Cable modem question

[wavinwayne]

My cable internet download speed is not as fast as I feel it should be. I've been using the same cable modem that I got from my ISP 5 or 6 years ago, when I signed up. Would a new cable modem improve my download speed?

 

[brianl703]

Possibly, if you have a DOCSIS 1.0 or 1.1 modem and your cable company has implemented DOCSIS 2.0.

DOCSIS 2.0 increased the upload speed by allowing more efficient modulation.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yup, in addition, sometimes cable modems just go bad... not bad enough to completely lose connection but bad enough to slow it down.

A simple test would be to go to speedtest.net and do a few tests in a row during low usage times (like during the middle of the day when most of your neighbors aren't home and aren't downloading a lot of stuff) and see if the reported speeds are close to the advertized speeds.

 

[Quest]

DOCSIS1.1 is the older standard that may/may not have a bandwidth limitations built-in to the HW, more like the lack of VOIP support.

DOCSIS2.0 is the latest one and been in place for over 5 yrs. If you have not switch over to the newer modem, by all means, do so (call your cable/broadband internet service provider for upgrade info).

Mine is the midgrade service and I'm getting 5Mkbps down/500kbps up on 2 IP address. There's one that I have to pay 30% more and will get unlimited bandwidth (good if you regularly consumes over 30GB/mnth of bandwidth downloading something, or hosting our amateurish webserver) and the bandwidth is over 10Mbps/sec down....

Get the Motorola surfboard modem to replace your current one if possible. It's already DOCSIS2.0

Q.

 

[wavinwayne]

Thanks guys. Based on the info you all I'll try to figure out exactly where the bottleneck is. If I determine it's the modem, I'll put in a call to my ISP, and hit them up for a new modem.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Cogeco cable here in Ontario is pretty good with allowing users to grab a new modem every now and again.

I had a problem with a modem that was a few years old a few years ago. When I called their tech support with some of my questions, before I even finished my first sentence, the operator stopped me and told me to go get a new modem. When I arrived at the small storefront they kept at a local mall, the person behind the counter, upon seeing me enter the store with a visibly older model modem, had the new one whipped out from under the counter and put it in my hand before I said a word.

 

[wavinwayne]

After browsing my ISP's website, it appears that my download speed is likely limited by my internet plan. I can get faster downloads, but it'll cost me. No thanks.

 

[Quattro Pete]

What plan are you on (in terms of down/up speed)?

 

[wavinwayne]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
What plan are you on (in terms of down/up speed)?


My plan allows 512kbps Down / 256kbps Up Max. According to the speedtest.net scan, that's almost exactly what I'm getting. So, unless I'm willing to spend more, I'm stuck at 512kbps download speed. That's fine for almost everything I do online, except for viewing streaming video on various news sites.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
My plan allows 512kbps Down / 256kbps Up Max.


On cable?! Wow, that is, by a *long shot*, the slowest cable internet I've ever seen offered. I am not sure, obviously, what you're paying, but you may very well find a faster service at a comparable price through a DSL provider.

 

[wavinwayne]

If anyone cares, here is my ISP's site that shows the different plans and costs. http://scottsboro.org/internet/internet3.html

I do have the option of going to DSL through my phone company, but I probably won't.

 

[labman]

I have a 768 kbps plan from Earthlink. It is noticably slower than the unlimited I used to have. The faster your system, the more you will notice the cable speed.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
If anyone cares, here is my ISP's site that shows the different plans and costs. http://scottsboro.org/internet/internet3.html


Wow. $33/ month for service that slow is surprising.

This thread on another forum deals with someone asking about high speed internet service in Huntsville, AL.

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
I do have the option of going to DSL through my phone company, but I probably won't.


The beauty of DSL, though, is that it needn't be from your phone company, unlike cable service which is, at least in Canada, a series of regional monopolies. With DSL, third parties are free to purchase and re-sell - often at a discount relative to the phone company's fee - the bandwidth on the phone lines. Here in Canada, where *everything* is more expensive than in the States, $35/ month'll get you a 5mbps down/ 768k up service via DSL.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Wow. Makes me appreciate what I have. For $35 per month my download speed is about 10 x's more than what you have and the upload speed is over double what you have. That is with AT&T DSL. If you change your mind, when signing up you have a choice between a modem and a wireless gateway. Get the wireless gateway. New customers get a rebate making it free (I think). I did not know what I was doing, so I picked up one on Ebay. It works so much better. Not sure what other DSL providers or plans are like. If you could get AT&T it would also support my brother. He is a middle manager and always directs me to AT&T offerings.

 

[Lyondellic]

My Comcast speeds average 20,000 to 23,000 kbps Down & 2,300 to 2,600 kbps Up