[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Answer Line: An obscenely slow Internet connection when you're paying for a fast one here

[HvonT]

I h ad to fight with Cablevision for a year to get anything close to the 15mbs speed I was paying for. Finally, they installed a DOCSIS 3 modem, usually only used for 30mbs accounts. Now, I get rated speed up and down, except during busy hours, when it is slightly lower.

Occasionally, I have to reboot my router when I notice lower speeds.

[okdoki]

I have Charter in northern Michigan and check my speed daily. Just checked on speedtest.net and the results were 33mps download and 3.8mps upload. I am paying for 30. I am on a new charter modem with a new wireless router.

[ronin7752]

A good rating on Speedtest doesn't confirm anything. ISPs can (*and do*) prioritize packets going to and from "speed test" sites. There are many reasons that your performance is less than advertised, but wireless and router issues are the *least* frequent that I see. Usually it is software/browser issues on the PC, or network management issues by the ISP.

Keep in mind that the "advertised speed" is like the speed limit on a freeway. Just because 75 MPH is allowed, doesn't mean you can always drive at that speed. (e.g. At rush hour, you'll be lucky to get 10MPH.) In particular, if you live in an area that is rapidly increasing in population, you will regularly experience slow-down problems, because ISPs will not expand their networks until they absolutely have to...

[wth1954]

The proper way to represent .7 in text is to write 0.7 - not "(note the decimal point)".

[oldretiredfart]

Quote

The proper way to represent .7 in text is to write 0.7 - not "(note the decimal point)".

I see you got a lot out of that article.....

[Murkalael]

Most Brazillian ISP deliver average 10% speed hired, a few are starting adjust new demands of regulatory agency that says they have to deliver at least 80% until next world soccer cup that will be hosted here in 2014

[lodave]

Still stuck with pathetically slow DSL, since AT&T ate SBC which previously ate Pacbell, we're getting slower service than ten years ago! AT&T put speed caps (limiters) on and reduced speeds unless a premium price was paid for "upgrade levels". In the middle of a large city we only get a maximum of 2.3Mbps, but paying for 3.0. They blame the difference on "overhead" and distance from the central office, however there are three other central offices that are closer! We won't get into the horrendously unreliable POP3 email service over the past year or more (previously good).

[MKZ1945]

I live near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our electric power provider here installed a fiber optics system throughout the city and surrounding suburbs, and much like Charter, Comcast, and others they provide Internet, Phone, and also Cable for television. It’s relatively small and very local, but are driving other ISP nuts here. The minimum internet speed offered is 50 Mbps and higher speeds can be purchased, up to 1000 Mbps. I currently have 100 Mbps. With the fiber optics system these speeds are the same for upload and download and are much higher then anything else offered here and probably in most of the U.S.

Most of the speed test sites don’t register beyond 50 Mbps, and most want you to download their software to improve your speed. Many have registered my speed down in the DSL range. www.speedtest.net does seem to provide a closer measure of the speed of my system, however “ronin7752” is correct regarding what your system might be capable of and what traffic will allow. If speed is measured at different times of the day, speed can vary a lot. On that site my speed ranges from Mid 40s Mbps to near 80 Mbps. Being in the eastern time zone where most of the population is at in this country, you can tell when everyone gets out of school and home from work. Around 4 PM my speeds are down significantly then those checked around 9 AM.

There is software that will allow you to track the speed of your system as you enter various sites on the internet, and you might be surprised to find the difference in connection speeds among the various sites you visit. Having the 100 Mbps capability is nice, but not many sites you visit are capable of communicating at those speeds. Still, it is nice when receiving and sending large files. Normally, the only way to really insure you are getting the speed you are paying for is to do the speed test between your computer and the ISP. If you are seeing significantly less than what you’re paying for it’s probably time to do some trouble shooting.

[Tonymanx]

I have Time/Warner and pay for the cheapest service and get anywhere from 10 to 24 Mbps. I have .0 complaints :-)

[Tex1]

I have Time Warner Signature for Internet, TV, & Phone. INternet speeds are a reliable 50 Mbps + download, and 4.89 + Mbps Upload speeds. I pay for the 50/5 Mbps package, so these speeds are right where they should be, There are faster speed packages available, but this is more than enough for my purposes.

[blk123]

When ever I think my up and down speeds are getting slow I simply unplug my modem and router for 3 or 4 minutes, plug them in again and all is back to normal.

[jebswebs]

One more thing to consider: If you are getting great speed when connected via Ethernet, but lousy wireless -and you happen to live in a "crowded neighborhood" - it could be your signals are getting interfered with by other wireless routers. I use a free app called inSSIDer to view all of the wireless devices in my apartment building and then change the channel on my wireless router to one not being used by others close by. One would think they would invent a router that would do this automatically (find the best channel), but... I also recently upgraded to a MotorolaSURFboard DOCSIS3 modem/router when TimeWarner wanted to charge me $4/month for the crappy modem they provided, and my speeds when through the roof as a result. Also much better, stronger WiFi signal. Worth the cost - the modem was not cheap.

[Axwell]

Yawn.

[mjd420nova]

Like blk123, the modem seems to loose its full throughput and a reset brings things back to normal. AT&T will tell me it's the lines in the house. Getting a solid 2.4 Mbps. Used to get Comcast and on the lowest tier it was 18 Mbps. It seems that the provider can put you on any central office, I'm located on one almost 20 miles away. You'd never know until you get to one of those websites that can read the ISP office or the name server and its location.

[shepido]

Question: Reasons Why Highspeed Internet Can Become Sluggish
Answer: Slow internet connections happen for various reasons, even when you pay for a 'highspeed connection' like DSL or cable. Because the internet (and World Wide Web) is built on hundreds of different technologies trying to talk to each other, there are many places where data can slow down before its reaches your computer screen. Your ISP might be at fault, certainly, but there are many other factors to look at before assigning blame. Some of these slow points are within your control, and can be quickly fixed with a little do-it-yourself effort.

Common reasons why highspeed internet connections perform more slowly than claimed:
You might have poor hardware connecting your machine to the wall.
Maybe your modem-router is not configured correctly.
Perhaps you have dishonest people leeching your wireless connection from across the alley.
Your network interface card (NIC) is older and slower hardware.
You might have spyware/malware infecting your machine, and secretly using your Internet bandwidth.
A download may be occuring in the background, and you are unaware of it as it leeches your bandwidth.
Your ISP (internet service provider) may be having issues with routing signals to you.
DNS (domain name system) tables might be outdated, so signals are getting sent to the wrong addresses on your ISP network.
Your browser memory cache is so full, your browser has to slow down to allow for its limited hard drive space.
Radio or microwave devices in your home might be degrading your internet wireless signal.
Your computer is more than 3 years old, and is not able to move electrons fast enough for modern web pages.
You have unwittingly left dozens of windows open in the background, and they are clogging your computer CPU.
A Windows or Mac dialog box is sitting open and unanswered in the computer background, stalling your computer CPU while it awaits your yes/no input.
These are just some of many possibilities. If you think that your internet connection is slow, we recommend you do two things:
Do a speed test on your computer: DSLreports.com speed testing or Speedtest.net