why is my uplosd so much slower than my download?

Question

Cable connection. Approx 4 bpm down and 2 up.

Answer 1

you probably have ADSL...

The distinguishing characteristic of ADSL over other forms of DSL is that the volume of data flow is greater in one direction than the other, i.e. it is asymmetric. Providers usually market ADSL as a service for people to connect to the Internet in a relatively passive mode: able to use the higher speed direction for the "download" from the Internet but not needing to run servers that would require bandwidth in the other direction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adsl

Answer 2

This is a common misunderstanding. When an ISP provides you a connection they only advertise the download speed which let's say is 2MBPS. for example. However the upload speed is almost always different and is mentioned in fine print. The upload speed varies from provider to provider and also depends on which type of connection you're on. So if I have a 2MBPS line my download speed is 2MBPS but my upload speed is only 256KBPS , almost 10 times lesser.
This is for a reason. An average end user only downloads more and uses most of the upload bandwidth to only send and receive signals.
for e.g.

You request a file called babies.mpg from a website.
This causes an upload burst of data which is very very negligible. It only send a short message asking for the file. However when the download begins you start to use your down speed and only send negligible signals in upstream stating that you have received the portion of the file and that you want the next round. The process is complicated rest assured thats how ISPs end up cheating us anyways. All the time you were downloading this file the server from whom you got the file was uploading... to you. :)

So in essence your upload speed will usually be 10% of your download speed, given the factors above. But it is less likely to exceed 1MBPS or 2MBPS even if you ISP sold you 100MBPS connections.

Answer 3

Most (basically, all) cable-modem and DSL services have much lower upload speeds than download speeds. This is because tha vast majority of their customers do a whole lot of downloading and very little uploading, so it's an easy way for them to optimize use of their networks. If you have a specific need for higher upload speeds, contact your cable or DSL provider and ask them about plans that will meet your needs. I'm sure this would cost you more in monthly fees, so carefully consider whether you really need it.

Answer 4

Because you download much more then you upload. Sending web addresses and mouse clicks aren't that big. There is only so much bandwidth an ISP has so they lessen the upload speed since, most likely, you won't use it that often. It's opposite for businesses that have web sites. Requests for pages and files take up much less room then the bandwidth intensive images on the pages they serve.

Answer 5

Typical consumer internet connections are what they call "asymmetric," meaning the download speeds are much higher than upload speeds. Usually most people do far more downloading than uploading, so dedicating bandwidth for uploads is usually a waste.