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Question

Can I keep my wifi speeds by paying for slower plan?

Apr 23, 2019 8:09AM PDT

Hi guys! Quick question for you networking pros.

I currently have Verizon FiOS and pay for 1gig internet. I have my smart tv hooked directly into the ethernet cable which does yield me true 1gig download speeds. For personal computer use I use wifi 99.9% of the time. My router is capable of handling 1gig speeds but due to the location of my router I routinely can only achieve 200MB download speeds (not interested in moving the location of router so please do not suggest that).

My question is, if I pay for a slower internet speed from Verizon to save money and keep my setup the exact same as long as my download speed to router is greater than 200MB will I still see the same wireless performance when I use my computer or will the wifi speed drop in proportion to the overall speed coming into router? If I cut the speed in half and pay for around 500MB download speed will I only get 100MB from router everything else being equal or will it remain at 200MB because I'm only losing speed based on the location of router etc?

My thought is that I will still get 200MB on wifi with a slower plan but wanted to see if I was thinking about this the right way.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I'd say the chances are 50/50.
Apr 23, 2019 8:19AM PDT

You'll only know if you change it. I've yet to see anyone download from say some web site at 1 gigabit because that 1gbps is the speed from Verizon to you and NOT from all servers on the Internet to you. A lot of folk can't grasp this concept.

My bet is the speed loss is the old WiFi compatibility issues. That is, some WiFi adapters do better than others and folk rarely have the gumption to try other adapters.

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What about the math?
Apr 23, 2019 10:09AM PDT

Thanks for the reply, but that doesn't get to the heart of the question.

There has to be a simple mathematical answer to this based on networking theory and assuming you keep any moving parts the same for both scenarios and only difference is speed coming from provider. Considering the fact my router has ability to output much higher speeds via wireless when I'm standing next to it yet as you would expect the signal drops off (exponentially) as I go to my normal computer use location (which is perfectly normal). If I have a lower bandwidth signal coming from Verizon (don't worry about individual site performance) should I expect the overall speed to remain at its current levels as long as it is within the capabilities of my hardware or should it decrease proportionally because the source bandwidth allotted is lower to start?

As you can imagine switching plans to test isn't an ideal solution (although it would work) since there is no guarantee I can return to my old plan if in fact my speed drops by 50% on wifi.

After thinking about this more I'm actually starting to think 1 gig coming into router which translates to 200Mb on my couch will actually drop to 100Mb on my couch if signal coming into router has a bandwidth of 500Mb.

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In theory
Apr 23, 2019 11:32AM PDT

In theory if the WiFi is 200 megabits per second (200Mbps) then your ISP speed needs to be 200+ to keep up that speed. This can be dashed by the ISP and Internet speed changes. The 1 Gbps and 200+ Mbps is ONLY from your modem to Verizon and so many folk get upset over less than the 200 or 1,000 Mbps when getting out on the Internet. This is how it works and I decline from writing at length.

However in theory if your ISP is 200+ the speed should seem about the same. Maybe it will show a small drop in benchmarks but close enough for government work.

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Answer
my experience with verizon...
Apr 23, 2019 11:57AM PDT

...is soon as you upgrade to a higher speed, suddenly the lower speed plan will shift to the same price so you won't go back, or in some cases even $10 higher. Check on that before changing back to lower speed.