I need some halp!

[bbad89]

So, I'm currently paying for 5 mb/s internet service. I thought it was odd that my download speed was only 500-600 kb/s, but I didn't complain as it was quite fast and it probably had my entire home network with it too. However, I recently called my ISP and brought it up as a side note, and they said that it should typically be around 2-3 mb/s download speed overall, and after resetting the modem and doing multiple speed tests from numerous website, it said my speed was the 5 mb/s speed I was paying for. Can someone help me fix this?
* ISP is RCN btw.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

...only 500-600 kb/s... around 2-3 mb/s download speed overall

Kids today and their Internet speeds. I've never surpassed 180KB/s download speed.

What about your router, done anything about that?

 

[bbad89]

I've both changed it and used a direct connection. No difference.

 

[Sleekgiant]

Doesn't know the difference between kbp/s and mbp/s.....RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE

Thats normal speed FYI, 5mbp/s would be optimal but you'll probably never get that.

 

[bbad89]

It is? Either way, I'd still like to get what I'm paying for...

 

[Sleekgiant]

It is? Either way, I'd still like to get what I'm paying for...

The do all your downloading late at night when no one else is on the network.

I'm sure if you read your service contract it says optimal speeds will be maxed at 5mbp/s but they don't have to guarantee it.

In short deal with it, you're internet is fast enough.

 

[bbad89]

It is? Either way, I'd still like to get what I'm paying for...

The do all your downloading late at night when no one else is on the network.

I'm sure if you read your service contract it says optimal speeds will be maxed at 5mbp/s but they don't have to guarantee it.

In short deal with it, you're internet is fast enough.

I swear, I despise posts like this. "Deal with it" is a stupid answer when someone asks for help. They also said that download speeds for what I'm paying for should be much higher. When someone pays for something, they like to get what they pay for. Buy a new computer, and when the second $500 dollar graphics card fails to join the other, just "deal with it".
I also set a direct connection from the modem so it went as fast as it could.

 

[KarlMonster]

O.P. It depends on what you are downloading, and how your local internet signals are routed from the ISP.

For example. It took me 20 minutes or more the other day to download a TWAIN scanner driver from Epson. On a cable modem, with fibre to a local node, that's a very long time for a smallish file. Epson is being smart (or cheap asses) by only paying for the bandwidth that they really need. In this case, I was limited by what their server speed could provide.

You say your provider is RCN, and I really have no idea what/who that is, or more importantly, what sort of transmission lines are being used. DSL-type internet is still hampered by the limitations of POTS (the plain ole telephone system). Internet through a cable TV provider has different limitations, mostly by where the lines are routed before they get to your house. I said I had fibre to the local node, but I live in a sparsely populated area. I knew a guy in Vancouver who just couldn't play Counter-Strike after 3pm - because that's when all the local kids got home from school. There were so many homes whose internet service fed off of that local node, and shared the total bandwidth, that internet speeds effectively slowed to a crawl.

THEN, if you have an older, slower machine, your own Network Interface Card can slow down your download speed intentionally. The downloads come in packets, and your machine has to process and store the packets in virtual memory. The NIC communicates with the download server, letting it know what has been received, and how much more to send. This process is called a 'sliding window.' Your NIC and the download server communicate together to control the number of packets received so that it is "just right." Not too much to process, and not so few that your machine is waiting around for more. Unless of course the download server is slow.

Offhand, if those interweb applications say that you're that fast, I'm inclined to say they are right.

Edit: I need to play Twing-Twang. This has been a pubic service announcement.

 

[Erana]

It is? Either way, I'd still like to get what I'm paying for...

The do all your downloading late at night when no one else is on the network.

I'm sure if you read your service contract it says optimal speeds will be maxed at 5mbp/s but they don't have to guarantee it.

In short deal with it, you're internet is fast enough.

I swear, I despise posts like this. "Deal with it" is a stupid answer when someone asks for help. They also said that download speeds for what I'm paying for should be much higher. When someone pays for something, they like to get what they pay for. Buy a new computer, and when the second $500 dollar graphics card fails to join the other, just "deal with it".
I also set a direct connection from the modem so it went as fast as it could.

Calm down.

SleekGiant wasn't saying this because he considers you to be an obnoxious ingrate, he was simply enforcing the idea that not achieving peak download speeds constantly is the standard for every provider in the world.

You're paying for a maximum internet speed. And you get your share when the bandwidth is being expended at peak hours.
The only way to feesiably reach your upper limit is to use the internet when other people aren't- at night, just as SleekGiant said.

The only way to feesiably provide people with constantly maxed internet speed at this point would be to significantly lower the numbers to what they can maintain, which is an infinitesimal amount compared to the 5 MB/s available to you at off hours.

 

[Sleekgiant]

It is? Either way, I'd still like to get what I'm paying for...

The do all your downloading late at night when no one else is on the network.

I'm sure if you read your service contract it says optimal speeds will be maxed at 5mbp/s but they don't have to guarantee it.

In short deal with it, you're internet is fast enough.

I swear, I despise posts like this. "Deal with it" is a stupid answer when someone asks for help. They also said that download speeds for what I'm paying for should be much higher. When someone pays for something, they like to get what they pay for. Buy a new computer, and when the second $500 dollar graphics card fails to join the other, just "deal with it".
I also set a direct connection from the modem so it went as fast as it could.

Read what Erana wrote, also I work for a local internet service provider and I know how our contracts are written out. We will say you can get this much but that doesn't mean you're gonna get it all the time.

Also there is rarely a speed difference in wired vs. wireless these days.

 

[SwimmingRock]

The do all your downloading late at night when no one else is on the network.

The only way to feesiably reach your upper limit is to use the internet when other people aren't- at night, just as SleekGiant said.

Wait, what? My internet is just as crap at night, because I live in a student house with gamers. Does the general public have better internet at night? It seems to me there would be plenty of people on at night since there isn't much else to do at that time. Or is nocturnal gamers a false stereotype that just happens to apply to myself and my 2 flatmates?

 

[Erana]

The do all your downloading late at night when no one else is on the network.

The only way to feesiably reach your upper limit is to use the internet when other people aren't- at night, just as SleekGiant said.

Wait, what? My internet is just as crap at night, because I live in a student house with gamers. Does the general public have better internet at night? It seems to me there would be plenty of people on at night since there isn't much else to do at that time. Or is nocturnal gamers a false stereotype that just happens to apply to myself and my 2 flatmates?

Well, if you have two other people doing things on the internet at the same time as you that's obviously an issue with your download speed...

Still, peak times mean when everyone is using the internet. Including the millions of people on Facebook, video chatting, streaming movies, etc. It clogs the pipes.

 

[GigaHz]

I always thought that 'Xmb/s internet connection' is just marketing buzz for fastest potential connection, as in not the average. Going to speed sites to benchmark your speed is only going to give you results under optimal conditions, so naturally your result is going to be your fastest potential speed. But with servers in different locations, that speed is going to fluctuate. Plus you never mentioned your source of downloading. If it's something like P2P downloading, that stuff is dependant on your Peer's connections and upload speeds.

You could try testing servers at a benchmarking website in multiple locations to see if you drop to under 1mbs.

 

[redisforever]

It depends on where you're downloading from. Usually. I also use a 5 MB/s connection, max I get is 2MB/s. I don't complain, bought Civ 4 from GamersGate, and at 2MB/s, I got it in 20 minutes.

 

[RaeveSpam]

Internet connections speeds are commonly shown in Mega bits per second, that would be Mb/s. However download speeds are shown in Kilo/Mega bytes per second which is MB/s. A byte is 8 bit, so if you have a 5 Mega bit (Mb/s) connection, that would calculate to something around 600 Kilo bytes per second, in other words 5 Mb/s = 600 KB/s. Pay attention to the difference between the uppercase B, Bytes, and the lowercase b, bit.

 

[Phlakes]

...only 500-600 kb/s... around 2-3 mb/s download speed overall

Kids today and their Internet speeds. I've never surpassed 180KB/s download speed.

This. I had to leave my computer overnight to download Super Meat Boy.

OT: Is there some kind of online support center for your modem? That's all I got.

 

[Esotera]

Why do you need to get any higher than 500-600kbps? That should be sufficient for general browsing. If you really want a boost, then you could try making a wireless booster using some cardboard and tin foil; there's plenty of tutorials on youtube.

It depends on where you're downloading from. Usually. I also use a 5 MB/s connection, max I get is 2MB/s. I don't complain, bought Civ 4 from GamersGate, and at 2MB/s, I got it in 20 minutes.

My copy of Civ V took 8 hours to download from steam. -_- But thankfully I'm getting 100 mb/s internet next year.