Comcast Cable Internet. Do I need to install their software to get the maximum bandwidth?

Question

I switched from DSL (2.5 - 3.7mb actual) to Cable and am getting between 18-21mbs (no kidding). I had to install the software onto the PC I was using to get it to work ( password protected or something). I was able to get it to go through my wireless router, and the speed through the computer attached via a ethernet cable is still 18-21. I have three other computers hooked up on a wireless network. All of them have various brands of 802.11g adapters with all the equivalent system specs as the one hard wired, but they are only getting 4-5 mbs).

I am using a Linksys 54g 802.11g wifi router. I am getting a 54 mbs connection on two of the four pcs (24 on the other two).

I am wondering if the comcast software installed something on the PC to give it a higher bandwidth. I would hate to tie up the other resources of the other PC witht his software if it is unnecessary.

Or has anyone else had this 5mbs cap problem with 54g Linksys routers.

I can easily live just fine with 5.

Answer 1

No, totally unrelated to bandwidth.

Answer 2

Nope. It isn't the Comcast software that's making the difference.

I am agreed that in ideal environmental conditions your wireless connections should also be getting 18-21 Mbps.

Wireless may be affected by other appliances, other WiFi in the area, construction of the building, even naturally occuring radiation - still it shouldn't be that big of a difference. You could try moving the location of your router. It's common for people to put the router and the cable modem together (or right next to each other), but that isn't always best. They should actually be separated by at least a few feet and a few feet from your cabled workstation too if possible.

Sounds like you'll probably live with it. But, other things to try would be swapping out the router for another, or a different brand. Sometimes different brands perform differently in a given environment.

Answer 3

It shouldn't. They may have a Web cache or something that helps certain web pages load faster, but that's not really a bandwidth increase.

Try hooking the wireless devices up to an ethernet cable and see what speed you get. If you get 18-21 on them with the cable but not with wireless, its probably a case of them being too far from the wireless router. 802.11g degrades at a higher rate versus distance than 802.11b. Also walls, doors, etc affect signal spread. You could get additional APs for other parts of the house if that's a problem, or try moving the router if possible to a better location for all devices.

Another test you could do is run some kind of server (web server, etc) on one of the computers (wired) and connect to it from the wireless devices and see if they get different speeds.

Answer 4

Comcast software should have an effect. I currently use a Linksys 54g with Charter cable 5Mb. and get about 4.78Mbs when it's working well. Have you tried just one machine attached to the router? You may have a bad NIC that's causing chatter. Either that or Comcast is having a provisioning problem. Keep in mind with cable modems you're sharing bandwidth with others on your segment, so if they added a couple connections when you jumped on then the Comcast termination point may have some issues. I'd give them a call.

Answer 5

It sounds like you wireless network is getting interference from an 802.11b network nearby. By default most 54G adaptors will throttleback to allow connections, even if the SSID and encryption prevents an actual connection, your router config screen and the settings for you computers on the wireless lan should have a setting that forces them to use the higher speed only.

Answer 6

I don't know what the problem is, but you shouldn't need it - I have Comcast, get full speed (on the rare occasion there's a server that'll let me go that fast), and have nothing of theirs installed on the comp.