Confused about how to interpret my dsl download speed

[photoman2k7]

My DSL speed at home is supposed to be 3 mbps however when i do a speed test its always says 1.55 to 1.97 mbps.  I have a 2wire 2700hg-b adsl modem.

My question is when im downloading a file to my hard drive or using flashget v2 it says it is downloading at speeds of 178.77 KB/s, sometimes on flashget for a second or two i will see numbers that go up to 445 KB/s or more.

Does this mean im downloading at 1.78 mbps or slower?

[Joey]

I used to work for one of the largest DSL Internet companies in the US. This is where I learned how DSL (and Cable Internet) works.

Around town your local telephone company places various boxes on telephone poles. They are called "DSLAM" boxes. The DSLAMs govern your Internet speed. The closer you are to them the faster your Internet speed will be.

The small print on all DSL and Cable Internet contracts state that whatever speed you are buying is the Max speed you should expect. And this speed is not guaranteed.

My guess would be is that the wiring from your house to the closest DSLAM box is not that close. This is why you are not getting the full speed.

An alternative reason why your Internet speed is slow: My sister was getting worse speeds than what you are getting. Her DSL speed was a lot slower than the max speed she was buying. She made a call to her DSL provider and they took some time, did some tests and found out somehow that one of her neighbors broker her wireless password and was stealing Internet. Probably constantly downloading stuff (this can be extremely taxing to your net connection and almost bring it to a hault). They somehow killed the foreign connection and now her Internet is more than twice as fast.

As for the interpretation of your speeds, please note this.
The speed from your DSL company is probably advertised as MegaBytes. When you download something it is probably listed at Kilobits. There are 8 bits in a Byte. So when you download at 178.77 Kb/s it translates to roughly 1.4 MB/s. When you get a quick 445 Kb/s burst that translates to 3.48 MB/s.

Here is what I suggest...
For the next several days test your Internet speed (at somewhere like SpeedTest.net) during two different times like morning and night. Log it. If it is not at least 2.5 MB/s on most of the days you test I recommend that you call your DSL provider. Tell them your results and what they could do to speed it up. From there they may test to see how far you are away from the closest DSLAM box or the "CO" (Central Office). Or maybe it will be a similar problem to what my sister experienced and they will help you out with that.

[photoman2k7]

Thanks your answer was so informative. I have wondered about the download speed for years.  Moreso why it said 178 kbs instead of 1.4 mbps when i was downloading something. MYSTERY SOLVED!

But now i know it should be saying a consistent 340 kbs or higher since im supposed to have download speeds of 3 mbps.

Also in June 2009 I did have an AT & T tech come out to fix a problem where everytime it rained my phone and internet went out, but about 5 to 10 minutes after it stopped raining it would come back on.  Well he said when he checked the main box for this area he said my telephone connection just crumbled in his hand due to water damage with the same result with the connection on the outside of my house. He re-wired both. 

Plus he said he was surprised that my speed was as good as it was due to how far away i was from the main office or control box for my area.

I have to check with my service provider to see if i have wireless service, i do have a light on my modem that says wireless but its only come on once when my computer was off?

i will check speeds during the morning noon and night time though. Thanks for your tips.

[Joey]

I think the last DSL tech that came to your house answered your question. You are probably too far from the Central Office to get consistent 3Mb speeds.

To get faster speeds you have 2 other options...
1. Does your local Cable TV company offer Internet access? If so call them up and ask what type of speeds they offer. There is no need to purchase their TV packages, you can just buy their Internet service
2. Does your local Phone company offer Fiber Optic Internet? Check with them to see if they do. I believe Verizon calls their fiber optic Internet service "Fios". I don't know what any other local phone companies call their fiber internet service.