Hi, ive got a 8megabit connection and its been running slow, im on dsl.?

Question

I called my service providor and he said that you only use 10% of your bandwidth when downloading. Ive been on bandwidth test websites and they say that my download speed is 500kbp/s, which i think is slow for a 8megabit connection, but the service providor said it was fine. Is this true?
Thanks

i have carried out a speed test

Speed Test Results
Date 01/01/07 17:13:49
Speed Down 483.42 Kbps ( 0.5 Mbps )
Speed Up 332.30 Kbps ( 0.3 Mbps )

Answer 1

A less confusing way to look at it...

There are 8 bits in a byte. When referring to network connection speeds (data transfer) it is often in terms of bits per second. So 8 megabits per second is the same as 1 megabyte per second.

So like the other guy said, you are getting about half of your advertised speed. However, 500 kilobytes per second is an excellent download speed! Right now, the average is still about 200-250KB/s, so you're double that. Also, DSL works a bit differently that other types of broadband. The speed can't be guaranteed since it relies on the distance your home is away from the CO (Central Office) or nearest DSLAM node. The further away you are, the lower your max speed is going to be. If you were to read the fine print in your DSL contract, I'm sure it will say that 8mbps is not guaranteed. That's just the level you're getting charged for, since you have the potential of getting that speed.

You never know. DSL companies (particularly SBC/AT&T) are adding new DSLAM nodes all the time to get better bandwidth. Perhaps at some point, one will be placed closer to you.

Answer 2

Some details seem to be getting lost.

8 Mbps / (8 bits in a byte) = 1 MBps. 500 KBps is only 50% of your advertised speed then.

Note if what you meant was 500 Kbps (capitalization, Kbps not KBps), if only 500 K*b*ps, you get download speeds of 500/8 of 62.5 KBps. And that's really ripping you off.

Either way, go back to your service provider and get more information.