How fast is 275Mbps internet?

[captain420 3,099]

I currently have this and when I go and run a speed test, my downstream is about 85-91Mbps. Is this correct? I plan on upgrading to 600Mbps internet package, if so what kind of download speeds can I expect with that? I'm confused about how this works.

[polosim 841]

Are u using wifi or Ethernet cable in your computer?

[captain420 3,099]

20 minutes ago, polosim said:

Are u using wifi or Ethernet cable in your computer?

Ethernet.

[seasley 17]

When talking internet speeds, make sure you're not comparing bits to bytes.  MBs usually indicates bytes; Mbs usually indicates bits.  I've seen more than one example of the wrong units appearing on documentation and measurements. You're consistent in your notations, so I'm guessing that's not the issue.

How are you measuring the downstream speed? Are you using a diagnostic tool built into the cable modem? Are you running a speed test supplied by your provider's website? Or are you running something like speedtest.net?  Unfortunately, I've seen providers detect third party speed tests and throttle them - not always intentionally.  They're just trying to keep the overall connection responsive so they prevent any single device from maximizing the connection.

Before upgrading your connection, I'd make sure you're getting the most out of what you currently have.  I would expect you to be able to get in the low 200Mbs with your stated connection speed.

Every device and connection between your computer and the internet has a potential speed limit / capacity.  Your provider may be giving you a 275 Mbs signal to your location, but something in between is slowing you down.  If you're using wi-fi to connect to your router, the ~90 Mbs is the best you're probably going to be able to do.  I've never seen a real-world wi-fi network perform anywhere close to the specifications.  If you've got something limiting your bandwidth, a faster connection on the provider's side won't change anything.

When I first got my cable connection at home, the provider swore I had a 300Mbs downstream connection, but the modem they gave we would only connect on one or two channels at a time.  They tried to tell me it was a wiring problem inside my house.  To prove them wrong I scheduled an appointment with the tech and set up the cable modem and my laptop outside my house at the cable box.  When the tech saw I couldn't even get 5Mbs sitting beside their service panel, he finally realized they had the channels mis-configured. (Incidentally the whole street was affected - everybody saw their connections improve when he fixed it.)

The moral of the story is to get your connection as simple as possible for testing purposes. Eliminate anything that could be causing the issue.  Connect your cable modem as close to the service panel as possible - run a coax cable directly from the panel to your modem if possible.  Temporarily get rid of any hardware that might be messing with things - switches, hubs, extenders, etc. Plug your computer directly into your modem instead of using wi-fi.  If that works, you know the limitation is on your end.

Cable modems can be sensitive to interference from other devices.  It's not supposed to happen, but it does.  Disconnect everything else that connects to cable or your router and see if the situation gets better. A bad ethernet cable could cause your hardware to limit itself to a lower speed.  (I had a bad cable drop an entire network from 1Gb to 10Mb - swapping out the cable fixed it.)

Another thing that's tripped me up in the past - I had a cable modem / route that did QOS based on the connection speed that it measured.  After I upgraded the service and increased the bandwidth, the cable modem was still limited to original speed because I hadn't reset the QOS configuration.  Also check the settings for filtering, parental controls, and firewalls.  Some hardware can only provide these functions at a limited rate.  Turning on every feature might result in lower bandwidth.  For testing purposes, try turning everything off.  If it works without them, add them back in one at a time until you discover what might be causing the issue.

[HiFlyer 9,358]

Assuming MSFS is about a 90GB download.....

Go to this site: https://downloadtimecalculator.com/

Using this calculator and imputing some of the various internet speeds you might be interested in purchasing is a very organic way of figuring out which of those speeds you might in the end feel most comfortable with for your anticipated use-case.

Edited September 8, 2020 by HiFlyer

[G-RFRY 1,710]

What the ISP sells you and what you get are not always the same, in the UK Ofcom stopped ISP selling you a package which stated up to knowing you will never get that, now you can ask what the best speed you are likely to get,

this will very depending on location, and even today some are suspected of throttling at heavy traffic times.

I know some guys that work for a big cable company in the UK and they confirmed this due to ISP`s this year trying to keep up with demand due to Covid and working from home demand.