connection today cannot transmit data fast enough. If a NBN is rolled out then a 100Mb/s connection would.

Wasn't that the point he was making?

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by flappist

Well every single email server that I work with (several hundred of them) are all unlimited in email size as they are used by ordinary people not computer geeks who understand all the issues of file size etc. They email CDs of parts catalogs etc between offices on a regular basis and telling them not to is like telling kids not to SMS.

They must be small businesses with no email quota - don't have to tell them not to, they won't be able to. Problem solved.

I had a customer send me a 35MB support log file today, I had to create an ad-hoc ftp account for them to get it to me. Too large to email. Other large corporate customers strip attachments from their email.

The test was not contrived. Comrade Kev made the mistake of making a sarcastic statement and someone took him to task.

Of course it was contrived - there are many wide connections in cities and in rural areas that would have upped 700MB a dozen times before the pigeon's arrival. Though, I believe the test only helped highlight Kev's point, not took him to task. It would be exceptionally easy to find a low bandwidth connection, pick a destination that seems distant enough to make a point then load up a pigeon with an unbeatable payload. If the result over internet vs pigeon, internet won would make it a news story?

Media stunt maybe but the results were just as valid as the expectation that if one driver on a good day in a falcon can do a 12 second 400m then all drivers on all days will do the same......

In order words, not valid at all.

[barra265t]

Since when could pigeons fly at 130km/h...