Significantly reduced download speeds from time to time...

I have Road Runner Turbo from Time Warner Cable... I've had it for about two weeks now.

When I first got it I ran a few speed tests through a few different sites and I got around 13 to 15 mb/s down. Today things seem to have been slow, because I visited a few sites that I frequent and things just took longer to load... so I ran some more speed tests and it won't even push it over 750 kb/s.

I tried the ipconfig /release /renew deal, a modem reset, and a computer restart. Nothing works! I am directly connected to the modem, and nothing has changed in my computer since I ran the first few tests right when I got Road Runner Turbo.

I'm guessing this is Road Runners fault, but can anyone shed some light onto why this happens?

 

750 kb is about 6 mb/s. and i wouldn't rely on speed tests for download speeds. you can always hack off about 20% to get what your top speed is approximately in optimal traffic conditions and whether or not the servers/networks you're accessing are pushing upload speeds to match your download speeds. i get 13-16 mb/s on some of the speeds tests i've run. in actuality, my speed ranges anywhere from 300 kb/s to ~1.2 MB/s, which is about 2.5 mb/s to 9 mb/s. and don't forget, you're using cable. your performance can go down depending on how heavy traffic is on your street/neighborhood or however your line is run.

 

Remember with cable internet you share bandwidth usually with a block or so of your neighbors. DSL gives you guaranteed bandwidth regardless of your neighbors downloading habits.

 

To clarify - I meant 750 kbps instead of kb/s

So instead of getting my advertised 13-15 mbps I'm getting 5% of that. Is it normal for that much of a reduction during peak usage time?

 

kb/s = kbps. They both mean kilobits per second. kB/s or kBps means kilobytes per second.

Anyway, the only way to find out if there's something wrong is to contact RR. Speed tests are unreliable. You might get a better idea of speed if you had a friend set up an FTP server on his computer, then connect to it and check the download speed.

 

you were advertised that? i highly doubt that. those speeds are low end business network speeds. in reality, most people don't really need more than 8 mb/s. not many networks are allowing you the speed to download much faster than that. retail websites need large bandwidth but use it many small chunks. websites that deal with software like microsoft need huge amounts of bandwidth but still have to limit speeds so their networks don't get congested. i'm happy when i download something and it consistently get 4 mb/s or more. 2-3 mb/s is reasonable and acceptable. anything advertised over 8 mb/s is usually a dedicated business line and should come with a SLA.

 

Just because you dont pay for higher speeds or feel the need for it doesnt mean that other people cant get those speeds...Remember we are all in different locations which all get different speed internet.

 

I think is speeds are related to congestion of either RR or the site he is accessing. When I had Comcast before they sold out to Time Warner (RR) during evening hours I lost over 1/2 by bandwidth. So when FIOS was available I jumped, Even though on paper I lost 1mbps (6mb/s vs 5mbps) I actually gained. And a big way on uplink speed (384k vs 2mbps). And my 5mbps download speed was steady. FIOS is setup like a DSL service, so it's always steady.

Look at cable as a party line, the more using it the slower it gets. Use a site like speekeasy/speedtest to verify your speeds. Now if they (RR) tell you to go to there internal speed test, try it but it will not be true WWW access. Also do a trace and see if you have a bunch of hops. I found out that I was being routed to a state that was 900mi away, explained the huge lag and speed drop. The reason was they over sold and area and did not have the bandwidth to handle it. So do some simple testing and see if this applies to you. If so you should complain to them in a big time. Sometimes when they setup accounts they do not use the proper QoS for the higher bandwidth clients unless 15mbps is the std.

 

Hey, I am assuming, like mentioned above, that my slow speeds are due to peak hours of internet traffic on my block (I live in an townhouse complex, pretty secluded)... well everyone is at work right now (parking lot is empty), and I just ran 3 or 4 tests from a few different websites...

I got 23-25 Mb/s (I'm using a bandwidth monitor that topped it out at 25.51 Mb/s). To clarify, these aren't "megabytes", like 700 "megabytes" on one CD... but Mb (however you say it), the way most ISPs advertise their speeds. If I was getting 25 "megabytes" per second that would be nuts!

Anyways, I was advertised 15 Mb/s down from Road Runner, and I'm getting 22-25, so I am NOT complaining

 

Sounds like the setup is pretty sensitive to congestion and overall number of users accessing the network at any one time.

 

i'm well aware of different factors. i bet if he was advertised 13-15 mb/s it was advertised as "up to" like many other companies do. and on a consumer level, i was trying to imply that maybe he should lower his expectations a little. it's rare to get your advertised speed. you might peak at it for a couple seconds here and there but it always dips below optimal expectations. anything over 8 mb/s is a big plus, but on cable downloads, expectations should definitely have some restraint.

on another note, i'm waiting for a class action lawsuit against at't's uverse. many of their salesperson are advertising 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 Megabytes and going as far as to say they were trained to know the difference between bit and bytes. in reality, they are selling megabits. and for those that don't know, a bit is 1/8 of a byte. oh and let's not forget they're fiber optics are faster because a salesperson says so. and when i say faster, some of these nitwits are saying their data travels faster over fiber than copper. the speed of light is the speed light.

 

I'm no physicist, but I'm pretty sure the things travelling through the copper wires is electricity - and currents of electricity do incur friction and are slower than light. But that is another argument!

Anyways, every evening around 6pm and until 11pm my down speed drops below 1 megabit per second.... and late at night or very early morning I can hit 24 megabits per second (well over the advertised 15). I didn't really expect this kind of speed fluctuation, but oh well... it's livable.

And to comment on all internet service providers: they're all crooks. Advertisements are misleading, salespeople are pushy, and customer service is generally crap. This is the world we live in!

 

The size of the node and the number of cable modems attached to it, and the amount each modem is downloading all factor into your speed loss. It sounds like you have quite a few heavy downloaders on your node! You might want to talk to your neighbors and see if they can do their PTP stuff later at night!

Re: copper/fiber - Fiber can handle thousands of data streams, compared to hundreds on copper. Of course, that means more data can be pushed and pulled. Fiber has been used by cable and telco companies since the 80s, but it's only recently that the whole fiber "craze" has branched out to homes. The true benefit, IMHO, for fiber is the ability to stream full uncompressed digital video over long distances. With copper, cable companies can't provide uncompressed video to customers (anyone that has HD and experiences jaggies or motion blur during sports broadcasts knows all about the fun and games of compression). Another nice thing about fiber is the "immunity" to lightning strikes, surges, and RF interference, which is fantastic for any high dollar piece of equipment.