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I recently switched from an ADSL to a fiber connection and was surprised to see that the bandwidth is asymmetric (1 Gbps down / 250 Mbps up).

While this is understandable in ADSL, I do not understand why fiber at home is asymmetric as well? It is not a limitation of the technology (I have symmetric fiber at the office, and always had)

WoJ
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3 Answers3

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The reason is economic.

While upstream bandwidth cost (as mentioned in current comments) may be a small part of the puzzle. The bigger picture is simply they don't give you the bandwidth required to run a mainstream server. Otherwise no company would pay for a business class or data center class connection.

Be thankful the isp uses this method to limit the connection. If they chose to block ports instead it would severely limit what you could do with your connection. They could also instead charge incrementally for the bandwidth (like your cell phone providers charges for data used) which is unpopular in the consumer broadband market.

Tyson
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The idea is that most consumers need much more downstream bandwidth than upstream bandwidth, and an asymmetrical connection would therefore better utilize system capacity.

While content creators (e.g. YouTube channels that upload lots of videos) can use lots of upstream bandwidth, most consumers will use far more downstream bandwidth than upstream bandwidth. As a result, reserving some one-half of system capacity for the uplink is going to waste a lot of resources that could go to the downlink instead. The more efficiently the available bandwidth is used, the more customers it can serve, which means more revenue and fewer resources wasted.

Note that not every residental FTTP/FTTH service is asymmetrical. Here in the US, Verizon Fios is symmetrical on all plans.

bwDraco
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Asymmetric connection is necessary for users. Imagine that when you are browsing the web, you can enjoy the faster download speeds than upload speeds. Whit this type of connection, cost effective solutions and quick installation are also ensured. Certainly, this asymmetric connection has its weak points. Whether it's symmetric or asymmetric connection, just choose the right Internet connection type for your owner or business use.

katiesi
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