Internet Speed Test.

I used a website called speedtest dot net and pingtest dot net to test my internet speed and signal quality. Good site, free of course, and provided accurate information.

My speed results were as follows:
Ping: 19ms
Download: 5.15 Mbps
Upload: 0.65 Mbs

My signal clarity was as follows:
Packet Loss: 0%
MOS: 4.40
Jitter: 0ms

The following explains what each test or result means.
Packet Loss: Much as it sounds, if you have anything less than complete success in transmitting and receiving "packets" of data then you are experiencing this problem with your Internet connection. It can mean much slower download and upload speeds, poor quality VoIP audio, pauses with streaming media and what seems like time warping in games -- your connection may even come to a total standstill! Packet loss is a metric where anything greater than 0% should cause concern.

Ping: This measurement tells how long it takes a "packet" of data to travel from your computer to a server on the Internet and back. Whenever you experience delayed responses in Internet applications - this would be due to a higher than desired ping. Similar to packet loss, lower is better when it comes to ping. A result below 100 ms should be expected from any decent broadband connection.

Jitter: Once you understand ping, jitter should also make sense. Jitter is merely the variance in measuring successive ping tests. Zero jitter means the results were exactly the same every time, and anything above zero is the amount by which they varied. Like the other quality measurements, a lower jitter value is better. And while some jitter should be expected over the Internet, having it be a small fraction of the ping result is ideal.

MOS: The Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is an indication of the quality of a voice conversation. The MOS ranges from 1 to 5 with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. The MOS is usually a subjective test where listeners rate sound quality. Pingtest.net uses an algorithm based on the three test components to estimate the MOS that would be typically obtained by a connection with these results.

Here is another.
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Wow you have crazy speed there! I was just upgraded by Verizon, & I thought I had the fastest speed ever ..... and it's .8 up, .3 down.

My readings:

Run #1:
Ping = 55
Download = 3.30
Upload = 0.92

Run#2:
ping = 46
Download = 6.58
Upload = 0.95

Run#3:
ping = 45
Download = 13.14
Upload = 0.94

I was just reminded that their is a huge difference in how you write megabyte verse megabit. If you use a lower case letter b, it indicates megabit, if you read or type an upper case letter B, it indicates megabytes.

For example:

MB= Megabyte.

Mb= Megabit.

Long Island FIOS connection.....

41.98 Mbps down
33.24 Mbps up

Now that's fast!

SMITTY wrote:Wow you have crazy speed there! I was just upgraded by Verizon, & I thought I had the fastest speed ever ..... and it's .8 up, .3 down.

DSL is not very fast compared to cable.

EarthWindandFire wrote:I was just reminded that their is a huge difference in how you write megabyte verse megabit.

Bits is used to indicate data transfer rates, bytes is used to indicate file sizes but they are used interchangeably. Browsers use bytes when they should be using bits hence the reason for the confusion for most people. ISP's use bits. 8 bits per byte if you wanted to do some quick calculations. If you're ISP is claiming 6Mbps and your browser reports transfer rates around 800KB/s they are the same thing almost.

kozel wrote:Long Island FIOS connection.....

41.98 Mbps down
33.24 Mbps up

That's like having a huge vacuum cleaner with a straw for attachment. The problem becomes a lot of the other infrastructure and the sites can't service those rates.

I'd go cable, but we have a really REALLY shitty company out here - Charter - that's the only game in town (in most of the state actually), so they treat you accordingly. I had issues with them 15 years ago, so I'll never give them another cent again. I listen to my parents & my buddies all bitch about them every day. They charge big money for crappy service that hardly ever works, then give you the cold shoulder when you try to fix it. Their office is a zoo - always full of people, line out the door, with everyone holding either a cable box or remote control that won't work to exchange under warranty. People behind the counter are about as friendly as the jackasses at the RMV. Can never get anything done when there's a problem .... but just miss one payment & they'll shut you off quicker than *censored*!

kozel wrote:Long Island FIOS connection.....

41.98 Mbps down
33.24 Mbps up

What are you advertised at?

I have the 25/25 FiOs service and I consistently get a little faster up(~27) and just a little slower down.

I'm, getting 28.72 down and 23.21 down on a 25/25 line

Ping is 17ms

12 dwn, 4 up on Comcast here.

kozel wrote:Long Island FIOS connection.....

41.98 Mbps down
33.24 Mbps up

Few residential users need or can really utilize speeds like that, especially for any length of time. Keep in mind that just because some speed test server reports a certain speed doesn't mean you will actually get it...there's so many other things that can affect speeds.

Richard's analogy is right on the money.

Richard S. wrote:That's like having a huge vacuum cleaner with a straw for attachment. The problem becomes a lot of the other infrastructure and the sites can't service those rates.

SMITTY wrote:I'd go cable, but we have a really REALLY shitty company out here - Charter - that's the only game in town (in most of the state actually), so they treat you accordingly.

Comcast here and same situation with the only game in town besides DSL, it's costly but I will say the service is outstanding. Outages are rare and the techs are usually competent.

I've got Verizon DSL. Very reliable service. Measured using the tests at http://www.dslreports.com/ as 2.664 Mb/s down and 0.685 Mb/s up.

I'm 7 miles from the telephone exchange, but about 15,000 feet from a SLC that then makes the rest of the run in fiber.

The speeds on my new iPad with a 4G Verizon connection are faster, but I've got the minimum service data plan so I only use it when there is no other choice.

The DSL reports web site http://www.dslreports.com/ has a "Find Service" for your area with customer reviews. See what's available in your area.

I was in class last week at the local community college sitting in front of a Windows 7 workstation. Did a speed test, around 30 Mb/s down and 25 Mb/s up. I was impressed. So I had three students do the the test at the same time. I expected it to bog down, but it didn't. Similar results for each workstation. The instructor, the head of the College's IT department was beaming with satisfaction. It was a night class and he said I wouldn't get those results during the day when more students are using their computers.

In Maryland all counties are installing a state wide high speed fiber network to serve, education, library and public safety facilities. It's a multi-year effort and some portions are up and working. Speeds are greater that the typical 100 Mb/s ethernet card can handle on the demos I've seen. Excess fiber capacity will be leased to private industry.

Speed is not everything . Sometimes I get 130 meg down..... It's spotty, unreliable and some friends in the area have the same issue. I've changed routers etc etc. Optimumonline and I can't say enough bad things about them. Just give me 5 meg down and one meg up and I can do anything I want to do. Just do it 99.9% of the time.