Broadband Speed

[whitenemesis]

I regularly get 7-8mb downloads

It all depends on the website you are visiting.

 

[PaulE230]

Heres a useful speed test site


http://www.speedtest.net/

 

[splang]

www.thinkbroadband.com

This site has a good speed test site too.
I had been having problems with speed with my bt line. Quick email to the CEO and all sorted !:bannana:
Maxed out all day and all night now!

 

[NormanB]

So my connection shows as 6.9Mbps

But my best test dowload is 1971Kbs (Is that equivalent to 1.971Mbps?).

Do I need to change ISP?

 

[grober]

So my connection shows as 6.9Mbps

But my best test dowload is 1971Kbs (Is that equivalent to 1.971Mbps?).

Do I need to change ISP?

The answer to your first question is yes 1.971Mbps. The results of your speed test will vary according to time of day/traffic, the server you are talking to and the nature of the data stream involved so you never usually quite get the advertised speed. The figure of 1971Kbs is typical of a 2Mbps service. I would advise trying both tests detailed already and maybe also the free light edition here http://www.myspeed.com/pe/index.html If they all give the same result over a period of a few days then I suggest contacting Your ISP with your test results. There can be many explanations for reduced speed from--- modem problems-settings, automated data throttling due to traffic, line speed downregulation to achieve a reliable connection [BT does this for example I think] How did you come up with the 6.9Mbps figure in the first place? The I.T. gurus on the forum will know better than me.

 

[glojo]

So my connection shows as 6.9Mbps

But my best test dowload is 1971Kbs (Is that equivalent to 1.971Mbps?).

Do I need to change ISP?

We contacted our ISP, they tested the line, the test disclosed a certain degree of noise, but it also highlights the maximum speed you can expect. The ISP kindly forwarded our complaint onto BT who first checked the line, then sent round an engineer. If you live a long way from your exchange and the cabling is not the very latest fibre optics, then no amount of changing ISP's will resolve the issue. If, on the other hand it is a small provider then I fully endorse what is being said by our experts and it might be worth shopping around. Check the line.

Regards
John

 

[NormanB]

How did you come up with the 6.9Mbps figure in the first place? The I.T. gurus on the forum will know better than me.

From the status icon in system tray.

 

[Parrotman]

Part of the ' Con ' is set to price bands. It costs them no more to offer a 20kb (?) service than it does a 4 kb service. Similarly with long distance telephone calls, the provider has no additional costs be it within the Uk or Australia.

BT do not have the resources to invest in fibre optic for the local loop nor do they want to. Hence, they ( or we ) or stuck with receiving services via copper or, to be more accurate, aluminium which is what the drop wires ( overhead cabling ) are made from now. This adds to the drop in line quality particularly the further away one is from the exchange.

Cable if I'm right, uses fibre optic from the exchange to the roadside cabinet which boosts the signal strength. BT cabinets do not do this as they are more less just distribution points. At one time they used Gefaeller Cabinets that did the same as the cable cabinets. Don't know why they changed though. Cable also no longer have the resources to continue laying yet more snake paths in residenntial areas'.

The French Government subsidises their telecoms, railways, health service etc and thus have the extra investment to offer better services. No political undertones are implied.

 

[Colin_b]

The cost of upgrading the 'local loop' - exchange to your phone is phenomenal, and not worth it atm, we don't yet have the applications that need more than normal broadband (2 - 8mbps), plus the UK internet infrastructure is creaking under present loads. Would Bt or the cable companies bet the shop on backing a wires solution when wireless is possibly better? Tough call

Colin.

 

[crockers]

tested mine

sh*te...but then i did tell you ...lol

 

[PaulE230]

Speed Test Results

Date11/08/07 22:59:35Speed Down9527.34 Kbps ( 9.3 Mbps )Speed Up357.24 Kbps ( 0.3 Mbps )Port8095Serverspeedtest1.adslguide.org.uk

 

[grober]

From the status icon in system tray.

Maybe that figure is generated by software which is indicative of the potential line speed based on your modem to ISP server link. However the server may still be throttling your speed to the rest of the internet. The speed testers mentioned give a more realistic picture of true internet connectivity since they simulate real browsing operations. Time to talk to your ISP about this and maybe also to get your telephone line tested also?

 

[grober]

Dream of 2mb.......... where we live its ............... 512kb max..if we're lucky with the wind blowing from the west and the crows not sh*tting on the lines....

If you are out in the country make sure you are not on a "party line" where your sharing a line with a neighbour. Whereas the demands of speech telephony are handled easily by such a situation high rate data transmission can be problematic. Read a large thread on this in the dim and distant past on some bulletin board but cant find it at the mo.

 

[glojo]

5am on a Sunday morning so the chances of 'overload' might not be that great?

Date12/08/07 05:03:33 Speed Down1987.00 Kbps ( 1.9 Mbps )Speed Up 382.27 Kbps ( 0.4 Mbps )

Figures are what I expected


John

 

[Colin_b]

Speed test sites can be misleading, as can wireless connections...

My link speed is 8mb/s (50 metres from the exchange on good wiring). Speed test from my cat 5 connected PC show between 2.5 and 7.5 mb/ssec download, and from a wireless connected (strong connection) between 2.4 and 5.

A good real world test is to download XP SP2 from microsoft and watch the download speed (I consistent ly get 6.2 ftom the cat5 pc, and 3 from the wireless)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

 

[comports]

Hey Splang,

Where did you get the BT CEO's email address from. I might just try that..!

 

[kbhogalW126]

Not a bad speed for a Sunday afternoon.

Better than what I used to get with pipex!