Why can't I fully utilize my internet connection?

Question

i mean, i'm currently on 2Mbps DL speed but then, when i stream movies from, for example rottentomatoes, my DL speed only kicks for about 800kbps only. are there really many factors that affects the flow of data in and out of my PC?

Answer 1

The "2Mbps" rating is not a speed rating, but a "bandwidth" rating.

Think of it as a hose carrying water. The bandwidth is the diameter of the pipe, and the speed is how fast the water is flowing through the pipe. So while you have a nice fat pipe, the speed is only going to be as fast as can be handled by that pipe.

There are two limiting factors that are in place for most connections: the modem and the wiring used to transfer the signal from the modem to the computer. Most home use DSL modems are limited to 10Mbps on the user (LAN) side. The wiring from the modem to the computers is normally Category 5 wiring, or thin ethernet, and that is limited to 100Mbps speed.

So for your connection at 2Mbps (which is fully handled both by the LAN-side speed and your connection to your modem), the theoretical maximum speed is only 80% of that, which would be 1800 kbps. The TCP/IP protocol adds additional overhead, so you would probably see speeds in the range of 1200 kbps maximum. I would expect sustained speeds around 800 kbps, considering many factors including network efficiency on the server side and transfer delays in between. Don't forget also that the 800 kbps rating that you see is likely to be an average, so you are probably seeing speeds bursting to 1200k at times.

Go to http://www.broadbandreports.com to test your line speed and compare it to other users of your ISP.