The Internet Has No Speed Limits. FOR SCIENCE! End of line.

[TioJorge]

So I upgraded my internet recently and took the massive amount of effort and time it took to route a wired ethernet connection to my room and subsequently my PC so I can have some semblance of actual internet again instead of being bent over by our horrific WiFi. I was taken aback by how awesome it was...it has been a very long time that I relied on WiFi and now I'm kind of disgusted by it. It's just absolutely taken over in recent years as far as society in general is concerned and yes, it is so insanely convenient and awesome that it's everywhere but good lord is it inefficient. I feel stupid for forgetting that but I did.

Which got me interested in how many peeps have speedy or horrible internet. Given how ISPs are basically like mass murderers who are simultaneously sex trafficking pedophiles, I'm going to guess that there's going to be some really bad results here and there (maybe everywhere, hi Blob!). I'm also sure that I'll be topped by someone very quickly.

For these tests, please state (if you know) what data plan you're on, if you're using WiFi or a wired ethernet connection, and how much porn you download on said connection. That last bit is of the utmost importance. The future of the internet is in our hands, ladies and gentlemen.

Well, one of them. 

Link to the speedwave on good 'ole reliable Speedtest.net! Also, don't forget to post that very handy image of your speed along with the aforementioned info so we can get a better read on these very important findings which will no doubt determine the fate of mankind. I'm pretty sure you have to register to participate in the speedwave but it's free, the site isn't spammy at all and it'd be a lot more fun. But if you so please, you can just take a speed test and post the image and/or the results of the test if you'd like.

As a bonus to the tests themselves and if you'd like to broaden the results, feel free to post this on your own social media and such as DTF is quite literally all of my social media, I have no others so I won't be reaching any people outside of you fine fuckers.


(Also of note is the difference in Mb and MB. Mb is Megabit, MB is Megabyte. 8 bits are in a byte. I like mine set on MB)
I'm on a wired ethernet connection, have an unlimited data plan of "up to 25 MB/s" (HA! TAKE THAT SUDDENLINK, AN EXTRA 2 MB), and only use my internet for DTF and porn. I have an HDD of 2 TB solely for porn. 1 TB is left.

[BlobVanDam]

Damn Tio, I'm so jelly.

Here's my usual internet speed. It's not amazing, but it's serves me just fine most of the time.


I went over my limit a couple of days ago (streaming 4 hours of the Royal Rumble live at HD screwed me), so I was stuck with this for two days. So painful. I almost resorted to carrier pigeon.


I get 200GB a month, split between peak and off-peak (2am - 8am) hours. For the same price I could get unlimited, but I'm not in the right area for that, which sucks. Australian internet! Fuck yeah!
Everything in the house is running Wifi including my PC, because the modem is in the kitchen where cables cables that long aren't practical. I only run a cable when streaming WWE Network, because my Wifi has some issues when running that much over it.

Oh, and for the most important part, I've accumulated 400GB of porn. That's after regularly deleting shit.

[Bolsters]

On average I get the same as you Blob, though on a good day I can get up to about 17.5Mbps downstream. I'm with Telstra. I get similarly fucked if I go over my data allowance but I've been on 500GB per month for around two years, so I haven't had to worry about it as much. I think I've only gone over a couple of times because I binged a ton of stuff on Netflix.

[ariich]

Tio, those speeds are bonkers.



This is about as good as we get, and it's because I'm working from home today that I'm getting these speeds. Normally I'm using the internet in the evenings where the speeds are pretty poor, often around 15Mb and sometimes down to 1-5Mb.

We're on a 100Mb/s tariff, but I can't really be arsed with ethernet wires all over the house. My wife uses Wifi as her computer has decent signal, but my study is in a shitty position so I use a TP-LINK device to connect through the house's electric circuits (damn clever stuff).

[ReaperKK]

That's mine as of this morning. It's glorious.

I lived in Tampa, Florida and my internet service was through a company called bright house (now Spectum) and I paid $100 a months for 100Mb/s down and around 10Mb/s up. Spectum didn't have any competition in the area aside from some shitty satellite providers.

I just moved to Charlotte NC in November and parts of Charlotte has google fiber. My area doesn't but since they are expanding ATT decided to partner up and price the exact same as google so I get (a little less than advertised) 1gig down / 1 gig up for $75 a month.

Crazy what some competition will do.

[ariich]

That's mine as of this morning. It's glorious.

I lived in Tampa, Florida and my internet service was through a company called bright house (now Spectum) and I paid $100 a months for 100Mb/s down and around 10Mb/s up. Spectum didn't have any competition in the area aside from some shitty satellite providers.

I just moved to Charlotte NC in November and parts of Charlotte has google fiber. My area doesn't but since they are expanding ATT decided to partner up and price the exact same as google so I get (a little less than advertised) 1gig down / 1 gig up for $75 a month.

Crazy what some competition will do.

wtf

UK broadband is so shitty.

[ReaperKK]

I'm just lucky that I live in a city that has a lot of banking and tech jobs. There was a big push to get fiber here, drive 75 miles in either direction and you'll be lucky to 100Mb/s down.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Reap, if you live in Tampa, why is it connecting to a site in Charlotte to test your speed?  There are no closer servers?

I checked the speed on my Android device.  16.55 down, 3.15 up, 39ms ping.

[ariich]

I'm just lucky that I live in a city that has a lot of banking and tech jobs. There was a big push to get fiber here, drive 75 miles in either direction and you'll be lucky to 100Mb/s down.

For households 100Mb is right at the higher end in the UK. I think Virgin offer 200Mb in some areas.

But even then the advertised speed doesn't tally up to reality. Most people want to use the internet in the evenings (because they're at work in the day), and the infrastructure can't cope.

[cramx3]

Damn some of you got some crazy fast speeds.

I have 50 up 50 down with verizon fios at home and would typically get around 50/60 doing this test

At work it's interesting.  I work in a data center, I should have very fast internet.  Using the buidings wifi:



and then using my companies internet through our routers

[Grappler]

I just went through this two weeks ago after cancelling my cable TV with Comcast and relying on internet/streaming TV.  Our wifi was completely intermittent.  Bought a new, super fast modem and still had issues.  Turns out we had two splits before the cable went into the modem.  Fixed that and now it runs pretty well.  I'm too lazy to buy a new router and set up a new wireless network.  My old router broadcasts fine to the rest of the house and occasionally gets stuck every few weeks, where I'll just have to reset the modem to get the signal broadcasting again.

Speeds were 75mpbs at the modem (wired) and between 15-30 mpbs over wifi in the evenings.  It drives me crazy that there is so much of a drop off in speeds.

Streaming TV has few issues now that we got the internet issues fixed, aside from a little bit of lag time initially.  We only have two devices streaming at the most, so it's not that bad.

[ReaperKK]

Reap, if you live in Tampa, why is it connecting to a site in Charlotte to test your speed?  There are no closer servers?

I checked the speed on my Android device.  16.55 down, 3.15 up, 39ms ping.

I live in Charlotte now, I moved here in November from the Tampa area.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Ahh, okay.  You can tell I don't keep up with the goings-on here very much. 

[ReaperKK]

Lol no worries Coz

[El Barto]

A few months ago I was getting 50mb down from TWC, which was their middle tier. When Spectrum took over they flipped a switch and I jumped to 100mb down, which is their slowest tier. I thought that was pretty telling. They just set arbitrary limits, regardless of what the tech allows, so they can charge more. It's like DeBeers sitting on warehouses full of diamonds that they release a handful at a time to keep costs artificially high.

In any case, I get 100mb down and pay $38/mo for it.

[pogoowner]

I'm paying $35 for 15Mb from TWC. It just switched over to Spectrum, and they're offering a much better deal, but only if I bundle with TV/Phone, and I don't want that garbage.

[axeman90210]

40 down/4 up/107ms ping wired at work. I'm curious to see what I'm getting on WiFi at home. We just upgraded to 75/75 from Verizon.

[El Barto]

I'm paying $35 for 15Mb from TWC. It just switched over to Spectrum, and they're offering a much better deal, but only if I bundle with TV/Phone, and I don't want that garbage.

Have you or they upgraded your modem in the last two years. I bet you're still using a docsis 2 modem which tend to cap out at 15mb. I know that TWC never bothered to tell me that they'd "upgraded their network" (thrown a switch) and a docsis 3 would instantly boost me from 15 to 50.

[axeman90210]

Yeah, definitely worth looking into a new modem. We had Verizon come to run some cable to another room about 6 weeks ago and the tech mentioned that our modem was basically ancient. Called them up and in exchange for agreeing to a new two year contract they sent us a brand new modem and upgraded us from 50/50 speeds to 75/75 and lowering our total monthly bill by a little bit in the process.

[cramx3]

Yeah, definitely worth looking into a new modem. We had Verizon come to run some cable to another room about 6 weeks ago and the tech mentioned that our modem was basically ancient. Called them up and in exchange for agreeing to a new two year contract they sent us a brand new modem and upgraded us from 50/50 speeds to 75/75 and lowering our total monthly bill by a little bit in the process.

Same thing with me a year ago, got a new router and was upgraded from 25 to 50 and lowered my bill also giving me showtime with verizon.

[pogoowner]

I'm paying $35 for 15Mb from TWC. It just switched over to Spectrum, and they're offering a much better deal, but only if I bundle with TV/Phone, and I don't want that garbage.

Have you or they upgraded your modem in the last two years. I bet you're still using a docsis 2 modem which tend to cap out at 15mb. I know that TWC never bothered to tell me that they'd "upgraded their network" (thrown a switch) and a docsis 3 would instantly boost me from 15 to 50.

I just moved here 6 months ago and bought a modem on eBay. It's DOCSIS 3.0. I have options for higher speed, but the price goes up considerably.

[El Barto]

I'm paying $35 for 15Mb from TWC. It just switched over to Spectrum, and they're offering a much better deal, but only if I bundle with TV/Phone, and I don't want that garbage.

Have you or they upgraded your modem in the last two years. I bet you're still using a docsis 2 modem which tend to cap out at 15mb. I know that TWC never bothered to tell me that they'd "upgraded their network" (thrown a switch) and a docsis 3 would instantly boost me from 15 to 50.

I just moved here 6 months ago and bought a modem on eBay. It's DOCSIS 3.0. I have options for higher speed, but the price goes up considerably.

Okey-dokey. I'm guessing you live in the Styx, or someplace ancient. In Dallas, 100/5 is Spectrum's base level.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Here's my result at school:



which is approximately 20 times faster than at home.

[pogoowner]

Okey-dokey. I'm guessing you live in the Styx, or someplace ancient. In Dallas, 100/5 is Spectrum's base level.

Yeah, 15Mb is "Standard Internet" from TWC. The Spectrum speeds they just introduced are much better, but they'd be forcing me to bundle, and I have no desire to do that, because I don't want to have to bitch and fight with them in a year or two when they jack the price up on me. And once you bundle, good luck getting them to give you a decent price on just internet if you decide to drop the TV. I've had that fight with Verizon before.

[TioJorge]

Blooooob nooo! Haha aw man... I knew it'd be bad but good god. My condolences. 

A few months ago I was getting 50mb down from TWC, which was their middle tier. When Spectrum took over they flipped a switch and I jumped to 100mb down, which is their slowest tier. I thought that was pretty telling. They just set arbitrary limits, regardless of what the tech allows, so they can charge more. It's like DeBeers sitting on warehouses full of diamonds that they release a handful at a time to keep costs artificially high.

In any case, I get 100mb down and pay $38/mo for it.

It really seems that way on the switch flipping aspect. It's kind of ludicrous how some companies in some areas really have a literal monopoly or extremely close to it and still screw people over.

Interesting results so far. Reap, that's just preposterous...and arousing. 

I really hope one day there's a change in how ISP's work and are monitored in general, because it's pretty apparent that they need it. I know there isn't an unlimited supply of bandwidth and data, but in some cases it's clear that there's some seriously sketchy business practices being employed. I got lucky and was in Reap's situation where for a long time, Suddenlink was the only business around and was screwing everyone over immensely. Then other business came around and was doing a whole lot more of it at a better price and what do you know...within a year this change happened.

[El Barto]

Okey-dokey. I'm guessing you live in the Styx, or someplace ancient. In Dallas, 100/5 is Spectrum's base level.

Yeah, 15Mb is "Standard Internet" from TWC. The Spectrum speeds they just introduced are much better, but they'd be forcing me to bundle, and I have no desire to do that, because I don't want to have to bitch and fight with them in a year or two when they jack the price up on me. And once you bundle, good luck getting them to give you a decent price on just internet if you decide to drop the TV. I've had that fight with Verizon before.

Just out of curiosity, have you called and asked them about it? My experience is that both TWC and Charter have been quit obliging about offering up good promotions if you just ask. And begin by explaining to them that you'd pay money to NOT have CATV in your house (I told them I was allergic to commercials). The reality is that they want people to move over to their pricing scheme, which is actually better than TWC. It's just easier than having to grandfather along deals they don't offer anymore. If they don't move you now, my hunch is that before too long they do it anyway when they're better set up.

In my case, I called two weeks ago telling them I wanted to downgrade my service to save a few bucks. The moved me off of the TWC plan at 50 down and put me on their 100 down plan and knocked 2 dollars off the price.

[krands85]

In the UK on an ethernet connection. Supposed to be an up to 150meg package, but it seems to be doing a bit better than that  I don't think they specify any data limits, though I think if you regularly started going completely crazy with the downloads, you might get a letter or something. Luckily I'm in an area where Virgin aren't oversubscribed, so I get full speed pretty much constantly - unless there's some technical fault which happens from time to time.

EDIT:
Just looking at Virgins page and they say they apply traffic management to slow your connection down during peak times, but only if you exceed certain UPLOAD limits.

[El Barto]

I got a phone call from TWC a few years ago about massive usage on my account. I started to explain that I'd lost an HDD and was raping and pillaging my way through ISOHunt to get stuff back and they genuinely didn't care. It was nothing more than a security check on their part to make sure I wasn't spamming up the universe. They knew what my usage habits looked like and now suddenly I'm downloading 50gb/day for a month and they wanted to make sure it was intentional. As long as it was me they didn't care how much I used. I think usage caps are another "speed tier" type of thing that's a creation simply for price gouging purposes.

[cramx3]

What El Barto said, the teleco companies are not typically going to offer you the better deals off the bat, but they are negotiable and you can usually work with them.  If the person you are speaking to isn't budging, hang up and call again and work with someone else.  These companies do not want to lose your business.  Threaten to leave them if all else fails, and assuming you are willing to leave them if they don't budge.  I've done that before with Directv and got a better deal.  I didn't even have to argue with Verizon for a better deal, they offered it once I called.

[pogoowner]

I may give them a call one of these days. As it is, my speed could be faster, but it's really not inconveniencing anything that I do. I just have to work up the mental energy to talk to a customer service rep (I hate talking on the phone).

[ReaperKK]

It's maddening how ISP providers take advantage of customers. My co-workers were telling me that before google came to town Spectum was offering 300Mb/s (their fastest service) for close to $300 a month. The moment google starts laying fiber down the price immediately dropped to $129, and now that ATT is doing it their service is $79 a month.

[cramx3]

It's maddening how ISP providers take advantage of customers. My co-workers were telling me that before google came to town Spectum was offering 300Mb/s (their fastest service) for close to $300 a month. The moment google starts laying fiber down the price immediately dropped to $129, and now that ATT is doing it their service is $79 a month.

Competition.  But that's what I hate about these telco companies.  Most don't have competition so they can get away with charging you a lot.

[axeman90210]

Not bad for being a floor away on WiFi at a high use time of day.

[Nick]

[Podaar]