ISP Bandwidth excuse issue, should I change ISP?

[Pikarya]

I recently changed my state residence 6 months ago and now have been with a certain ISP running their "10mb D/L, 1mb U/L - $49.99/mo" package.

But I haven't been getting the "10mb" download speed... Ever. I rarely get to see over 1.5/1.6mb for my download speed. My upload is always fine @ 1mb. (Yeah I know I'm overpaying for this shitty service but the only other option is switching to DSL in this area)

Everytime I've called their support (at least 10 times now). I've always been given the excuse that their is maintenance four counties over. Or that my badwidth is being limited because my neighbors/etc. peak time is at its max.

Their company has also sent out two engineers before to check the issue but they say it is a bandwidth related issue in my area since I live currently right in town. Which I personally think is horseshit since I pay for 10mb and get 1/10th that for my money.

Should I cancel this service? I mean from what I see in my own view. I'm getting fucked and wasting money out the window.

Thanks

[Shuemue]

Fios in your area? If so, it's a no-brainer.

[Cephius]

ISPs usually advertise their services in Megabits, and not the megabytes that we're all accustomed to using. You have to divide Megabits by 8 to find the megabyte equivelent, which for 10mbit would be around 1.2MB/sec. So... something still doesn't add up. A 10 Megabyte connection for 49.99 a month sounds awfully suspicious, as those are business-class speeds that usually carry a much higher price. I'd ask your ISP if that package is measured in bits or bytes... and to kindly give you whichever service you're paying for.

Compare your price to FiOS, which is about the same price for 10mbit down 2 mbit up, and that's why I think you're mistaking in assuming they're giving you bytes when you're getting bits (shitty explanation, but you get the idea)

[Pikarya]

Fios doesen't exist in my area.

As for the service. The "Gamer Package" they offer is 10mbit down 1mbit up.

I've tried two different speed tests and I'm still getting 1.5mbit down 1mbit up.

Anyways anyone ever tried DSL by Windstream before? I see they have a 12mbit down, 1mbit up service that is $40.00 a month in my area.

[Korietsu]

Fios doesen't exist in my area.

As for the service. The "Gamer Package" they offer is 10mbit down 1mbit up.

I've tried two different speed tests and I'm still getting 1.5mbit down 1mbit up.

Anyways anyone ever tried DSL by Windstream before? I see they have a 12mbit down, 1mbit up service that is $40.00 a month in my area.

Stick with cable unless the DSL service box is close by. I'm assuming you're using cox comcast or Timewarner(Roadrunner), all of these are listed as Megabit instead of Megabyte. So you'll be getting about the speeds you reported. Also its 8 bits to a byte, not 8 bytes to a bit.

[Darus Grey]

Yeah, you're actually getting what you paid for. Even fios doesn't give you 10megaBYTES.

It's just confusion with the termanology.

[Norellicus]

Yeah, the problem is people just assume 'mb' always means megabyte. The measurement is case sensitive:

MB = Megabyte, approx. 1,000,000 bytes, or ~1000 Kilobytes (KB)
Mb = Megabit, approx. 1,000,000 bits, or ~100 Kilobytes (KB)

The actual measurements are more than this due to base 8, but it's a good enough rough guess. If they promise 6Mb down/1.5Mb up, then you're getting about 600KB/s down and 150KB/s up.

[Shuemue]

Pretty sure they know that, they stated 1.5mbit down.

But hey, OP, post a test from www.speedtest.net

[Korietsu]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/324372312.png

This is the result for my 7mbit line and that's to a server that's 200 miles away from me to which I have a better ping time than the server closest to me. . You should see similar or a bit higher results depending on the server you ping as your test server, and cable quality leaving your house to the server.

[Pikarya]

The Atlanta, GA one gave me a crappy speed. So I changed it to the next closest server and got this.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/324402328.png

The only time I've ever seen this kinda speed from a speedtest was during business hours when noone is at home during the day in this area using the net.

edit: Is it true though, that if alot of people are in your area using cable at the same time you are. They can "leech" per say your bandwidth? I've had multiple people tell me this and said to just ditch the cable if its this bad.

[Cephius]

Is it true though, that if alot of people are in your area using cable at the same time you are. They can "leech" per say your bandwidth? I've had multiple people tell me this and said to just ditch the cable if its this bad.

Yes, generally, Cable isn't as prone to signal degradation so you can be further away from the ISP hub, but you also have to share your bandwidth with people around you. DSL doesn't have shared bandwidth, but the further away you get from the ISP hub, the weaker the signal and the slower the speeds. Generally speaking, cable is better for remote areas, and DSL is better for urban regions. (and FiOS just rocks them both)

[Pikarya]

Looks like I'll be switching to DSL then. Since the main office is less than a mile away. I'm seriously tired of all the little kids logging on in my area at night when I need to do work thats bandwidth intensive (not porn lol) and I can't get what I pay for when I need it.

Thanks again.

[Shuemue]

If you live close to the exchange, DSL flies.