Tennessee Radiologist Has The Fastest U.S. Home Internet Connection And He'll Own You in CoD
Most broadband subscribers in the United States would be giddy as all get-out if 1Gbps service rolled into their area. And for most we imagine it eventually will, just as high-speed Internet eventually supplanted dial-up (though it may take longer than previously hoped now that Google has pressed the pause button on its fiber-optic expansion). But for James Busch, a radiologist living in Tennessee, 1Gbps service would be a major step backwards.
To the best of our knowledge (and feel free to correct us in the comments section if we're wrong), Busch is the first and only person in the U.S. with a 10Gbps residential connection. At this point in time, 10Gbps service is ahead of the curve in what most people need or could realistically utilize, though being a radiologist, Busch has found good use for the ultra-high speed service.
"An X-ray averages around 200 megabytes, then you have PET scans and mammograms. 3D mammograms are 10 gig files, so they're enormous," Busch explained.
Busch calculated that he goes through multiple terabytes of storage each year. By signing up for 10Gbps Internet service, he further calculated that he saves about 7 seconds per exam. That might not seem like much, but when you are dealing with tens of thousands of exams a year, it adds up—Busch reckons his bandwidth upgrade saves him around 10 days of productivity annually.
Of course, X-rays aren't the only things he uses 10Gbps Internet for. Having the fastest residential Internet service in the country has other perks, too.
"If you play first person shooters and you're the host, you get a few milliseconds advantage on other people you're playing against," Busch said. "If you have a gig connection, you're always host, so you end up ruling. I used to play with my buddies online, and one was from Chattanooga so it was always me or him who was the most host. We'd always rule Call of Duty with 20 or 30 kills."
Beyond work and gaming, Busch says you grow accustomed to everything happening much quicker, be it Windows updates or app downloads. He also claims that his previous 1Gbps connection wasn't enough for his family, something which became evident within the first eight or nine months.
"With my kids watching Netflix instead of TV, with me working, we did utilize that bandwidth. There were situations where my daughter would be FaceTiming and the others would be streaming on the 4K TVs and they’d start screaming at each other about hogging the bandwidth. We don’t see that at 10 gigs," Busch says.
While Busch has the fastest residential Internet service in the U.S., others could join him if they wanted and could justify the cost. Several ISPs offer 10Gbps service, such as Vermont Telephone Company, which rolled out the 10Gbps option over a year ago. Not a single person has signed up for it, likely because nobody can afford or otherwise justify paying $400 per month for it.
It can be had for less depending on the ISP. Busch gets his 10Gbps service from EPB, a government-owned power utility in Chattanooga that charges $299 per month. Still, it's a hefty premium if you don't have a specific need, particularly when 1Gbps service is available for $70 per month.
To the best of our knowledge (and feel free to correct us in the comments section if we're wrong), Busch is the first and only person in the U.S. with a 10Gbps residential connection. At this point in time, 10Gbps service is ahead of the curve in what most people need or could realistically utilize, though being a radiologist, Busch has found good use for the ultra-high speed service.
"An X-ray averages around 200 megabytes, then you have PET scans and mammograms. 3D mammograms are 10 gig files, so they're enormous," Busch explained.
Busch calculated that he goes through multiple terabytes of storage each year. By signing up for 10Gbps Internet service, he further calculated that he saves about 7 seconds per exam. That might not seem like much, but when you are dealing with tens of thousands of exams a year, it adds up—Busch reckons his bandwidth upgrade saves him around 10 days of productivity annually.
Of course, X-rays aren't the only things he uses 10Gbps Internet for. Having the fastest residential Internet service in the country has other perks, too.
"If you play first person shooters and you're the host, you get a few milliseconds advantage on other people you're playing against," Busch said. "If you have a gig connection, you're always host, so you end up ruling. I used to play with my buddies online, and one was from Chattanooga so it was always me or him who was the most host. We'd always rule Call of Duty with 20 or 30 kills."
Beyond work and gaming, Busch says you grow accustomed to everything happening much quicker, be it Windows updates or app downloads. He also claims that his previous 1Gbps connection wasn't enough for his family, something which became evident within the first eight or nine months.
"With my kids watching Netflix instead of TV, with me working, we did utilize that bandwidth. There were situations where my daughter would be FaceTiming and the others would be streaming on the 4K TVs and they’d start screaming at each other about hogging the bandwidth. We don’t see that at 10 gigs," Busch says.
While Busch has the fastest residential Internet service in the U.S., others could join him if they wanted and could justify the cost. Several ISPs offer 10Gbps service, such as Vermont Telephone Company, which rolled out the 10Gbps option over a year ago. Not a single person has signed up for it, likely because nobody can afford or otherwise justify paying $400 per month for it.
It can be had for less depending on the ISP. Busch gets his 10Gbps service from EPB, a government-owned power utility in Chattanooga that charges $299 per month. Still, it's a hefty premium if you don't have a specific need, particularly when 1Gbps service is available for $70 per month.
