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View Full Version : How's your internet speed? Did you get an increase recently?



Harold Mansfield
03-09-2013, 11:53 AM
I got an email this week from my ISP that my speed was increased from [up to] 50mpbs to [up to] 150mbps, and on top of that my bill decreased by $10 a month. I checked it, and it seems to be true.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/2561986524.png (http://www.speedtest.net)


I'd been hearing about speeds like this from cable providers for about a year now in the Washington D.C. area, and my company did say that they were working on it, but I never imagined that they would just offer it as a system upgrade. I figured they'd roll it out at something obscene like $200 a month.

I even called to check that what I was seeing was true and not going to cost me more. And it's legit.

My internet bill was always a sore spot with me. I wanted the speed, but I felt like they were overcharging for it. Now with the new speed increase, I feel a little better about it...or at least I'm not cursng them as much.

I was wondering is it getting better across the board for everyone, or is it still sporadic depending on where you are?

Freelancier
03-09-2013, 12:32 PM
I haven't seen it here and it hasn't really been promised to us Comcast users in Atlanta. But about 4 years ago when they were rolling out their higher speeds, they upgraded my service without mentioning it and without increasing the cost. Just suddenly I was running twice as fast. I'm currently topping out at 30 Mb download and 6 Mb upload, but that could also be limited by my older router's abilities.

MyITGuy
03-09-2013, 02:16 PM
Brighthouse recently rolled out an upgrade to their users here in Florida at no charge.

10/1 got upgraded to 30/2
30/2 got upgraded to 40/5

Not sure about business users, but I know my 50/5 package got upgraded to 70/5...but I frequently see speeds above that:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/2562284734.png

billbenson
03-09-2013, 09:13 PM
Brighthouse recently rolled out an upgrade to their users here in Florida at no charge.

10/1 got upgraded to 30/2
30/2 got upgraded to 40/5

Not sure about business users, but I know my 50/5 package got upgraded to 70/5...but I frequently see speeds above that:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/2562284734.png

I've always had good service from Brighthouse. I have fiber to the curb with Verizon Fios available as well but they want a contract, and have unknown QOS. I haven't done a price comparison, but for industries such as cellular, cable, and internet which are known for terrible customer support, Brighthouse has been great.

KristineS
03-11-2013, 01:42 PM
Charter did something like this a while back. It was an increase in speed without an upcharge. About the only time Charter has done anything like that.

Harold Mansfield
03-19-2013, 11:30 AM
A few things I noticed with the speed increase.

- Some websites still load slow. So it wasn't my speed, it's their servers, and all of the ads they have running that are only going to load so fast.
- My FTP program works flawlessly now.
- The Wifi around the house is super strong now and all of my wireless devices perform much better. Even with the 50mbps, I was still getting time outs and lag when I watched video on my tablet or iPod. I upgraded routers and it was still inconsistent. That router definitely comes in handy now.

The verdict? I'm very pleased. Everything works at the speed that I thought it was always supposed to.
If your ISP starts to offer it, I highly recommend it.

Freelancier
03-19-2013, 11:44 AM
Some websites still load slow.

Many business web servers are locked at 1 Mbps by their hosting provider. Just depends on what they bought. I found that with the extra speed, I could download larger software packages in much less time... but sites where frequent downloads weren't expected, the owning company short-changed on their bandwidth.

MyITGuy
03-19-2013, 09:09 PM
A few things I noticed with the speed increase.

- Some websites still load slow. So it wasn't my speed, it's their servers, and all of the ads they have running that are only going to load so fast.
- My FTP program works flawlessly now.
- The Wifi around the house is super strong now and all of my wireless devices perform much better. Even with the 50mbps, I was still getting time outs and lag when I watched video on my tablet or iPod. I upgraded routers and it was still inconsistent. That router definitely comes in handy now.

The verdict? I'm very pleased. Everything works at the speed that I thought it was always supposed to.
If your ISP starts to offer it, I highly recommend it.

Sounds like those issues could have been due to an overloaded node.

I'd be curious to know what websites still load slow, or you can test them yourself using LoadImpact.com or Pingdom Tools (http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/) to see if its the server or still something going on with your connection.

Harold Mansfield
03-19-2013, 09:13 PM
I'd be curious to know what websites still load slow, or you can test them yourself using LoadImpact.com or Pingdom Tools (http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/) to see if its the server or still something going on with your connection.

It's mainly news sites and blogs that load 20 ads and a "Sign up for our newsletter" pop up before you can even see the content on the page. WordPress sites running 30 plug ins, and sites that are just poorly designed.

billbenson
03-19-2013, 10:05 PM
@ MyITGuy - The speed tests usually use some large image or the likes to tell you your speed. Every time I've done a download of a large file, Open Suse is a 7G download for example, or even much smaller files, but large files none the less I get 1.2 M download or the likes. Always assumed network routers in combination with servers were the weak link. That being said, what do I care if my local ISP is giving me 50 M?

What is the weak link and why would a fast speed from your local ISP matter if it's out of their control what the network can provide?

MyITGuy
03-19-2013, 11:13 PM
@ MyITGuy - The speed tests usually use some large image or the likes to tell you your speed. Every time I've done a download of a large file, Open Suse is a 7G download for example, or even much smaller files, but large files none the less I get 1.2 M download or the likes. Always assumed network routers in combination with servers were the weak link. That being said, what do I care if my local ISP is giving me 50 M?

What is the weak link and why would a fast speed from your local ISP matter if it's out of their control what the network can provide?

Servers, QOS and Bandwidth available per connection is the weak link. While you may only be getting 1.2M or the like while downloading a 7Gb file of OpenSuse, thats through a single connection that is likely being limited. While this may be the case today, it wont be the case in the future as bandwidth/hardware costs are coming down for providers, while consumer connection speeds are increasing.

Obtain an FTP Client or Download Manager that can utilize multiple streams (I.E. Torrents comes in handy here), that 1.2M can be quantified based on the number of connections you open (I.E. 4 Connections would net you 4.8M down).

A big advantage to having 50M is if you have several users on the same network. I.E. Two of your kids can be streaming Netflix streams at 3M a piece, while your performing an OpenSuse Download at 1.2M, browsing the web and streaming music in the background while your wife is going through Pinterest/Instagram high-res photos. Just these 4 users could be consuming 12M at any given time doing basic stuff.

billbenson
03-19-2013, 11:49 PM
Interesting. Thanks Jeff

Harold Mansfield
03-20-2013, 09:17 AM
On that "weak link" subject. Do high speed Ethernet cables make any significant difference?
I've seen them rated at "10Gbps", or called CAT6.

I like my router, and had to upgrade my modem a while back but it seems weird to still be using the same old cords.

If so, what should I be looking for?

MyITGuy
03-20-2013, 10:28 AM
On that "weak link" subject. Do high speed Ethernet cables make any significant difference?
I've seen them rated at "10Gbps", or called CAT6.

I like my router, and had to upgrade my modem a while back but it seems weird to still be using the same old cords.

If so, what should I be looking for?

At 1Gbps, your standard Cat5E cables are fine. Remember, Cat5 was rated up to 100Mb, and Cat5E can support 1Gb and your ISP speeds are nowhere near this yet (Unless you have Verizon FIOS or Google Fiber).
Cat6 only comes in handy when you have longer lengths/speeds at play.

An additional item to keep in mind is shielding/noise. If your cables run close to electrical and/or phone lines then you will want shielded cables that will block some of the noise these lines generate...although it would likely be cheaper/easier just to move the cables away from these sources. You can check/verify if this is the case by picking up a cheap toner at Home Depot/Lowes. If the line is good you should just hear the tone itself. If the line is affected by electrical and/or phone lines you will hear a buzzing noise due to the power/noise it is picking up.

MyITGuy
03-20-2013, 10:32 AM
On that "weak link" subject. Do high speed Ethernet cables make any significant difference?

Regarding this specific item, its just marketing hype for your average consumer really. If you're buying a CAT6 cable, then you also need to have $10K+ at minimum invested in networking equipment alone.

This is a similar tactic to the Monster 'Gold Plated' HDMI cables that Best Buy will sell you for $100+ which gives you the same signal quality as an HDMI Cable you buy from MonoPrice for $5.

Harold Mansfield
03-20-2013, 10:36 AM
Regarding this specific item, its just marketing hype for your average consumer really. If you're buying a CAT6 cable, then you also need to have $10K+ at minimum invested in networking equipment alone.

This is a similar tactic to the Monster 'Gold Plated' HDMI cables that Best Buy will sell you for $100+ which gives you the same signal quality as an HDMI Cable you buy from MonoPrice for $5.

I always wondered about that as well. I definitely appreciate your knowledge on the subject. I know enough about hardware to put something nice together, and to keep my own stuff running well, but when we start getting into performance numbers and specifics I'm still a caveman, "Higher numbers must be better and faster".

I had some problems with my connection a while back and my ISP sent out at least 3 teams of specialists. I learned more in that one week than I ever knew about how fragile the whole thing can be between not just what you have, but what you are accessing and all of the things that can go wrong in between.

I'm amazed the whole thing [The internet] works everyday.

MyITGuy
03-20-2013, 02:18 PM
I had some problems with my connection a while back and my ISP sent out at least 3 teams of specialists. I learned more in that one week than I ever knew about how fragile the whole thing can be between not just what you have, but what you are accessing and all of the things that can go wrong in between.

The BrightHouse Management team in my area knows me pretty well. My house is in an area that hasn't been built up to its full potential yet (4 houses on my block, and the whole neighborhood is like that), and even though they just installed all new equipment/lines in my area about 3-4 years ago I still have the occasional issues.

Every so often I will see my signal levels drop which causes internet and TV issues and almost every time its caused by another technician adjusting levels at the node/taps (In response to another customer they are working with) which affects my line. I don't even bother with the support queue and just fire off an e-mail or voice mail to the area supervisor and its corrected that day...the next at the latest.


I'm amazed the whole thing [The internet] works everyday.
Agreed! Especially when you look at a simple traceroute and take into account that each hop on that list likely represents entirely different facilities, each requiring their own power, cooling and networks (Most likely in redundant configurations) which each have their own nuances and requirements.

And this doesn't even account for things like DNS (translating domain names to IP addresses) and their infrastructure, BGP/OSPF Sessions which tell other pieces of equipment how to get to certain networks...and most BGP/OSPF Sessions will announce addresses from different parts of the continent/world, in addition to having these pieces of networks attacked on a continuous basis...