Sometimes a 1-Hour Podcast Downloads in a Few Seconds; Other Times It Takes 5 Minutes

What gives? 

Comments

[Tom Welch]

Many variables in accessing web sites, your pc, cable, modem, amount of traffic and routing just for starters.

[DanHL]

You have monopolies like Time Warner and Comcast running the show in the USA. They can charge a fortune for crappy service and get away with it because they have no competition.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=competition-and-the-internet

[DanHL]

Here's an excerpt from the article explaining why:

"A decade ago the U.S. ranked at or near the top of most studies of broadband price and performance. But that was before the FCC made a terrible mistake. In 2002 it reclassified broadband Internet service as an “information service” rather than a “telecommunications service.” In theory, this step implied that broadband was equivalent to a content provider (such as AOL or Yahoo!) and was not a means to communicate, such as a telephone line. In practice, it has stifled competition."

[Doug T.]

Actually, the US has somewhat improved in recent years in broadband performance (and that isn't the issue anyway, because sometimes Jeff has fast downloads)

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/dotcommentary/article/U-S-Internet-speed-better-but-still-lags-4226130.php

The problem is more likely on the server side. If the server is getting hammered, it will deliver downloads more slowly. In particular, some servers are programmed to download slowly -- especially with older podcasts.