Internet getting slower?

Bill · Jun 16, 2011, 11:19:21

For everybody, not just me...

A while ago I opened an "account" on speedtest.net so I could see the history of my tests, you can see it here.

When it started, the "Connection Grade" (the percentage that are slower than me) showed as 94% for both national and global. Now it's 97%/96%.

You can see from the graph that my tests have been pretty consistent, hence everybody else's must be getting slower!

esh · Jun 16, 2011, 11:29:50

I think IDNet were saying this is due to increased crosstalk as more people get on DSL.

I am also fairly consistent but have been dropping hugely. It's depressing so think I'm "Slower than 60%" of the UK when I get a solid 7Mbit, but such is life.

Bill · Jun 16, 2011, 11:38:49

Quote from: esh on Jun 16, 2011, 11:29:50
I think IDNet were saying this is due to increased crosstalk as more people get on DSL.

Not entirely happy with that as an explanation... whilst the increased crosstalk as more people come online is valid, I'd have thought it would be more than outweighed by people switching to FTTC.

iirc the average is about 9Mbps... One person going from 9Mbps to 35Mbps is going to have a lot more effect on the average than a lot of people dropping from 9Mbps to 8.5Mbps due to increased crosstalk.

esh · Jun 16, 2011, 12:15:39

If we are both consistent yet my average has gone down and yours up... I'm not entirely sure what to make of it

It is feasible that speedtest just fiddled with the algorithm to state how fast you are relatively.

zappaDPJ · Jun 16, 2011, 12:25:13

Pure speculation on my part but wouldn't you need to take account of the volume of data being pushed across the network? Assuming the network has a finite amount of capacity, wouldn't an increasing amount of traffic have an impact on overall speeds?

As an aside, here's a copy of my speed test graph. It's far more exciting than Bill's graph

Bill · Jun 16, 2011, 12:42:37

Quote from: zappaDPJ on Jun 16, 2011, 12:25:13
Pure speculation on my part but wouldn't you need to take account of the volume of data being pushed across the network?

I think that's likely to form a larger contribution than more DSL users tbh.

Quote
As an aside, here's a copy of my speed test graph. It's far more exciting than Bill's graph

Ouch...

pctech · Jun 16, 2011, 12:47:06

Chances are its now showing that the Internet's core arteries are in need of an upgrade which is where Internet2 comes in.

Steve · Jun 16, 2011, 13:12:19

I think it just shows the excellent quality of your FTTC connection compared to the rest. Which I suppose is a matter of luck as the factors involved are numerous and are largely beyond the end users control

Bill · Jun 16, 2011, 13:38:43

You're probably right.

I've never had any serious complaint about the actual connection¹, right from the fixed 2Mbps days when I first got broadband. It's too easy to assume that mine is typical, I suppose.

¹ What DLM does to it on occasion is another matter entirely

zappaDPJ · Jun 16, 2011, 13:57:44

Ah, the mysteries of DLM! It seems that as well as my ping dropping to 7ms recently, my sync rate has increased somewhat as I've had my best ever speed test results today.

[EDIT] Confirmed by a BT speedtest.

QuoteDownload speedachieved during the test was - 33885 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 12000-36620 Kbps .
Additional Information:
IP Profile for your line is -36620 Kbps

Bill · Jun 16, 2011, 14:25:27

Quote from: zappaDPJ on Jun 16, 2011, 13:57:44
Ah, the mysteries of DLM!

Indeed... my profile doesn't usually change by very much, but it does it quite often! Values for the last few weeks:

20/05/11   38717
27/05/11   34265
31/05/11   34666
02/06/11   38282
06/06/11   35333
09/06/11   35444
16/06/11   35333

It often seems to change by a small amount after a PPP outage, eg after that brief one the other night. It's seldom the BQM or the router log shows any sign of a re-sync

zappaDPJ · Jun 16, 2011, 15:01:51

It is a small amount as a percentage of an FTTC connection but not so small for anyone on an 8Mb/s service. That would be most of their potential throughput gone west.

.Griff. · Jun 16, 2011, 15:07:39

Mine - http://www.speedtest.net/results.php?sh=e9219ed0ee2823ef759a76019addfdd7&ria=0

(Thanks to the DLM)

Gary · Jun 16, 2011, 17:17:46

Im sure I read that the uptake of BT FTTC has not been that spectacular, people are wary of long contracts in tight times

Simon · Jun 16, 2011, 18:51:24

And, it's been known to be unreliable. I prefer my rock solid Max connection at the moment.

Gary · Jun 17, 2011, 08:33:00

Quote from: Simon on Jun 16, 2011, 18:51:24
And, it's been known to be unreliable. I prefer my rock solid Max connection at the moment.

I wondered what you were going to say after " My rock solid" for a second then

pctech · Jun 17, 2011, 13:00:18

Now now Gary.

Simon · Jun 17, 2011, 13:59:57

cavillas · Jun 17, 2011, 16:52:57

I think it's all the dirty stuff that is clogging up the broadband wires, I blame the teenagers after they visit porn sites.

Rik · Jun 17, 2011, 17:10:01

Just the teenagers, Alf?

cavillas · Jun 18, 2011, 19:56:42

Of course.

Bill · Jul 01, 2011, 00:52:02

There's something very odd about the speedtest.net figures... when I started the "account", the global average was shown as 9.04Mbps, tonight it's 8.82Mbps.

Fair enough, it could happen... but the "Connection Grade" results say I'm faster than 99% of the UK and 100% of the world!

Naah...

http://www.speedtest.net/results.php?sh=14b9d5b2ecf7c55f6abb56aa3ed0d15c&ria=0

Technical Ben · Jul 01, 2011, 09:20:46

Sorry, is that "grade" not "total"? As in, 35+Mb is 100% the bandwidth needed for all known software usage. So you get 100% score. If you have less, then perhaps 20% of things (like Hidef video) won't work, so you get a lower score.

The global average can shrink very easily. Just add BT company policy to more than one country, and you get an overloaded system or two, and slower connection.
For example, it's easy for new connection uptake to outpace new exchange upgrades.