MSE News: Broadband speeds not up to advertising claims

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  • Stewart_B
    Stewart_B Posts: 5 Forumite
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    Just bad luck if you happen to live next door to someone who enjoys downloading films, perhaps even before they are legally available. (On that note I once saw a Facebook Group called something like "I would steal a handbag... if I could download it"

    Is there a definitive speed test that you can run? I tend to look at actual download speeds of a podcast around 7pm just to depress myself.
  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,481 Forumite
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    Stewart_B wrote: »
    Is there a definitive speed test that you can run?

    I can recommend http://speedtest.net/ (no affiliation - just something I've used personally and in my current and last jobs.)

    Try
    1) at different times of day with a server in this country
    2) with servers both in this country and (only a couple of) others.

    They'll keep a history of results associated with your IP.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
    -o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
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    Stewart_B wrote: »
    Is there a definitive speed test that you can run? I tend to look at actual download speeds of a podcast around 7pm just to depress myself.
    If you are on a resold BTw product then the definitive test is - http://speedtester.bt.com/ - this is the only one they will accept if complaining.

    There is some other login you can use (I forget what now - I deserted BTw based broadband as soon as a viable alternative became available) which links you directly to the BT servers bypassing your ISP which is where most of the contention actually occur. I think the tester will give you the option to use that in a second test if the first is especially dismal. Of course getting the tester to actually work is very hit and miss and sometimes takes a lot of tries.

    The most reliable test is to do an actual download from a know fast server but sites like speedtest.net as mentioned above will give a pretty good idea of how your connection is performing and have the advantage that, unlike the BTw one, they usually actually work.
  • JACKINABOX_3
    JACKINABOX_3 Posts: 3 Newbie
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    OK - Hands up - I'm a complete numbskull when it comes to things computer! Broadband speed -?- the wireless icon on my deskbar shows 54.0Mbps - max, and often down to 1. Yes I'm at the end of the line. Is this a good/average rate or even relevant to the debate?
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
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    Your wireless icon is completely irrelevant to this topic.
  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,481 Forumite
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    JACKINABOX wrote: »
    OK - Hands up - I'm a complete numbskull when it comes to things computer! Broadband speed -?- the wireless icon on my deskbar shows 54.0Mbps - max, and often down to 1. Yes I'm at the end of the line. Is this a good/average rate or even relevant to the debate?

    All that is telling you, is the potential maximum speed between your computer and the WiFi access point where you are:
             +-------+
         |Laptop |
         +-------+
            /
            /  54Mbps
            /
         +--------+  100Mbps +--------+
         |WiFi AP |==========|Computer|
         +--------+          +--------+
             |
             | 100Mbps
             |
         +---+-------+
         |BB Router/ |
         |Modem      |
         +---+-------+
             | 8Mbps*                      Your House
   ==========+=======================================
             |                             Outside
         +---+-------+
         |ISP        |
         +---+-------+
             |
             | <lots>Mbps
             |
         +---+-------+
         |The        |
         |Internet   |           *You pay for 20Mbps
         +-----------+

    Laptop connected via WiFi, Computer via cable. You could (potentially) transfer data between the two at 54Mbps.

    The slowdown comes when the packets leave your house, with the main bottleneck being between your modem and your ISP.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
    -o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries
  • davefb
    davefb Posts: 29 Forumite
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    tbh, I think a lot of this is because companies are almost by default selling 'just' 20mb broadband systems, eg sky seems to have 20mb ( if you're connected to a sky enabled exchange). This probably makes sense, because at the exchange, they have the same equipment, and theres probably no price difference ( or less) nowadays.
    Now since most people haven't actually moved any closer to the exchanges, past a certain distance, there will be little advantage to this.
    But , according to ofcom , this is somehow bad, because instead of getting say 4mb from 8mb ( ie 50%), the customer might now get 5mb from 20mb ( 25%). But the customer is getting more speed, and in most cases actually paying the same.

    Now, I'm sat on cable ( virgin) and am happy with it , but have looked and every time I've checked out different deals, the ISP involved has been very very clear that you dont get the headline rate. So I don't understand why ofcom seem to say otherwise?

    Ofcom also didnt seem to have an analysis of 'what people COULD get' ie the connection rate to the exchange, and 'what people are ACTUALLY getting', ie download from the internet, thats the most important difference, not the 'headline' 20mb or 8mb system. This gets worse when either the exchange is oversubscribed ( ie too many people, OR too many neighbours downloading all the time ;) ).

    Frankly, at the moment , surely it's better that all ISP's aim to use the '20mb' system, but compete on either contention rates or what your allowed download per month is? In which case, yes, the %age difference WILL drop, as people move from an 8mbmax to a 20mbmax system..
  • JACKINABOX_3
    JACKINABOX_3 Posts: 3 Newbie
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    Thank you for that! A good start towards my computer education.
  • shammyjack
    shammyjack Posts: 2,685 Forumite
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    I am taking part in the SamKnows Community Reporting Access Trial and have one of their special routers running a Linux OS that periodically uploads test data on my line and ISp ( O2 ).

    This is a log taken from my stats on an O2 16 Mbps LLU connection.




    Date Minimum (Mbps) Maximum (Mbps) Average (Mbps)




    2010-07-27 7.20 13.69 12.38
    2010-07-26 12.38 13.96 13.44
    2010-07-25 11.87 13.96 13.37
    2010-07-24 6.18 13.96 12.56
    2010-07-23 7.20 13.96 12.98
    2010-07-22 7.17 13.95 12.63
    2010-07-21 6.23 13.96 12.83
    2010-07-20 6.21 13.95 12.74


    I am approx 1Km from my exchange and as you can see my max speed is an almost perfect 14Mbps out of a possible 16Mbps but at peek times it can dip to less than half that.


    shammy
  • petejd
    petejd Posts: 8 Forumite
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    My sister complained of slow broadband connection so I checked. She is 200 meters, as the crow flies, away from the exchange and from an advertised 6mb from Plusnet is getting a eye watering 120kb. Yes that is a kb not mb.:whistle:
    Have used a number of speed test websites, different computers, wireless router is in the master socket, different filters etc etc. BT blame Plusnet and Plusnet say she is too far from the exchange.????
    :think:
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