Why does the service plan say 6mbps but connection speed says 100mbps?

Question

My highspeed internet plan says that the fastest they offer is 6 mbps, but my computer says that I am getting 100mbps, how is this possible? I know another internet company here offers 10 mbps and the ppl I know on it are getting atleast 54mbps, so I'm I just missing something in the terminology or what?

Ok I get what yall r saying, but how can I see what my connection actually is then? Also my question was about a desktop, but it's also confusing with my wireless as well. My adapter has a limit of 11 mbps, and most of the time that's what it shows. But the number jumps around to different speeds under 11 mbps. So if yall are saying that the number I'm seeing is just teling me what my connection is capable of, then why does it change?

Answer 1

The Ethernet connection your computer has with your modem/router is 100mbps, which is the standard cat-5 speed. Your connection with your ISP's equipment in their central office (one of those windowless buildings you see every now and then) is 6mbps under ideal circumstances.

The 54mbps is the speed of wireless 802.11 networks, but again that is only the speed between your computer and the modem/router.

I would compare the cost of the provider offering 10mpbs, but I highly doubt the extra cost would be worth the very minor improvement in service you would experience...unless that provider is offering one of those "switch now and pay only $10 per month for 6 months" plans.

Answer 2

More than likely, the NIC in your pc is capable of 100Mbps (that is what it is reporting), but the data from the Internet Service Provider is 6Mbps. 54Mbps is a wireless rating, but you won't achieve any higher data rate than what the provider is giving you.

Unless you are downloading lots of huge files (i.e. videos, .iso files) , that high speed really isn't needed.
---
The 11 Mbps is the maximum speed on that interface. It's normal for it to be slower at times. Imagine the internet as a huge highway system with cars getting on and off the road (web page requests and the transfer completed, users connecting and disconnecting...), and all those cars are wanting to share a narrow road - you have traffic jams ... and some roads are faster than others (in town vs interstate). It depends on what route the data takes.

You can monitor your connection speed with 'netmeter'.

Answer 3

THose are two different speeds... Your internet connection is 6mbps... but your network connection is 100mbps.

I'm going to hazard a guess that the people getting 54mbps are wireless?

Answer 4

Your cable modem when connected to your computer is capable of up to100Mb, but the cable company only can send you 6Mb. Basically your computer has alot of room to grow if the cable companies ever wanted to increase the speeds.

If you were to hook your computer to another computer using a router you actually could transfer files at 100Mb, but even then it is very hard to since most normal hard drives cannot write or read data that fast.

Answer 5

Your ISP limits you to 6Mbps, but your hardware is capable of going 100Mbps. The 100Mbps is also called wire speed, but your ISP won't let you have that kind of bandwidth...unless you pay for more bandwidth.

Answer 6

Your computer says??? Your computer talks to you?
Man that's a nice computer. Might want to inform DoD that you have a live machine....

anyway, try DuMeter