Need Help - Bandwidth Query

[logo1234]

Hi

I have a StarHub connection which promises me 100 mbps.

I usually log in using the wi-fi. On wifi, I only get 20-25 mbps (checked speed using independent sites).

Also got an Aztech Powerline Plug and then connected it to a Powerline wifi repeater to see if the issue was weak signal across walls. That now gives me 15 mbps!!

So here are the questions:
1. Is StarHub lying when they say 100 mbps?
2. When I try and download stuff, the speed is like 1-2 mbps. Does Starhub throttle bandwidth? Heard they do it quite regularly in Singapore.
3. Does anyone have any ideas of cracking this puzzle on how I can increase the available band-width using wi-fi? I can connect via an ethernet cable but that will reduce portability.

Happy to hear suggestions.

Thanks a lot
R

[durain]

you not going to get 100mbps. the quoted 100mbps is with contention ratio. not sure what's the ratio but it could be from 20 to 50 or more sharing the 100mbps line.

a wifi will always have some overhead on bandwidth. how bigger bandwidh do you need? are you constantly downloading stuff nonstop?

[logo1234]

Hi
Thanks for the comments and info.
MY challenge is that I have been unable to download even a 100 mb file because it takes forever....
Well guess I have been spoilt with the bandwidth in other countries where 100 mbps meant 100 mbps and downloading was a breeze.
Sigh....will have to live with this I guess.
R

[syamsulstar]

Hi
Thanks for the comments and info.
MY challenge is that I have been unable to download even a 100 mb file because it takes forever....
Well guess I have been spoilt with the bandwidth in other countries where 100 mbps meant 100 mbps and downloading was a breeze.
Sigh....will have to live with this I guess.
R

The 100mbps speed might be for local traffic (in Singapore only).

Most fiber plans offer up to 25mbps for international bandwidth. There is only one plan that offers international bandwidth of more than 25mbps: Max Inf. Supreme (100mbps international bandwidth).

[sierra2469alpha]

Logo - had Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate Cable (100mbps) for the almost 4 years we've been here. Repeated speed tests via speedtest.net show that it caps at about 70 on a good day (when all the kids are at school!!) and slows in the afternoon mostly. Local sites are faster, but as Durain says, it's all contention. That's why you don't pay for data, I think (might be wrong).

Generally, we find it pretty good, but those speeds you're getting are not good. Sounds like a misconfig somewhere - maybe your router? You say powerline - do you mean the ones that plug into your power outlets?

Our apartment is like a darn Faraday cage, so our mobiles are dodgy, but inside, we have no problem with wifi on our notebooks etc. And we have some pretty strong rebar here!

I *think* StarHub can send out some of their "Troopers" to help fix issues - we've never needed them and get it free once a year because we're Platinum with StarHub - but that might be worth a try once you do a base test.

HTH.

[curiousgeorge]

The 100mbps speed might be for local traffic (in Singapore only).

Most fiber plans offer up to 25mbps for international bandwidth. There is only one plan that offers international bandwidth of more than 25mbps: Max Inf. Supreme (100mbps international bandwidth).

Not with starhub. They only offer 15Mbps until you hit Platinum (25Mbps) or Supreme (100Mbps).

The best bang for the buck international bandwidth is still the MaxOnline Ultimate old fashioned cable (30Mbps, about $81++ per month). Uploads a measly 10Mbps but that wont affect most pple.

You have to spend $395++ per month to get better International Bandwidth on MaxInfinity Supreme (claimed 100Mbps)

[curiousgeorge]

Hi

I have a StarHub connection which promises me 100 mbps.

I usually log in using the wi-fi. On wifi, I only get 20-25 mbps (checked speed using independent sites).

Also got an Aztech Powerline Plug and then connected it to a Powerline wifi repeater to see if the issue was weak signal across walls. That now gives me 15 mbps!!

So here are the questions:
1. Is StarHub lying when they say 100 mbps?
2. When I try and download stuff, the speed is like 1-2 mbps. Does Starhub throttle bandwidth? Heard they do it quite regularly in Singapore.
3. Does anyone have any ideas of cracking this puzzle on how I can increase the available band-width using wi-fi? I can connect via an ethernet cable but that will reduce portability.

Happy to hear suggestions.

Thanks a lot
R

Tell us which plan you are on, which modem and which router you are using.

I recently came to realise that:

a) although Starhub may sell you a plan >30Mbps, they may not give you a free modem that can handle more than 32Mbps
b) even if they do give you a decent modem, the wifi/router capabilties may not be up to scratch.

I am on a measly MaxOnline Premium 50Mbps plan. The free modem/router is capped at 32Mbps. The router is only 10/100 Base-T, not 1000 (otherwise known as gigabit, which is basically as fast as you can get in a home networking environment without serious $$$$).

Anyways, after recent bad connection troubles, I went out, bought a new router and switch the crappy SH one to bridge mode (modem only). Of course I still cant exceed 32Mbps, but I can hit 32Mbps, and at busy times (like 9pm in the evening) I get a constant 25Mbps approx.

The best part is, doesnt matter if it is my hardwired or wireless devices...all get the same speed

Even if you have fibre plan, a decent router could help you out. Check out the networking clinic on HardwareZone.com.sg for more info.

The Asus RT-54U and EnGenius ESR9850 are both gigabit routers getting excellent result for people on copper and fibre connections.

[curiousgeorge]

And one other thing...if your devices and router are all capable of wireless N, change the settings on the router to only use N, turn off b/g

[logo1234]

Hi
Thanks to all the folks who have given their comments. Much appreciated.... )
I have MaxOnline Ultimate.
Am using a CISCO Home Router. Cisco 3000 I think.
I bought Aztech Powerline Plugs to expand the wireless coverage using the home circuit was the coverage at different spots in the house drops dramatically. Connected one to the Router. And connected the other one in another room. That is a wireless extender.
Realised that the Aztech plugs did not make a difference. Speed from that is lower than what I get from CISCO.

[curiousgeorge]

OK well the Cisco router from starhub for Maxonline >32Mbps is a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, suitable for speeds up to 100Mbps.

However, the wireless is crap. No antenna, right? Then you would benefit from switching the cisco to bridge mode (modem only) and running a separate high-powered wireless router as I mentioned earlier.

Shouldn't be any reason why you wireless through-put is less than your wired through-put at sub-100Mbps speeds.

For an accurate test of your modem capability within Singapore, use the starhub utilities page.

Check that your bundle description is correct (Starhub have been known to provide a service lesser to the one you are paying for!) then click OK and run the download test. Preferably at a quiet time (4am ) to get a decent-ish gauge of your true download speed.

[logo1234]

Hi

The router is my personal router.

StarHub gave me a Motorola Model and Router. As I had the Cisco E2000 (not 3000 - apologies), I swapped the router.

The CISCO does not have an antennae.

So as I read from your note, I change the router from CISCO to ASUS/EnGenius and then see if the speed changes.

I have spoken with SH and they confirmed that the speed from their end looks to be 100 mbps. I will give them a call again to confirm that am getting what was promised.

Thanks a tonne. This helps a lot.

Cheers
R

[sundaymorningstaple]

[curiousgeorge]

@logo1234,

STOP! DON'T BUY ANYTHING YET!

OK so you have a Motorola Modem. Is it the SB6100 or SB6120? If not then you're not making the most of your connection as your modem can't handle the bandwidth (i.e. isn't DOCSIS 3.0) That would be the first thing to fix.

I had a look round at the E2000, and it apparently has a reputation for severe wireless drop-off in as little as 10'. :$


THings I think you should try, report back here, before you spend any money:

1) Wi-Fi speeds of 20-25Mbps are consistent with your international bandwidth of 30Mbps, if indeed you are testing on international sites
2) Go to starhub utilities page. http://utilities.starhub.com/conexon/en ... tFrame.jsp
3) Verify in the box at the top it says Maxonline Ultimate (this saves you having to call them again!) Click Continue, accept the javascript popup, scroll down and run the download test ON A WIRED CONNECTION
4) repeat step 3 ON A WIRELESS CONNECTION...that way we have a baseline for comparison between your wired and wireless throughput.
5) If those figures are the same, and your modem is DOCSIS 3.0, then nothing to do, you are at the mercy of Starhub. BUt I would expect you to be hitting 80Mbps on your wired connection at least, even with contention ratio.

Report back with your results so we can help further.

If, from the above tests, your wireless is significantly less than wired throughput, then there are things you can try first. You are going to need a wired connection as you might lose wifi access during some of these setting changes, and you need the wired connection to change settings back

1) Go to http://tools.meraki.com/stumbler and run it (web based wifi sniffer)
2) Look at the channels and number of Access Points on each channel...are you sharing chanel 11 with tons of your neighbours? IN which case, go into router settings and change your channel to something that isn't being used/least used by neighbours.
3) Check router settings for 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz. If all of your devices (laptop/tablet etc) are 5Ghz compatible, disable 2.4Ghz as you might find better throughput at that frequency.
4) Check router settings for channel at wireless b/g/-n. If you are outputting "auto" or b/g/n together, then (assuming all devices are N compatible), switch to N only.
5) If you are running 2.4Ghz wifi, then switch Channel Width to 20Mhz (not 40Mhz or 20/40Mhz). This will narrow your channel width and reduce interference from other devices and networks. But only do this if you have done (1) & (2) above, otherwise its pointless.


Let me know when you have tried all that, see where we get to

[aster]

The bandwidth listed, say 100mbps, is the maximum bandwidth provided by your IPS. It is not a guaranteed rate of transfer as that can vary due to a large number of factors, often not associated with your IPS at all.

If they state 100mbps, they should not throttle your connection to any speed below 100mbps. If the data can be delivered to you at that rate (and that will depend upon how fast the site you're accessing will dish out the data, and how that data will flow to you over the internet...), then your ISP should not slow that down on purpose unless it was to rise above 100mbps.

As for using wifi, OF COURSE it is going to put a dent in your download speeds. There are many good routers around, but even the best will struggle with such speeds. If you want to download at those rates, you need to connect to your modem/router by ethernet cable.

YOU SHOULD ALSO LOOK AT your network card and general computer specs. A network card could easily not cope with such a fast connection (some are maxed out at 100mbps, though it's unlikely they can handle speeds right up to that amount) and a computer needs some really solid specs in terms of processing power, memory, etc. to be able to receive large amounts of data (not just quick bursts) at such speeds.

It's one thing to download a 500kb web site at such speeds, and a completely different matter to open the floodgates and try to dump a 5GB file onto your desktop at those transfer rates.

[zzm9980]

As for using wifi, OF COURSE it is going to put a dent in your download speeds. There are many good routers around, but even the best will struggle with such speeds. If you want to download at those rates, you need to connect to your modem/router by ethernet cable.

Just a quick correction here: Newer 802.11n operating on the 5GHz band and depending on the number of antennas will have no problems with those speeds. Without getting too technical, just check the specs of your router. If it advertises 802.11n, check if it does 2.4 and/or 5Ghz. (the N spec allows for both). Then, check the number of antennas for the 5Ghz spec. (All of these details should clearly be spelled out on the box).

Just as an example and point of reference, a two year old Apple Airport Extreme does both 2.4 and 5, and has three antennas for 5Ghz. I easily average about 150mb/sec with a Macbook Air at about 80% signal strength. If you have an aversion to apple products, this Asus router is also highly recommended from numerous reviews:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/this-i ... -you-want/

I've seen it for about S$190.