Clarification On Speed

[foster11]

I've searched around a bunch for the answer to this question, and haven't found a response that is acceptable to me yet, so I'll ask the question myself. I'll put it as simply as possible.

I have an 18mbps cable internet connection. Speed testing websites show that my download speeds should be at around 18.5mbps. However, when I download files from most websites I only achieve speeds of around 200KBps.

Everywhere I've seen this question asked, someone is quick to jump in with the explanation about how the poster is probably confused about megaBITS per second vs megaBYTES per second.... That doesn't seem to be the case here.... With an 18megaBIT connection I would expect to see download speeds of around 2 - 2.5 megaBYTES per second, correct? If so, it seems by 200kilobytes/sec is just a fraction of what I should be getting....

I've managed to think of a few reasons for this on my own, however I don't know which ones are valid. Cable internet doesn't provide me with a dedicated line, so I'm losing speed when a lot of other people are online at the same time, correct? Would this slow down my speed to this extent? Does it have something to do with the server that I am downloading from's upload speed? I've seen the speed get up over 1megaBYTE per second once or twice, but it was very short lived.....

Someone please help?

 

[strollin]

With an 18mbps connection, I would expect to see around 2MBps download speeds. You say most websites you only get 200KBps downloads, are there sites you do see 2MBps? The reason I ask is because your download speed is also limited by the speed of the website you are downloading from. If that site is popular and a lot of people are downloading from it simultaneously then it will not be able to achieve high download rates.

If speed test sites show you are capable of 18Mbps downloads then that should tell you that your equipment is working as it should and the problem is on the other end.

 

[*= WildCat =*]

Hi foster11

Your true ATM speeds are shown in your router settings (Downstream / Upstream)