I hope I'm posting in the right section, but I'm not sure. Please move me if I'm not. I was having an issue with my internet connection which has been resolved but during testing I noticed something that bothered me and I couldn't get the tech from my isp to give me a straight answer. Which bothers me even more. I'm paying for 18mbps d/l. I'm actually receiving 15.5-16mbps. What I can't figure out is that why when I'm downloading a game which maxes out at 1.8mbps d/l speed, why does my speedtest.net tests drop from an average around 16mbps to 6mbps. I'm using just under 2mbps to d/l the game but my d/l speed is dropping 10 points. What happened to the other 8? Btw, my isp is ATT U-Verse.
Gee Ghoul, I assume you are on DSL and phone lines are just not so great.. It will depend on your phone line, the speed of the server, just how busy and how far away the server is.. etc. etc. And I doubt that AT&T will give you a straight answer.. My internet is bundled with TV and phone. I use Sudden link Cable and have 50mbs but if I wanted to drop some buck$ I could go up to 1 gig... I am on 50 mbs cable.. Just checked my speed on 3 different speed tests and got the following: test1: download 50.40mbs - upload 5.39mbs test2: 51.00mbs - 5.50mbs test3: 51.07mbs - 5.47mbs Those were fairly close servers and they weren't doing any business with hardly anyone but me.....
I'm aware that there are faster speeds out there but 18mbps is the fastest ATT offers in my area and no it isn't DSL. The only other option I know about is Comcast and I had nothing but problems with them before. Getting back to my question, do you know why there was such a big discrepancy between my tests when I wasn't using very much to d/l?
As I said: It will depend on your phone line, the speed of the server, just how busy and how far away the server is.. DSL (Digital Subscriber Link) is a type of high speed internet access that is delivered across the telephone networks, like AT&T. Most of the old copper phone lines have been around for years and are incapable of delivering a stable, clean digital signal... I doubt very much that your contract with ATT guarantees that you receive 18mbs. It probably says something like up to 18mbs.... They cannot guarantee they can deliver a steady 18mbs over those old copper phone lines because it will fluctuate depending on a lot of factors... If you can't get a fiber optic cable in your area then maybe you can try a dish, also not very reliable.
Oh, I forgot to ask. What problem did you have with Comcast? I was understanding they were cable and offered internet speeds of 75 to 150mbs.....
The server is across the street from me. We literally have the same address on consecutive streets. It's not phone line either, it's fiber optic cable. I don't know why they don't go higher. Either I'm not understanding your answer, or you're not understanding my question. What happened to the other 8mb? I ran at least a dozen tests the only variable was whether I was downloading the game or not. The highest bandwidth draw I saw from the game was 1.8mbps why does a d/l that small cause a 10mbps drop? I had them for over 2 years and every single month (not an exaggeration) I was calling to complain because my service would go out for 3 or 4 days. Conveniently, it would start working again right before the tech showed up to "fix it" so they could never "find out what the problem was". It always took them at least 4 days to get a tech out and it was always working within 24 hours before they showed up. With ATT if I have a problem today, they will be here tomorrow. I've had them for 4 years and only called them, at most, 3 or 4 times. They always get right to the problem and fix it. With Comcast I always felt like a piece of %&^#, they didn't care about me.
Most probably an exchange across the street surely The only people that can tell you i suspect is your own isp,there's no knowing what the issue is without testing between you & the isp & how those connections are made including how the cable is joined at it's joints along the way. (see you tube how is fibre optic cable made,it's quite interesting especially the 3 options of how they join cable ends together,not all joins are created equal),even the cable from your house to the road could be the cause I'm on vdsl (copper but faster than adsl,vdsl can give up to 100mbps if i'm not mistaken) 28.5 mbps down 4.80 up actual speed i see 3mbps down (used to be 2.2 they must've upgraded somewhere & quite possibly joined copper to cable at the exchange ?) & 1mbps up
The problem may not be your ISP. Just because you can DL at 18 mbs doesn't mean the server has enough BW to service all the DL ers at their max speed.
I think I said that. And I didn't know AT&T had cable.. I thought it was all phone lines and DSL, which is Not Reliable. period...
