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General discussion

2.5 download rate but downloading at 300kbps

Feb 8, 2008 10:48AM PST

I have Att pro dsl and the rate that i have is 2.5 mbps down and 480 kbps up. However when I am downloading music or anything in the nature the highest rate that I download is 300 kbps. This to me doesnt sound right shouldnt I download at at or around 2.5 mbps?

Discussion is locked

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rates are maximum
Feb 8, 2008 10:50AM PST

these are the maximum rates of downloading provided that no other application is using the connection.
And that the download manager uses a good file retrieval application.

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l
Feb 8, 2008 10:58AM PST

att says that my speed is from 1.5 to 3.0 mbps and i dont even see anywhere near that. you are probably right but its not right that they advertise that i would see these speeds and then i dont even come close to getting those speeds

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The answer. . .
Feb 9, 2008 12:24AM PST

Download speeds are measured in perfect laboratory conditions in a closed system in the lab. Actual download speeds depend on the connection, net congestion, hops through the ATM network, packet size, ATM switch congestion, ATM routing, and other minor irritations. Don't ever expect the advertised speed to match your actual speed. It just won't happen.

As a side note:

a 10/100 LAN connection will never run at 100 Mb/s.
a Gigabit LAN will never run at 1,000 Mb/s.
a wireless G (54 Mb/s) will never run at that speed.
a wireless N will never run at it's advertised speed.

Wayne

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I see I see
Feb 9, 2008 2:33AM PST

I see what you mean. But when I upgraded I was just hoping to see atleast a minor increase on what I was already downloading at. thanx anyway for the explanation.

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You might try. . .
Feb 9, 2008 3:14AM PST

here http://www.dslreports.com/tools

Download and run the Speed test.

Run the Tweak Test. Write down your results.

Download and run Dr. TCP and make the adjustments recommended in the Tweak Test.

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Suggest also...
Feb 9, 2008 7:04AM PST

...that you check whether your modem is detecting the download/upload stream advertized speed. Enter the modem's IP address at your browser and find your way through WAN connection.../...modem status. Also note that the connection speed to your ISP is way different to the connection speed to the server you download from(which has to pass through your ISP before getting to you.).