so ... have i been upgraded?

E

Enrom

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so ... i surf the internet but my knowledge of the technical aspects of it is like an eskimo's knowledge of rugby. i'm on a 512 line I think. i've read the upgrade thread and so checked my router info. it says this:

ADSL
Type Fast Path
Status SHOWTIME
Downstream Upstream
Data rate(Kbps) 6144 640
Noise Margin 12 12
Output power(dBm) 40 21
Attenuation(dB) 0 162

Does that mean my line's been upgraded?

Speedtest says this:

Test conducted on 19 September 2012 07:45:06 PM

Download Speed: 370 kbps (46.3 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 258 kbps (32.3 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 39 ms



Any analysis/interpretation/explanation would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks! :)
 
That data rate looks like a 6 meg line, and the speed tests indicate a 384kb/s uncapped data package. It might be worth checking your isp bills to see what you've ordered. A 4-10Mb/s line costs more than the 384kb/s->1Mb/s line if you're only after a low speed. Or get a faster data package if you've got a couple of hundred extra bucks a month.
 
First off, there's no 512K line in SA any more. Telkom did away with them a year ago, upgrading everyone on 512 Kbit/s to 1 Mbit/s.

Second, looking at your downstream data rate as reported by your router, it would seem like you're on a 10 Mbit/s product, but your router is only able to sync at 6 Mbit/s (6144 Kbps/1024=6 Mbit/s). Your Speedtest download result is very low for a 6 Mbit/s connection though. You should expect more like ~5000 Kbps or higher.

EDIT: Bugger, beaten to the punch. The upload speed seems too high for a 384k connection though. I get maximum of 128k upload on a 384k line.
 
What bruce said. Downgrade the line or upgrade the data account. What you're doing right now is a waste of money.
 
LazerFazer said:
The upload speed seems too high for a 384k connection though. I get maximum of 128k upload on a 384k line.
Click to expand...

I think a 384k uncapped package would limit the speed in both directions to 384k, that's how I would configure a shaper. The 128k upload limit on a 384k comes from the line itself, which is 640k according to his stats.
 
thanks very much for your replies. really interesting what you're saying.

i think i'll contact my ISP re options to upgrade. BTW, i still pay the same as when i started with mweb's uncapped unshaped 512 package a year ago or so.

my router couldnt pick up the line last week after the telkom techies had been working in the street, so the ports I think had to be refreshed, or something like that LOL.

UPDATE ON THE SPEED:

Test conducted on 19 September 2012 09:00:25 PM

Download Speed: 743 kbps (92.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 242 kbps (30.3 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 37 ms
 
Last edited:
Enrom said:
my router couldnt pick up the line last week after the telkom techies had been working in the street, so the ports I think had to be refreshed, or something like that LOL.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I wonder if Telkom screwed something up then. Either misconfigured the port or swapped you with someone else's port. If you took the bundle package with Mweb, then you should really be getting 1Mbps line speed and data package following the telkom upgrade that Lazerfazer mentioned.

Which server location did you use for the speedtest? I find using the WebAfrica hosted one in Newlands in their list gives me the most reliable numbers.
 
I use speedtest.net and it takes me to mweb johannesburg. but the speeds i register here and lower than at speedtest.broadband.co.za. I must say I'm surprised by the variance in speed readings. :)
How would I be able to access the webafrica one in newlands, please?
 
In the speedtest.net window, click and drag to move the map to cape town and then hover over the dot, it should expand and give you four options. WebAfrica in Newlands is usually the first in the list. Click to select and then click the Begin Test button.
 
Something still not right. That looks like mweb put you on a 1mbps account. The line is however @6mbps.

You can leave the situation as is...just make sure you're not paying for a 4/10mbps line. i.e. Either you're paying (wasting) for that 4/10mbps or someone screwed up & incorrectly put you on a 4/10mbps without you actually paying for it (score).

Don't worry too much about which server exactly. At this stage its you just need ballpark figures to work out on what the accounts speed is. Just make sure its a SA based one.

EDIT: The SNR stats on the router are rather sketchy. Are you getting any disconnects/other instability issues?
 
i think i'll contact telkom tomorrow for a clarification. I'm certainly not paying for a 4m line at the moment. Or maybe I should rather contact Mweb?

NEWLANDS RESULTS
ping 34ms
download 0.42mbps
upload .25mbps
 
Talk with mweb if you're on the bundled package, they can sort both parts out. I'd only call Telkom if they were billing you for the line on your account.

I've just run speedtest myself and my 4M line is registering 1M at the moment :cry::sick:, so there's congestion somewhere around.
 
thanks for the advice. will contact mweb. hopefully the congestion will be something of the past soon.
 
Some routers sometimes indicate max theoretical connection speed. My router at home indicates that based on SNR, it can potentially do just under 10Mbit/s down and just over 1Mbit/s up. But right below that it also indicates what it is currently synced at (in my case 4096/512 kbps).

It would seem odd to only show the theoretical bandwidth though. Also, 6144 is exactly 6*1024 AND 640 up is eerily close to what the max upload sync was for telkom until not too long ago. So it would seem that is your line actually sync speed. Talk to Telkom/Mweb and ask how the rest of us can get on that wagon. ;)
 
You need to make sure that you are paying for the right package. If you have a 1MB from the ISP and a 10MB line then you are paying too much for the line.
Upgrading the ISP package is going to cost you though.
 
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