Is your internet speed slower then advertised?

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If so, then it is real simple, let your government agency take care of it for you.
Fill out a 5 minute form, they will have your internet provider contact you, instead of you them. Common sense says you may want to contact your provider first but if you do and are unhappy with the response then fill out the darn form and stop whining :eek:)
It is a service YOU PAY FOR out of every paycheck, so why settle?

https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us

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Is your internet speed slower then advertised?
Depends on how it's measured. If it's measured using the speed test built into my AT&T gateway, then it's faster than advertised. But if it's measured using dslreports.com, then it's slower than advertised. Guess which test AT&T is going to want to use to prove quality of their service. :)
 
My Wifi isn't as fast as a wired connection of 150 mb/s. The Mesh network helps with wifi performance. I'm not interested in paying $50+ more a month to get a faster connection at this time.
 
Measuring throughput accurately is a complex endeavor. We have a custom built system at work where we can test throughput on links up to 10Gb/s. I was part of the group that designed, tested, and implemented it. The system was built to test whether a customer is getting the throughput they paid for. It works by connecting a server to a client and using scaled windows over multiple sessions. I've personally used it to test business internet (not consumer) link speeds from T1 all the way to 10Gb/s. In all those tests I have never seen the throughput less than what the customer purchased.

What the system does for us is ends the speculation on where the problem is. When troubleshooting, if you can eliminate a large part of the equation, it's much simpler to find the real problem. You can draw a large X over a portion of the connection and say, "don't look here, it's not the problem".

The problem is usually related to the method the customer is using to test throughput. The variables are almost endless, eliminating variables is the key.
 
Depends on how it's measured. If it's measured using the speed test built into my AT&T gateway, then it's faster than advertised. But if it's measured using dslreports.com, then it's slower than advertised. Guess which test AT&T is going to want to use to prove quality of their service. :)

Bell plays that same game up here. My buddy is on their fibre service and using the built-in speed test (which just tests the speed between the modem/gateway and the local node) he gets higher than he pays for. Using any other speed test, including the DSL reports one, he gets significantly less because that node is congested, which is par for the course with oversubscription in many cases.
 
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Is your internet speed slower then advertised?​

How would I even know how to tell? How do I know what is advertised? And even it you can, how do you know it's not because of your computer that is slowing things down or the website you're on? I have had FIOS, and as long as it works, it's been fine.
 
My Wifi isn't as fast as a wired connection of 150 mb/s. The Mesh network helps with wifi performance. I'm not interested in paying $50+ more a month to get a faster connection at this time.

That's normal, there are all kinds of things that impacts WiFi performance that don't have any dependancy on the speed you are paying for, so it's not a good metric to gauge whether you are getting the service you think you are or not.
 
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How would I even know how to tell? How do I know what is advertised? And even it you can, how do you know it's not because of your computer that is slowing things down or the website you're on? I have had FIOS, and as long as it works, it's been fine.
I cant help you *LOL*
Many people know what speeds they pay for. I guess you can check with your provider on what you do pay for.
 
Depends on how it's measured. If it's measured using the speed test built into my AT&T gateway, then it's faster than advertised. But if it's measured using dslreports.com, then it's slower than advertised. Guess which test AT&T is going to want to use to prove quality of their service. :)
It doesnt matter. The point of my post is for those not happy, file a complaint.
It forces the internet provider to contact you and then report back to the FCC.

If you truly are getting less then advertised you have a darn good chance of being corrected. That is all my post is about. Dont think for a minute that providers want to be hearing from the FCC and tying up resources responding to complaints which BTW congress see's too.

For the typical consumer, there is absolutely nothing complex about this.
File a complaint, let the provider correct the issue OR provide an explanation of why. Instead of you trying to contact someone in a higher tier of support with your provider. This forces that higher level of support to call you.

Its a very simple procedure for the typical consumer and many forum readers... but we seem to be finding a way to make it sound complicated :eek:)
 
If you really want to test your consumer broadband throughput, then I would learn how to use iperf on your local ETHERNET connected PC and use one of the public iperf servers from this website. Try to use a server a close to you as possible.

 
For the typical consumer, there is absolutely nothing complex about this.
File a complaint, let the provider correct the issue OR provide an explanation of why.
From a proof perspective, I think you're making it sound simpler than it really is, as was illustrated up above.

But to your point, if you're not happy, you certainly have the right to complain. Whether this will lead to anything useful is another story.
 
I cant help you *LOL*
Many people know what speeds they pay for. I guess you can check with your provider on what you do pay for.
Also, I don't understand the correlation between speed and price. Does it cost them more electricity to give you faster speeds? It's going through the same wires. When you buy power, natural gas or water for your house, the amount you use is what you pay for, not how fast it goes through the wires or pipes to get there..
 
Also, I don't understand the correlation between speed and price. Does it cost them more electricity to give you faster speeds? It's going through the same wires. When you buy power, natural gas or water for your house, the amount you use is what you pay for, not how fast it goes through the wires or pipes to get there..
The amount of data bandwidth in the network is a limited resource. If they allot more to you, there will be less left for other customers. Hence, they price it accordingly.

With that said, there are internet plans (like mobile data plans, for example), that do charge based on actual usage, kind of like your utilities provider, but in this case it's GB of data use per month, instead of based on speed.

Lastly, the plans that are based on speed also do often have a maximum data cap per month, like say 1 terabyte. If you transfer more than that in a month (regardless of what speed you do it at), you will pay overages. Read the fine print of your internet service.
 
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If you really want to test your consumer broadband throughput, then I would learn how to use iperf on your local ETHERNET connected PC and use one of the public iperf servers from this website. Try to use a server a close to you as possible.

Yup! We went over that in a previous thread I recall ;)
 
9/10 times any slow speeds are "local" problems, i.e. inside your own home. Yes, there can be slowdowns especially during peak times or even temporary issues causing slow speeds all the time but in my experience, the provider detects these and fixes them on their own.

If it's measured using the speed test built into my AT&T gateway, then it's faster than advertised. But if it's measured using dslreports.com, then it's slower than advertised.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a consumer and will almost never support ATT, Spectrum, etc but your examples aren't what they (the provider) look at. Why ? Because they can't control it. Once you go out on the outside internet, outside of their network, the provider's hands are tied.
 
They started out putting fiber in the ground here thinking it was safer. Got cut over and over. This summer they were trying to replace it (running on surface before up on telephone poles) and my stealth radar cop kept telling them they can’t put the spool on the road (same road he blocks while doing background checks and tickets) …
I knew these were just labor guys and they looked nervous so I walked up and told them to put it on my property.
The cop started to question my judgement … I said you or me needs to call ——- (we know the Chief) and get you guys ready because don’t you realize bucket trucks must finish this work … and this stuff is seriously expensive
He said, OK I’ll bring it up in the morning … 🧐
Unreal to think such a vital service (was already my work at home Zoom line) was not recognized/supported …
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm a consumer and will almost never support ATT, Spectrum, etc but your examples aren't what they (the provider) look at. Why ? Because they can't control it. Once you go out on the outside internet, outside of their network, the provider's hands are tied.
That was precisely my point. I think we're in agreement here. :)
 
On a reddit thread for my local area, someone posted about the slow speeds they were getting with Time Warner. Note I said Time Warner, not Spectrum. They were getting about 35 Mbs download and 5-6 Mbs upload on tests no matter where they tested to (including TW's own, internal speed tests), time of day, etc. They saw that Spectrum's minimum speed package for the area was 100/10 and didn't understand why theirs was sooooo slow. A couple of us did the usual recommendations of connect ethernet to the router (no WiFi), run a test early, early in the morning, and so on but nothing changed. Their modem was old (clue # 1) but was capable of 100/10 speeds and supported by the cableco. Wrong provisioning, i.e. Spectrum's low-income service of 30/5 ? Nope (not exactly).

Turns out that over the years, they refused Spectrum's attempts or offers to switch to Spectrum Internet and were still on a Time Warner plan (billing). Spectrum provisioned them at 30/5 in order to use a "standard" provisioning level.
 
i will leave it alone... 4 yrs ago i signed up for fios 50/50 at $39.99 i use my own router. over the 4 yrs it has gone up now its around $57 with taxes and my speeds have always been over 50/50. wireless connected to my chromebook right now.

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