My mbps scores

Download speed: 3.32
Upload speed: 0.18

This sounds bad. I don't much about comparisons but someone let me know how bad of a connection this really is - and possible ways to make it better!

 

Bad compared to what? If you're paying for 25 Mbps fiber, then yes, you should probably complain. If you're paying for 5 Mbps cable, then you're getting what you paid for. You can make it better by paying for something faster.

 

Just curious, but how does one test their DL / UL speeds?

 

Well see sir, I know nothing when it comes to these things..my reasoning for asking .

And the website is Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test I believe.

 

Your connection speed as read through speedtest.net is dependent on several factors:

What is the speed that you're paying for? As Lithus said, it is all relative. If you're paying for anything more than 5mbps, it is a pretty poor connection.

Did you have anything running in the background that was streaming music/video/downloads? This can have a huge impact on the score because speedtest.net isn't able to differentiate between your true speed and what is currently being throttled by the background downloads.

If the former is the case, then do a power shuffle on your router/modem and they'll reset. If it continues after this, contact your provider and tell them what your problem is. They'll run you through diagnostics and if that doesn't alleviate the problem, then they'll send a technician/service out to the local connection point to see if there are problems on their end.

Also, keep in mind that if you're on Cable, then you live on a community network, where your performance is dependent on your neighbors' usage. If they are utilizing it more, then you'll have a crappier connection. DSL doesn't have these problems since it is a direct subscriber line to your house.

 

I think those numbers are a bit paltry for anyone. For basic internet usage pay a bit more and at least get the next level up. No need for the speeds I'm posting but I think you will have an overall better experience, even think of updating apps and programs, with a bit faster connection. 10Mbs or so.

 

I see people all the time that put up with crap from their cable provider... DON'T. If you're paying for 5Mbps on the downlink, they had better supply 5Mbps. Call and complain enough and eventually you'll get on someone's nerves bad enough to where they'll fix it to stop you from calling. There's no excuse for them to short change people like that. I've had cable internet in just about every place I've lived and I've always been delivered the speeds I pay for... or like right now, more.

I'm on an 8Mbps/1Mbps package ATM...

 

Also, if you're on DSL, if the phone lines are old and crappy, your speeds will be lower. I live in a relatively new neighborhood in town (built around ~2002) and I mostly get the speeds I pay for (pay for 1.5 down/ .768 up and I get 1.4 down/ ~.5 up). I expect that older neighborhoods that have been around for decades will have garbage connections to DSL no matter what you pay for.

PS - Ignore the speedtest in my sig. That's from the MetroEthernet connection my school uses =p.