{"video_id":"fp_tZgKYwBkSP","title":"TQ: Why are Upload speeds slower?","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2019-11-19T21:52:53.834Z","duration_s":262,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":4.64,"text":"So your local internet service provider promised you blazing fast internet,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.64,"end_s":9.2,"text":"and while they've delivered in the sense that you have no issues streaming all the 4k","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":9.2,"end_s":15.44,"text":"Netflix you want, you're still waiting around seemingly forever when you have to upload a video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.44,"end_s":23.2,"text":"or a photo. So why is it that upload and download speeds are often so different, like, you know,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.2,"end_s":28.56,"text":"driving in the reverse direction during rush hour? So it's like this, visualize the internet","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.64,"end_s":35.36,"text":"connection coming into your house as a pipe that's only so wide. In other words, there's a limit to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.36,"end_s":42.16,"text":"how much data it can carry at one time. Your ISP sections off the pipe to accommodate different","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":42.16,"end_s":48.88,"text":"services. For example, if you have a DSL connection, part of the pipe will be reserved for phone service,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":48.88,"end_s":54.24,"text":"while another part is dedicated to internet data. And if you have cable or fiber, that same pipe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":54.24,"end_s":59.36,"text":"might also be carrying a cable TV signal. You can learn much more about that right up here,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.36,"end_s":64.96,"text":"but the gist of it is that service providers pull this off by using different frequencies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.96,"end_s":69.12,"text":"for each type of data so that your Apple Music Stream doesn't conflict with your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.12,"end_s":73.6,"text":"Charlie Brown Christmas special that you're watching on cable. And because the pipe can only","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.6,"end_s":79.84,"text":"let so much data through at once, your provider has to make decisions about how much of it to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.84,"end_s":85.28,"text":"dedicate to each service. And in the case of internet, that section of the pipe actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.28,"end_s":91.68,"text":"gets further divided into upstream and downstream data. But even though there's only so much space","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.68,"end_s":97.28,"text":"in the pipe, it's not like the providers out there are hurting for bandwidth. For example,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":97.28,"end_s":103.12,"text":"let's say that your internet signal comes over a plain old copper cable, a relatively new standard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.12,"end_s":108.24,"text":"called DOCSIS 3.1, which is a revision of the base DOCSIS standard that allows a broadband","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.24,"end_s":115.6,"text":"connection over old school cable TV pipes supports up to 10 gigabits per second downstream","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":115.6,"end_s":122.48,"text":"and 1 gigabit per second upstream by packing more data into each frequency. So there's clearly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.48,"end_s":129.28,"text":"plenty of headroom in that old copper wire. So why the slow upload speeds? Well, when home","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.28,"end_s":135.52,"text":"internet first started becoming widespread in the mid 1990s, user-generated content like the photos","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.52,"end_s":142.32,"text":"and videos that we're constantly sharing on Facebook or Google Drive or Bumble, well, they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":142.32,"end_s":147.84,"text":"weren't really a thing. And you're probably mostly sitting there looking through GeoCities pages on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.84,"end_s":154.32,"text":"Internet Explorer 3.0. So at most, you were maybe uploading small JPEGs as email attachments.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.32,"end_s":160.96,"text":"And the idea that we are downloading far more than we're uploading has stuck around to this very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.96,"end_s":167.12,"text":"day. And that's actually still true to a great extent. You might watch plenty of 4k videos on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.12,"end_s":174.08,"text":"Amazon Prime, but how many of you are uploading 4k video to social media? Probably not nearly as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.08,"end_s":180.4,"text":"many. So while internet providers do allocate more bandwidth to upload these days, 10 or 20 megabits","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.4,"end_s":185.84,"text":"per second is pretty common right now, it's still quite a lot slower than the accompanying","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":185.84,"end_s":190.48,"text":"download speeds, which are increasingly pushing into the triple digit range, sometimes even on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.56,"end_s":196.4,"text":"lower priced plans. So when you've got multiple devices attempting to upload data at the same time,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.4,"end_s":201.44,"text":"you can quickly saturate such an upstream connection. But that doesn't mean things will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.44,"end_s":208.16,"text":"stay that way forever. As customers increasingly demand a fat upstream pipe for high-res video calls,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.16,"end_s":213.84,"text":"streaming their video games and uploading files to cloud storage, ISPs are taking notice. And the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":213.84,"end_s":221.76,"text":"new DOCSIS 4.0 standard supports 10 gigabits per second, both up and down. Also, many fiber to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.76,"end_s":227.52,"text":"home connections offer symmetric connections already by default, where just as much of the pipe is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":227.52,"end_s":233.52,"text":"dedicated to uploads as it is to downloads. It's also easier for the fiber providers to do this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.52,"end_s":239.04,"text":"because light can carry so much data over a distance than copper. You can find out more about that in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.04,"end_s":243.44,"text":"this video. So hopefully no matter where you're getting service, you won't have to wait too","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.52,"end_s":248.4,"text":"much longer for a better upstream connection than that kid who's trying to climb up the down escalator","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":248.4,"end_s":255.04,"text":"at the mall. So thanks for watching guys. Like, dislike, leave a comment. If you have a suggestion","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":255.04,"end_s":258.64,"text":"for a future Fast as Possible, don't forget to check out one of our other videos. We make lots","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.64,"end_s":262.16,"text":"and lots of videos around here. I promise at least some of them are good.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"So your local internet service provider promised you blazing fast internet, and while they've delivered in the sense that you have no issues streaming all the 4k Netflix you want, you're still waiting around seemingly forever when you have to upload a video or a photo. So why is it that upload and download speeds are often so different, like, you know, driving in the reverse direction during rush hour? So it's like this, visualize the internet connection coming into your house as a pipe that's only so wide. In other words, there's a limit to how much data it can carry at one time. Your ISP sections off the pipe to accommodate different services. For example, if you have a DSL connection, part of the pipe will be reserved for phone service, while another part is dedicated to internet data. And if you have cable or fiber, that same pipe might also be carrying a cable TV signal. You can learn much more about that right up here, but the gist of it is that service providers pull this off by using different frequencies for each type of data so that your Apple Music Stream doesn't conflict with your Charlie Brown Christmas special that you're watching on cable. And because the pipe can only let so much data through at once, your provider has to make decisions about how much of it to dedicate to each service. And in the case of internet, that section of the pipe actually gets further divided into upstream and downstream data. But even though there's only so much space in the pipe, it's not like the providers out there are hurting for bandwidth. For example, let's say that your internet signal comes over a plain old copper cable, a relatively new standard called DOCSIS 3.1, which is a revision of the base DOCSIS standard that allows a broadband connection over old school cable TV pipes supports up to 10 gigabits per second downstream and 1 gigabit per second upstream by packing more data into each frequency. So there's clearly plenty of headroom in that old copper wire. So why the slow upload speeds? Well, when home internet first started becoming widespread in the mid 1990s, user-generated content like the photos and videos that we're constantly sharing on Facebook or Google Drive or Bumble, well, they weren't really a thing. And you're probably mostly sitting there looking through GeoCities pages on Internet Explorer 3.0. So at most, you were maybe uploading small JPEGs as email attachments. And the idea that we are downloading far more than we're uploading has stuck around to this very day. And that's actually still true to a great extent. You might watch plenty of 4k videos on Amazon Prime, but how many of you are uploading 4k video to social media? Probably not nearly as many. So while internet providers do allocate more bandwidth to upload these days, 10 or 20 megabits per second is pretty common right now, it's still quite a lot slower than the accompanying download speeds, which are increasingly pushing into the triple digit range, sometimes even on lower priced plans. So when you've got multiple devices attempting to upload data at the same time, you can quickly saturate such an upstream connection. But that doesn't mean things will stay that way forever. As customers increasingly demand a fat upstream pipe for high-res video calls, streaming their video games and uploading files to cloud storage, ISPs are taking notice. And the new DOCSIS 4.0 standard supports 10 gigabits per second, both up and down. Also, many fiber to the home connections offer symmetric connections already by default, where just as much of the pipe is dedicated to uploads as it is to downloads. It's also easier for the fiber providers to do this because light can carry so much data over a distance than copper. You can find out more about that in this video. So hopefully no matter where you're getting service, you won't have to wait too much longer for a better upstream connection than that kid who's trying to climb up the down escalator at the mall. So thanks for watching guys. Like, dislike, leave a comment. If you have a suggestion for a future Fast as Possible, don't forget to check out one of our other videos. We make lots and lots of videos around here. I promise at least some of them are good."}