Telecom internet line speed ?

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sarahfoxnz

148 posts

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#148928 5-Jul-2014 19:46

Hello. i am with Telecom internet - Home Broadband Package - 40GB

i am thinking of upgrading my wifi router, & i am wondering if this is worth it, considering any limits on the telecom internet speed. I assume there is a max speed on a landline ?

1) I have the Home Broadband Package - 40GB

2) is there a maximum (average) speed i can achieve on a landline ?

3) i currently have a thompson router. 54Mbps

http://www.speedguide.net/routers/technicolor-thomson-tg585-wireless-multi-user-adsl2-337

54 Mbps

4) i am thinking of upgrading to Netgear

NETGEAR N600 Dual Band Wireless Modem Router

http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/modems/netgear-n600-dual-band-wireless-gigabit-adsl2-modem-router-dsnz-xh3387

WiFi Performance - N600 (300 Mbps + 300 Mbps)†

can anyone advise if it is worth upgrading routers ? or will my speed be the same & limited to the physical line ? (or is the line speed higher than 54Mbps now ?)

(when i upload / download large files / activities, it interferes with another persons Skype)

Ps one of the main reasons i want to upgrade is the logging - to log the upload/download bandwidth of individual devices attached to wifi.

EDIT: ive read the automated reply now.

1) i am in aucklands north shore - not rural.

2) i've checked telecom, & i ahve 2-3 other internet/broadband packages I can use in my area/street (i can't use the maximum one).

3) the auto response didn't answer my main query, re max Mbps that i can use on the package i have. i think i am using copper line. Not fibre.

PeterReader

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#1081581 5-Jul-2014 19:46

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

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JoshWright

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#1081592 5-Jul-2014 19:56

Your maximum copper speed depends on how far away you are from a cabinet/exchange, your home's wiring, and whether you're on VDSL or ADSL2. Ignore the advertised speeds on modems, they aren't the actual speed of your internet connection, only the maximum that the router can use on your local network. If you can't get fibre, try see if you can get VDSL, which helps a lot.

AKLWestie

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#1081594 5-Jul-2014 20:13

Please go to http://www.chorus.co.nz/map Then look below the map which will tell you what sort of boardband you can get.

Then please tell us what you can get and we can start from there. =-)

Inphinity

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#1081595 5-Jul-2014 20:14

You have ADSL2, so your maximum line speed is 24/1 anyway., and few reach that. If you test your speed, from a wired devices, at http://telecom.co.nz/speedtest you can get a reasonable idea of your line speed (although logging in to your router's UI and seeing the sync rates is most indicative).

quickymart

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#1081598 5-Jul-2014 20:29

Whereabouts on the Shore?

sarahfoxnz

148 posts

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#1081627 5-Jul-2014 21:16

Inphinity: You have ADSL2, so your maximum line speed is 24/1 anyway., and few reach that. If you test your speed, from a wired devices, at http://telecom.co.nz/speedtest you can get a reasonable idea of your line speed (although logging in to your router's UI and seeing the sync rates is most indicative).

I'm in takapuna on the Shore.

Tried the telecom chat - & all i get is a blank screen (ive sent a report on that to telecom). no error messages or anything just blank. (There was HTYML output produced, so there mst be an error in their code somewhere so it didnt display anything). tried with multiple browsers.

i think i've got the basic copper line.

Been to the address checker & these are avaialble to me.

- ultra fibre 100

- ultra fibre 30

- ADSL broadband (i think this is the one i'm on, but this wording isn't on my statements)

- ULTRA VDSL is not avaialble.

i'm not sure if its worth upgrading modems.

hio77

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#1081628 5-Jul-2014 21:20

there we are then! your in a fiber area, and wanting to upgrade things so you can multi-task.

go fiber, you will probably need to get a new router in that process, there is not much you can do with your adsl to make it faster - it sounds like your real issue is uploading files and using skype, which on adsl isnt surprising. - it simply doesnt have the upstream bandwith to do it all!

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sarahfoxnz

148 posts

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#1081634 5-Jul-2014 21:48

i think i'll upgrade to fibre. i'll phone Telecom tomorrow. though that doesn't answer my initial query.

1) if telecom is sending 100Mbs of data, & my modem can only handle 54 Mbps (as per google). then its worth upgrading my modem.

2) if telecom is already sending me 20 Mbps of data, & my modem can handle 54Mbps, then its worth upgrading to fibre (but no need to upgrade to modem).

No worries, i'll call Telecom.

Behodar

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#1081635 5-Jul-2014 21:54

You'll get a new "ONT" (which is the fibre equivalent of a modem) for free when you connect to fibre. However, 54 Mb/s sounds like Wi-Fi... and I believe that Telecom offers a 300 Mb/s Wi-Fi router as part of the standard install.

In other words, you should be all set if you order fibre :)

michaelmurfy

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#1081686 6-Jul-2014 00:22

Just sign up through their website - easy!

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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NonprayingMantis

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#1081698 6-Jul-2014 01:56

michaelmurfy: Just sign up through their website - easy!

easy?

michaelmurfy

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#1081699 6-Jul-2014 02:09

NonprayingMantis:
michaelmurfy: Just sign up through their website - easy!

easy?

Yeah... You can buy ALL of the internet here: https://store.telecom.co.nz/internet/buy

Jase2985

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#1081711 6-Jul-2014 08:05

you should never rely on WIFI and if its 54mbps you wouldn't see any more than about 60% of that (due to how wifi works)

if you want the full speed of your connection you must run an Ethernet cable to your device

timmmay

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#1081723 6-Jul-2014 08:33

sarahfoxnz: i think i'll upgrade to fibre. i'll phone Telecom tomorrow. though that doesn't answer my initial query.

1) if telecom is sending 100Mbs of data, & my modem can only handle 54 Mbps (as per google). then its worth upgrading my modem.

2) if telecom is already sending me 20 Mbps of data, & my modem can handle 54Mbps, then its worth upgrading to fibre (but no need to upgrade to modem).

The Telecom fibre connection can send up to 100Mbps, but you won't often get that say browsing the web or downloading a single file. Because of a few factors like NZ being a long way from where content is often hosted in the USA and technical limitations a single connection could be as slow as 1Mbps or perhaps as high as 50Mbps. 100Mbps is really useful for if you're downloading multiple files at the same time, have many people using the connection, and plus it's a future proof solution.

As has been said above if your wireless router is 54Mbps you may only get half that. 25Mbps or so is a reasonable speed, and is probably fine for most people. If you play online games or download a lot of files then perhaps it's worth upgrading your router, but in that case putting in an Ethernet cable would be even better - unless it's a laptop you use on the sofa or something. Even then you could have somewhere you plug into for big downloads or such.

Telecom will likely give you a new router when you sign up for fibre. If not I'm sure the guys here can recommend a router, but I suggest you hold off for now. Be aware that a fibre connection can take week to months to get installed.

Also note that Telecom is only one company selling fibre. I use an like Snap, but there's also Orcon, Vodafone, etc. You should probably look at the options before going with Telecom, though they're probably not a bad choice for the average person - they're used to providing technical support to non-technical people and you'd hope are quite good at it by now.

sbiddle

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#1081733 6-Jul-2014 09:11

WiFi headline speeds are theoretical maximums with one way traffic (UDP). As current 802.11 wireless standards are all half duplex you'll see an immediate slowdown with TCP.

Your 54Mbps 802.11g router will handle a maximum of 20Mbs in the real world. A new 802.11n 300 MIMO router will deliver average real world speeds of up to 50Mbps (yes it can do more, but I'm talking typical real world).

Because the 2.4Ghz band is now so heavily congested and unusable in many urban environments these "real world" figures can be a little on the high side. Because N300 means using 40Mhz channels and this will make your WiFi unstable in many urban environments you'll potentially need to use 20Mhz channels which means an immediate halving of theoretical speeds. It's not uncommon to see 802.11n deliver around 25Mbps, and if you can get this you should be happy.

At the end of the day WiFi is a complementary solution to cables Ethernet, is it not, and never will be a replacement for cabled Ethernet. If you want more faster WiFi you should be looking at 5Ghz if your devices support it.