# Download speed limited to 160 kb/sec



## Odille (Jul 21, 2011)

Hello, I have QWEST DSL, and I am supposed to get 1mb + download speeds from them. When I talk to them on the phone they test my line at over 1mb and say any problems had to be on my end. 

I have replaced my router and my network card. I was hoping that would fix the problem, but it hasn't.

When I test my connection speed at this website 

CNET Bandwidth Meter: Online Speed Test - CNET Reviews 

I get 1.2 mb/sec but I have never gotten better than 160 kb/sec download speed from any website I've downloaded from. Is this a software issue? Is my computer somehow throttling what it receives? 

I did a Line Quality Test here DSL Reports and it is here:

Line quality test packet loss and latency | DSLReports.com, ISP Information


I did three tests, and the bottom part failed 4 times out of 6, so the failures are repeatable. The data all looks comparable for each test on a cursory examination, not knowing what I am looking for.

I have no idea what this test means/indicates.

So my questions are:

1) What further information do I need to supply? (Assume I don't know how to do what you are asking me to do if it is in the least bit technical.)

2) Is my problem with my phone lines? I live in an older area and the lines have not been updated in decades so it may be that QWEST is claiming they can deliver more then they actually can.

At this point I suspect I will need to get cable in order to get decent download speed, QWEST doesn't offer service at the speed I get, so I can't opt for a lower price/slower speed option from them even though they are not delivering what I am promised.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Odille


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## Jay_JWLH (Apr 30, 2008)

Anything along the lines of the internet connection can be a bottleneck. It wouldn't matter if you had a 100Mbit connection over the internet, with a server that could provide 1Gigabit, if in the very end your computer couldn't handle any incoming traffic of over 0.5Mbit either through your network connection or because of your computer. Your connection truly is only as good as its slowest connection.

With this in mind, I would say that it is the server that is the slowest connection here. I have had a fast upload speed and tested it like you have, but uploading content to Facebook only used up a limited amount of that. I could even upload the same content to Facebook, and Skydrive at the same time, and had bandwidth to spare.

To confirm what I am saying it true, test it out by downloading or uploading from multiple sources at one time, and see if you can use up your entire bandwidth. That will prove that I am right.


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## Odille (Jul 21, 2011)

Thanks for the reply Jay,

My maximum bandwidth is 160 kb/sec, if I download from several sources at the same time, it splits that between them for a total of 160 kb/sec over all uses. I can't stream netflix at the same time as downloading a game patch because the bandwidth is too low, though I should be able to do both at the same time with bandwidth to spare.


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## Jay_JWLH (Apr 30, 2008)

I will have to assume those two sources are different servers.

Do you get the same speed results using this? Does your ISP provide any kind of traffic shaping, or throttling of any kind? On the device webpage for your router, does it also confirm the same speeds that your ISP has mentioned?
If possible, use another computer on your network and see if it has the same results.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Go to a speed test site while connected to the router.
Run three tests saving the results

go the same site but this time while connected to the modem
Run the three tests saving the results

How do they compare?


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