Internet Provider ? ?

[TexasDad]

I'm not sure were to post this, I'm on an IMAC so this forum seems like a good place to start. There is so much computer knowledge on this forum so I'm sure somebody can help me out.

My current internet provider is AT&T DSL; I have there fastest package that they claim to be 5 MBPS. When I run a speed test it is usually around 2 MBPS.


AT&T now (finally) has uverse in my area. If I got the uverse advertised at 6 MPBS would it be faster then what I have now. There is little difference in the claimed speeds but will the actual speed be better?

My current DSL is plenty fast if it is only being used by one person. Netflix only, internet surfing, etc. But if somebody watches Netflix on the TV while somebody else is on the computer both devices run very slow.

My current router/modem is the 2wire that ATT gave me with my DSL. I've been told by somebody else that I should attaché an N router to that and everything would be much faster. My IMac is plugged in to the router, everything else is wireless.

All opinions and facts are welcome.
Thank You.

 

[derbothaus]

If you have 5Mb and you get 2Mb. You need to complain. I do not see a 6Mb line as giving you any improvement as the relay nodes are probably too far away from your residence. Not much AT&T can do except the empty promises. If there is something local to your machine that is slowing down transfer rate then I would work on getting the 5Mb you pay for 1st. DSL does not suffer from too many people on the line like cable does so you should be getting what you pay for. Or AT&T should adjust your rate as they just can't give you the speed you pay for. In Seattle, at my house, I can get a DSL line at 1.5Mb/s or Comcast at 100Mb/s. I am at the last stage relay point for DSL. My neighbors can get 20Mb DSL. so it all depends on location.

 

[ndriver182]

A little off-topic for the forum.

That being said, it's hard to say if the Uverse will get you faster speeds. You won't know what you actually get until you plug in your Mac to the router and see what your numbers are. Maybe you know others in your area who have Uverse and you can ask them what they get. I have Charter cable and my "Express" tier says I should get up to 15 mbps and I get 16-17 regularly depending on the time of day. So it just depends.

Also, getting an N router isn't going to help your iMac's Internet speeds if you're using a hardwire ethernet connection. You'd probably be hard-pressed to see a difference with your other wireless devices. That said, if you had multiple computers on the network that connected wirelessly to your router for streaming video, transferring files, etc from one computer to the other (and they all have N wireless cards installed), you could see better performance.

 

[TEG]

With a DSL connection, if at any time you are not getting at least 80% of the advertised speed, you should call technical support, as there might be a line issues (I'm a Tech Support technician for a small phone company with DSL). They can then fix that issue for you. Before jumping to Uverse, you should see if there are any other DSL packages available from at&t. Some provider are able to supply up to 30 Mbps over your existing copper lines (as mine does), before jumping to the expense of special installs for Uverse.

TEG

 

[robgendreau]

Not sure if it's still true, but one virtue of ATT DSL was that a certain download rate was guaranteed; sounds like you're not getting it.

And the 2Wires they sometimes supply are old wifi; definitely hook it to a better wifi router or access point (there are some issues there with the two wire; I suggest if you go this route (ha) disable the 2Wire wifi and set it into DMZ mode so it does none of the routing except to your chosen wifi router downstream.

I switched to uverse and actually ended up paying less and get 23 Mbps consistently. Slow upload though.

Rob

 

[MacOG728893]

I have a 20Mbps down and 5Mbps up plan. I sometimes get between 16-17Mbps but can't complain because I also get 25-27Mbps down often haha! On up I usally get a steady 3.5Mbps.

Take into account there are seven people sharing this network

 

[mmomega]

I'm on Charter and just ran a test this is the slowest I've had all weekend but still quick. 3 others on the network and Netflix running.


I used to have ATT DSL 6Mb/s ,as well but it was very inconsistent for some reason. Usually got 450K.

Switched to Charter with 25Mb/s had that for a year and 2 months ago they called and asked if I wanted to go up to their top tier 100Mb/s for another $15 so I jumped on it.

If you are getting less than 50% advertised speed I'd call them, more than likely they will blame another component on your network. It took me 2-3 calls over a week before ATT finally came out to check it then changed out the modem. Speeds were good at first then a week later the speeds dropped back off and I canceled.


***Had everyone stop what they were doing for a sec and reran speediest****



To the OP, I just noticed you were in DFW as well, I'm just South of Arlington. If you have Charter in your area I'd at least give them a call. If you need super quick uploads then UVerse or FiOS would be better but for pure download Charter has it in the bag.

 

[Spencie]

I'm on Charter and just ran a test this is the slowest I've had all weekend but still quick. 3 others on the network and Netflix running.
[url=http://www.speedtest.net/result/1695248285.png]Image[/URL]

I used to have ATT DSL 6Mb/s ,as well but it was very inconsistent for some reason. Usually got 450K.

Switched to Charter with 25Mb/s had that for a year and 2 months ago they called and asked if I wanted to go up to their top tier 100Mb/s for another $15 so I jumped on it.

What the... Amazing download speed. I wish I had that. My ATT Uverse internet's max plan is 24 MB/S

 

[28Gauge]

Im in Grapevine and I had ATT DSL until 3 months ago. I was getting 2-3 Mbs on average. I switched to TimeWarner cable internet (20Mbs plan) and I have been averaging close to 20 Mbs without any problems.

 

[derbothaus]

Im in Grapevine and I had ATT DSL until 3 months ago. I was getting 2-3 Mbs on average. I switched to TimeWarner cable internet (20Mbs plan) and I have been averaging close to 20 Mbs without any problems.

Amazing... Totally different tech garnering different results. Not sure if cable was on the OP's table.

 

[MacOG728893]

Paying for 20 makes me happy to get this result down, but I never get the advertised up..

 

[Weaselboy]

Image

Paying for 20 makes me happy to get this result down, but I never get the advertised up..

I believe you are seeing that test result because of Powerboost and it only lasts a few seconds, thus tricking the speedtest. Go to ftp://ftp1.optonline.net/test64 << this link in Safari and it will start a large file DL... open the Safari DL manager at the top right and watch speed start out fast then in ten seconds or so it will drop back down to your real, sustained speed.

 

[MacOG728893]

I believe you are seeing that test result because of Powerboost and it only lasts a few seconds, thus tricking the speedtest. Go to ftp://ftp1.optonline.net/test64 << this link in Safari and it will start a large file DL... open the Safari DL manager at the top right and watch speed start out fast then in ten seconds or so it will drop back down to your real, sustained speed.

I see.. Well that spoils all the fun lol