I didn't know where to post this, I was just curious as to what ISP the U.S. Apple Stores use, because whenever I go on Safari there the pages load instantly - the internet is super-fast. Also, a bunch of people are on an internet connection in the store, but it is still really fast, so the speed must be like 50mbps or something.
Great question, I wonder that also. Where I live the "fastest" service available is Comcast, and it is not steady.
They have to be using a business-class connection. I'd guess fiber. Also they've got to be doing some QoS internally so that one machine doesn't hog all the bandwidth. I'd guess that they can easily justify the expense, since people ONLY use the Internet on the floor models, so a fast internet connection = a fast sale.
Same here. Comcast. I can't really picture Apple subscribing to a Comcast service - they look more like the at&t type. But I don't think at&t can dole out the kind of speed you see there. I would be interested to see the networking setup in those stores. I guess QoS could be implemented by the ISP if they are subscribing to a business service.
It depends on the store and the area. They seem to use local T1 and T3 connections from what I've seen. I can say they don't have fiber. A small business like that has no need of that kind of service or the high monthly prices that come with it.