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General discussion

what speed is highspeed?

Jan 29, 2009 10:11PM PST

my provider is Comcast and I must admit that they irritate me with the lack of service. But, I've been tracking my internet upload and download speeds over of the last year using Speedtest.net and they're both consistently below 2000 kb/s. Seems to me that I'm paying for better than that but don't know for sure.

Discussion is locked

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Remember that speed
Jan 29, 2009 10:47PM PST

They don't own the entire network from your PC to the site you are speed testing. Also when others are speed testing, the speeds drop. How are you going to get everyone else off the internet so you can test the speed?

And then we talk about TORRENTS. Those speeds are iffy at best.
Bob

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going back to my original question
Jan 29, 2009 11:24PM PST

A Comcast Tech told me once what I should expect from the system but I don't remember the numbers although it seems to me that my test results are about half of what to expect as a minimum and what I should expect was significantly higher.

On the testing, I use three different tests sights at off hours. So at 4:00 AM this morning I tested Albuquerque to Colorado Springs, Albuquerque to El Paso and Albuquerque to Phoenix; all with similiar results.

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To do this test.
Jan 29, 2009 11:27PM PST

We would test from the PC connection to some Cox supplied speed test site and keep the hops down to about 3 or 4 maximum. If you get outside the Cox network you are no longer testing Cox's connection speed but the speed of the connection all along from you across Cox, other providers, the Internet and back.

Some demand that Cox fix the Internet.
Bob

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To answer the original question.
Jan 30, 2009 1:03AM PST

You could consider "highspeed" as anything other than dial-up. such as DSL, Cable, or T1. 2000kbps is actually quite fine. That would be normal for DSL.

I would like to know what kind of connection you have, cable? Also, what does your service agreement state you should get? After talking with some techs at Cox and Comcast, they consider it within normal range if you are getting at least 70% of the stated speeds.

There has been quite a discussion on what to consider actual throughput testing and whether or not it's realistic and to what extent.

Your speeds will vary and will continue to for a long time. Thats just the fundamental aspect of this beast we call broadband. If you can cruise the internets and manage to be happy with the results than you are good. Some people however, take it much more seriously, like it's there job.

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Thanks for the feedback
Jan 30, 2009 1:21AM PST

Given the size of my monthly Comcast cable TV/internet bill, I was expecting faster speeds