Quizzes & Puzzles1 min ago
Can anyone explain broadband speeds?
I've got Virgin cable broadband, which they say is 50mb.
The network & sharing centre says I'm getting 300mbps.
Just done one of these online checks, which says 2.93mbps.(?)
How do the units work?
If 300mbps equals 30mb, am I on the wrong product? - My old router showed about 120mbps, this is one of Virgin's latest.
The network & sharing centre says I'm getting 300mbps.
Just done one of these online checks, which says 2.93mbps.(?)
How do the units work?
If 300mbps equals 30mb, am I on the wrong product? - My old router showed about 120mbps, this is one of Virgin's latest.
Answers
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> 've got Virgin cable broadband, which they say is 50mb.
No they don't. Read carefully - they say *up to* 50 Mbps. Residential broadband does not come with absolutes like this because of things like contention ratio, etc.
> Just done one of these online checks, which says 2.93mbps.(?)
They are all, without exception, a total waste of time because they can never work! However, be prepared for the great and the good round here to tell you otherwise. They don't tell you your Broadband throughput - they can't! All they can tell you is how fast their server is sending data packets to you, across any number of hops all of which could be experiencing high load volume etc.
No they don't. Read carefully - they say *up to* 50 Mbps. Residential broadband does not come with absolutes like this because of things like contention ratio, etc.
> Just done one of these online checks, which says 2.93mbps.(?)
They are all, without exception, a total waste of time because they can never work! However, be prepared for the great and the good round here to tell you otherwise. They don't tell you your Broadband throughput - they can't! All they can tell you is how fast their server is sending data packets to you, across any number of hops all of which could be experiencing high load volume etc.
Generally speaking the figure quoted by the ISP is a fantasy figure that they can show could occur in perfect conditions if you were right next to their server and the only one using it. Consider it as either a lie or at best the "no more than" limit.
One off checks can be out because available speed varies throughout the day so what you get now may not be your average obtainable speed.
Beware the difference between speed data is travelling down the line and speed useful information arrives at your PC. the speed on the cable is going to be fairly constant, the speed you receive useful information will vary on many factors, mainly how many folk are using the link at that time.
One off checks can be out because available speed varies throughout the day so what you get now may not be your average obtainable speed.
Beware the difference between speed data is travelling down the line and speed useful information arrives at your PC. the speed on the cable is going to be fairly constant, the speed you receive useful information will vary on many factors, mainly how many folk are using the link at that time.
1) it's 50Mb/s (mega *Bits* per second) which would be 8 times slower than 50MB/s (mega *bytes* per second)........ note the use of a capital M and a lower case b, a small mb would be millibits.
Right now that's out the way :)
Your internet connection is meant to be 50Mb/s, the 300Mb/s you are being told about on your computer is the speed of the connection between your computer and your router, not the speed your router is connected to the internet.
And for the 2.93Mb/s look here
http://www.theregiste..._media_superhub_fail/
Right now that's out the way :)
Your internet connection is meant to be 50Mb/s, the 300Mb/s you are being told about on your computer is the speed of the connection between your computer and your router, not the speed your router is connected to the internet.
And for the 2.93Mb/s look here
http://www.theregiste..._media_superhub_fail/
What it boils down to, is that the old-fashipned BT-owned cabling that many folk depend on for tinterweb simply cannot run at more than about 2mbps (Markrae? This about right?) Which is why we need a fibroptic infrastrcuture for telcoms asap. But which BT won't do because it involves spending money instead of raking it off people. And which they won't let anyone else do either.
So although the broadband speeds exist, they don't get to you because the cabling makes it like trying to force custard down a straw.
So although the broadband speeds exist, they don't get to you because the cabling makes it like trying to force custard down a straw.
> 1 the 300Mbps is the router's best speed, unrelated to the actual broadband speed?
As has been explained, that is the speed between your router and your internal hardware. Several things will affect that, not just the router itself, e.g. age and quality of your network card, age and quality of the ethernet cable etc.
> 2 there is no way of fiding out what actual speed I'm getting?
The only way to do that is to download several largish files at the same time from as close to the Virgin network as possible until you max out your Broadband connection. Then, add up the individual speeds.
Virgin used to have a download site with half a dozen or so 100Mb files for precisely this purpose, but I can't find it at the moment...
As has been explained, that is the speed between your router and your internal hardware. Several things will affect that, not just the router itself, e.g. age and quality of your network card, age and quality of the ethernet cable etc.
> 2 there is no way of fiding out what actual speed I'm getting?
The only way to do that is to download several largish files at the same time from as close to the Virgin network as possible until you max out your Broadband connection. Then, add up the individual speeds.
Virgin used to have a download site with half a dozen or so 100Mb files for precisely this purpose, but I can't find it at the moment...
1) pretty much. it's the speed of the link between your laptop and the router, you router then has a separate connection to the internet which should be 50Mb/s
2) despite what others are saying a selection of speed tests to well known speed test sites will give you a good indication of what you are getting, in fact a better indication of real word usage speeds than a test located on your ISPs network, it's the speed you can connect to other machines on the internet that's important, not just the speed you can connect to your ISP. if you use a couple of the better known speed test sites and try at varying times of day you should be able to build a good picture of the real world figures you are getting. A single test may not give a clear picture as there are a lot of other factors that can influence the speed results.
Try
http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/
And
http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/
And if I was you I'd be keeping a very close eye on the upcoming superhub firmware update to make sure you get it.
2) despite what others are saying a selection of speed tests to well known speed test sites will give you a good indication of what you are getting, in fact a better indication of real word usage speeds than a test located on your ISPs network, it's the speed you can connect to other machines on the internet that's important, not just the speed you can connect to your ISP. if you use a couple of the better known speed test sites and try at varying times of day you should be able to build a good picture of the real world figures you are getting. A single test may not give a clear picture as there are a lot of other factors that can influence the speed results.
Try
http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/
And
http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/
And if I was you I'd be keeping a very close eye on the upcoming superhub firmware update to make sure you get it.
Thanks, everyone !
Chuck - I'll pester Virgin about the superhub ; there have been problems and I might get the engineer back.
I'll run those speed checks, but at the end of the day, I still don't think I'll be a lot wiser as to whether I;m getting value for money.
I've had the Virgin invite to sign up to their Tivo device - I'll put up another question...
Chuck - I'll pester Virgin about the superhub ; there have been problems and I might get the engineer back.
I'll run those speed checks, but at the end of the day, I still don't think I'll be a lot wiser as to whether I;m getting value for money.
I've had the Virgin invite to sign up to their Tivo device - I'll put up another question...
>No they don't. Read carefully - they say *up to* 50 Mbps
While this is very true of BT lines it is less true of Virgin cable lines.
BT lines degrade the further you are from the exchange, so the further you are away the slower your Broadband.
Virgin cable lines DONT degrade so if you are paying for 50Mb you normally get 50Mb.
I have just upgraded to 30Mb from 20Mb, and when I do a BB speed test I always get about 31 or 32Mb.
(I am not saying Virgin dont have BB problems, and I know some people complain about their Virgin BB speed, but generally Virgin do deliever the speed they promise)
While this is very true of BT lines it is less true of Virgin cable lines.
BT lines degrade the further you are from the exchange, so the further you are away the slower your Broadband.
Virgin cable lines DONT degrade so if you are paying for 50Mb you normally get 50Mb.
I have just upgraded to 30Mb from 20Mb, and when I do a BB speed test I always get about 31 or 32Mb.
(I am not saying Virgin dont have BB problems, and I know some people complain about their Virgin BB speed, but generally Virgin do deliever the speed they promise)
>> No they don't. Read carefully - they say *up to* 50 Mbps
> While this is very true of BT lines it is less true of Virgin cable lines.
Virgin Media are extremely careful to include the "up to" disclaimer everywhere:
http://shop.virginmed...band/up-to-100mb.html
> While this is very true of BT lines it is less true of Virgin cable lines.
Virgin Media are extremely careful to include the "up to" disclaimer everywhere:
http://shop.virginmed...band/up-to-100mb.html
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