[TelstraClear] Is the Telstraclear speedtest reliable?

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › [TelstraClear] Is the Telstraclear speedtest reliable?

OldFart

36 posts

Geek

#114775 2-Mar-2013 23:00

Something seems weird about the TC speedtest. If I run a speed test on the Telstraclear site I get around 100 Mbps (I have a warpspeed connection).
But if I do the same thing on other speed test sites I get nothing like 100 Mbps.
Call me suspicious, but am I really getting "warp speed" anywhere other than on the TC site?

From the Consumer test:

From speedtest.net (Auckland)

From the Telstraclear speed test

This is a filtered page: currently showing replies marked as answers. Click here to see full discussion.

Talkiet

4792 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#773765 2-Mar-2013 23:48

It is absolutely believable that a speedtest server on the same network as you are would give much better results than others, even if they are in the same city or country.

As for warp speed, I'm unaware if the TCL residential broadband service has any performance guarantees, especially to sites beyond their own network - but I _stongly_ suspect it doesn't.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

DoomlordVekk

129 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#773789 3-Mar-2013 01:37

Ian, its the design & the dimensioning of the TCL(now VF) network that says "All things being equal, you should be able to achieve your plan speed across the TCL network".

Its also in the way the speedtest software is configured. Ookla's software needs 'tweaking' (multithreading) to reliably report speeds test that approach or exceeds 100Mb.

We have peering agreements with other ISPs but we can't dictate the packet flow through their own networks or if they choose to statically oversubscribe some infrastructure by design or network dimensioning.

Lastly, the further away the speedtest server you are testing against is from your machine, the more bandwidth-delay product and tcp windoww size plays a part in keeping the variable size of that pipe between you and the speedtest server as full as you can.

TL:DR = lots of factors affect how much bandwidth exist betwwen you and a speedtest server, almost all of them you have no control over, nor does your ISP.

"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." Donald Porter – British Airways

The views expressed here are my own and are not reflective of other organisms or organisations.