Broadband Speed

[vegyjones]

My broadband is really slow at the moment.

It was slow whn I got it,
but was really fast for about 2 weeks.

I downloaded some stuff yesterday and
it was slow again.
I have now deleted the stuff I downloaded.

However, my broadband is as slow as it has ever been now.

Is there any way I can check it,
and is there any way I can make it faster??

Ta!

[markwales]

Does your BB Provider not have a helpline for things like speed issues?

[markwales]

This will tell you how fast you are currently running at

http://promos.mcafee.com/speedometer/test_0150.asp

[Stewards enquiry]

If I left click my mouse on the internet logo at the bottom right on my screen it tells my how fast.

[vegyjones]

7.36 Kbps

Is that good

My icon in the bottom corner says 576 Kbps...

I gather that ain't good! :(

[Win2Win]

You will be on a 50:1 shared connection, so if every is downloading, it'll be slower than dial up. Clear as muck in the small print :)

I pay extra for 20:1

[vegyjones]

36 Kbps that time...

[markwales]

Give 'em a call Vegy....shouldn't be anywhere near that slow.

[vegyjones]

Okay... cheers Mark!

[sparkyminer]

Just tested mine Vegy.
506Kbps, with an alledged connection of 2.3Mbps.

[chancer]

Maybe they're writing slow cos they know you can't read fast :wiggle:

[Workshy]

I get what it says I should with mine, about 55-60KB/sec off a 576kbps. :)

Still gonna ring the fuppers up to get the 1mb for no extra cost.

[TheOldhamWhisper]

Try www.speedguide.net for the best tips and tweaks for broadband. CAUTION many are registry tweaks, so make sure you follow the instructions to the letter - if in doubt, DON'T do it!

[TheOldhamWhisper]

PS mine runs at 762kbps on NTLs 750 package

[KC*]

ISP's using Datastream connections (Tiscali, Bulldog etc) are the ones that are being complained about most on many ADSL forums. This is because BT, under OFCOM rulings, had to open their exchanges up for the sake of competition. Since they had to do this, it now allows ISP's to install there own equipment in the exchange. This is the key to Datastream services.

A Datastream provider can install a 2Mbit circuit into a telephone exchange, but this immediatly causes contention issues, as the capacity to run thousands of connections is not specifically there from the offset.

The main issue currently facing Datastream broadband providers is the speed that users can access the Internet and email services. Because the ISP routes traffic through its own network, the more users on board directly affects the speed in which users can use the Internet. The busier a telephone exchange, the worse the connection speed becomes.

IPStream Broadband Providers (BT, etc) channel all customers down a 155Mbit network circuit. This is fed directly onto a BT controlled network, which gives us a balanced speed. The number of users connected to the exchange does not affect the connection speeds, as it is a completely balanced network, regulated by OFCOM.

Hope this helps.


KC

[tophatter]

PS mine runs at 762kbps on NTLs 750 package

Hi Oldham Im on the same package as you with NTL.

When I click on my connections and check its status it says the speed is 10.0Mbps. is that right?

[Workshy]

Hi Oldham Im on the same package as you with NTL.

When I click on my connections and check its status it says the speed is 10.0Mbps. is that right?
I suspect you might be looking at your local connection there buddy.

[tophatter]

What does that mean workshy? Im a complete dunce with computers - all i know is it allows me to get on this forum and do my betting and making money pretty quick! It could be whitchcraft as far as I know with my technical knowledge

[Workshy]

I think 10mbps is the speed of a local connection, if you were to say connection to another pc.

If you open "Network Connections" you may well have 2, 1 is your internet and the other is local (which by what you're saying wont be active).

I'm not to sure myself. :doh

[e55exboi]

Just tested mine Vegy.
506Kbps, with an alledged connection of 2.3Mbps.
:yikes: Mines a stated 1.1mb wanadoo is running 850k on the mcafee test

[TheOldhamWhisper]

As Workshy says, you are looking at the local connection - this shows the potential speed of your connection but it is governed by the ISP.

Follow the link supplied by Mark and then click on 'Test Again'. You should close any email progs and other browser pages you have open to get the best readings - anything over 520 is OK 700+ is good.

[tophatter]

cheers lads

I get a result of 650.8 kbps With another result underneath in brackets of 81.35KBps.

dont know why i get two but i guess its the 650.8 one that counts

[Workshy]

The other figure may be upload speed.

[TheOldhamWhisper]

cheers lads

I get a result of 650.8 kbps With another result underneath in brackets of 81.35KBps.

dont know why i get two but i guess its the 650.8 one that counts
The higher figure is in bits - 8 bits = 1 Byte - the other is in Bytes.

[tophatter]

Cheers oldham, you know your stuff! 8 bits in one byte and 1000 bytes in a kilobyte. Im learning!

[mathare]

Cheers oldham, you know your stuff! 8 bits in one byte and 1000 bytes in a kilobyte. Im learning!
Yes and no. 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte etc.

HDD's sold these days as 80GB are actually 80,000MB. The giga prefix has a lesser known cousin (called something like gigi) and means 1000 instead of 1024

[Win2Win]

But they are not actually 80GB as you can't round computer data to the nearest '0'

[wb]

My connection has become dodgy of late, going on and off a bit (seems to happen after 12 at night for some reason, never during the day) and Im wondering if there is anything I should be checking/doing.

My ISP is called Eircom, and is supossed to be up to 1mb.

I ran the check, and this is the result:

278.24 Kbps
(34.78 KBps)

Is this good or bad?

If it is bad, what should I check before I call them complaining?

[scaaty]

My connection has become dodgy of late, going on and off a bit (seems to happen after 12 at night for some reason, never during the day) and Im wondering if there is anything I should be checking/doing.

My ISP is called Eircom, and is supossed to be up to 1mb.

I ran the check, and this is the result:

278.24 Kbps
(34.78 KBps)

Is this good or bad?

If it is bad, what should I check before I call them complaining?

Mine says

316.24 Kbps
(39.53 KBs)

and I'm supposed to be on 2 Mbs, so yours looks pretty good for 1MB I think.
You could try testing here too http://www.abeltronica.com/velocimetro/pt/?idioma=uk&newlang=uk

All the tests vary a bit at different times so it's worth doing a few .... I usually get an average of 1.8Mbs from the above site which is about what you'd expect from a 2Mb connection.

[Win2Win]

........seems to happen after 12 at night for some reason, never during the day) and Im wondering if there is anything I should be checking/doing...................................
Go to bed early :D

Plusnet just told me my free upgrade to 8MB/s is going ahead :D

[KC*]

scaaty/wbailey

Click START > RUN and type in CMD then press enter or click OK.
In the DOS prompt box type:- tracert bbc.co.uk

Try using a few other websites and at different times, if the same hops are slow then this should indicate where the fault is, sometimes it's worth disconnecting your connection ie. unplug your router/modem from the phone socket to stop it syncing with the exchange and then reconnect. It may reconnect on another of your ISP's broadband pipes which may not be suffering from this fault.

[wb]

scaaty/wbailey

Click START > RUN and type in CMD then press enter or click OK.
In the DOS prompt box type:- tracert bbc.co.uk

Try using a few other websites and at different times, if the same hops are slow then this should indicate where the fault is, sometimes it's worth disconnecting your connection ie. unplug your router/modem from the phone socket to stop it syncing with the exchange and then reconnect. It may reconnect on another of your ISP's broadband pipes which may not be suffering from this fault.


Thanks for the reply KC. Unfortunately, I am not well up on how it all works. Perhaps you may be able to tell me what some of this means:

[scaaty]

I haven't a clue what it means either Wayne - how come you get there in 7 hops and it takes me 14 ??? :doh You got seven league boots or something ?:D

Anyway, I had an email from AOL yesterday to say my connection is being upgraded to 8Mbs over the next ten days and I should expect speed variations until the upgrade's completed - it's all over the place at the moment, lightning fast last night, slowed to a crawl this morning. Just have to wait and see how it goes :)

[KC*]

Thanks for the reply KC. Unfortunately, I am not well up on how it all works. Perhaps you may be able to tell me what some of this means:


No problem m8.

You have 7 hops, each hop is a router from your modem to the bbc.co.uk website, the tracert command basically shows you your path from your modem to the bbc.co.uk webpage by ICMP packets (sending Internet Control Message Protocol).

I could get more detailed if you want but there is no need as it has shown your connection looks fine for broadband, anything upto 30ms is what you should be expecting, during peak internet usage on your ISP it can vary upto 50ms.

If your connection is 50:1 and more than the average amount of people decide to all download a large file at the same time you will see your ms increase into the 100's, if there is a fault with your broadband via BT/ISP then it could reach 1000's which is of course a real problem and one that your ISP will investigate.

[KC*]

I haven't a clue what it means either Wayne - how come you get there in 7 hops and it takes me 14 ??? :doh You got seven league boots or something ?:D

Anyway, I had an email from AOL yesterday to say my connection is being upgraded to 8Mbs over the next ten days and I should expect speed variations until the upgrade's completed - it's all over the place at the moment, lightning fast last night, slowed to a crawl this morning. Just have to wait and see how it goes :)


LOL, if your with AOL then when you did a tracert it may have hopped over to the US first before coming back to the bbc.co.uk website in the UK, this should not slow down your ms but of course does add time due to more hops being added.

I'm guessing as never used AOL so unsure how their broadband works.

[samantha1303]

I am with NTL on broadband.
My speed is 270?
Should it be higher than this??