wilkes

Hey guys...I haven't done a speed test in several months and just did a couple of tests from different sites. I have (or paying for Charter 5mbps service. Both these sites came in a at d/l speed between 24 & 26 mbps and upload and between 1 & 1.1 upload speed. Got any ideas on what gives?

RG, I wasn't talking about website speed; I was indeed talking about download/upload speed. I've had several Charter tech guys over to check things out over the years. The ones that freelance for Charter (and one who actually works for them) have told me flatout that the equipment and lines for Charter stink. I've gone through several routers and modems in recent years, and the problem is not my equipment or browsers. My outgoing and ingoing signals are borderline weak. My modem is hooked to a dedicated line from the road (no splitters) and a 2-way booster is in place also. I admit that things are better than they were 2 years ago, but at a cost. Part of that cost is being without signals for long periods on occasion. My 1.5meg DSL at work (in town) is better than my Charter cable. I'm glad it works for you; it's just not that great for me or a lot of others nationwide. For the cost of their internet and HD cable services, they should be providing tons more. They charge $10 extra per box for HD and $20 for an HD DVR box. I also ended up buying a modem from them 2 years ago that they continue to charge me a rental fee for. I've had them change that countless times; they agree that I purchased it, but that $5 charge stays there. OnDemand service also is out on half of my digital boxes at any given time. Their website is really bad too - endless loops with no real information. It would be nice to have a choice other than satellite.

LocalSportsFan, just because you have higher speed service, doesn't mean that web pages will necessarily load faster. The speed of the servers on the other end, and general internet congestion, contribute to slowdowns. The browser you use has an impact, too.

Where high-speed becomes important is with big downloads. Download an entire 700mb Linux distro over 5mb and 20mb and see how long it takes!

Test your speed here. I'll bet you're getting pretty darn close to what you're paying for.

http://www.speedtest.net

If your speed tests close to 20 megs there, but web pages load slowly/etc...that ain't Charter's fault. They're delivering the connection speed. The rest is out of their hands.

I deliver a syndicated radio show over Charter's 10 meg service every week, as well as lots of completed work. It's fast, it's reliable, and it works right 99 percent of the time. And the speed is almost always as fast, or slightly faster, than what I'm paying for.

No fan of Charter for TV am I, but their high-speed internet is rock-solid for me.

Charter's lines are crap in most areas around the state. They are a near-bankrupt company and will not put much money into technology upgrades. The best thing that could happen is for one of the bigger cable companies to absorb it. In one of the recent Consumer Reports, Charter is rated dead last in several categories (Digital/HD cable and internet). I actually throw money away each month paying for Charter's 20meg service. I haven't noticed much of a difference over 5meg. Also make sure your modem and router can handle better service before you waste your money. In most locations in Wilkes you have to boost the signal in both directions.

I have it from charter and it never works right. I have had them out here 7 or 8 times trying to fix the problem. They always say a line tech will look at it, never here anything back.

I have 10mbps down, 1mpbs up from Charter. It generally measures right at 10mbps, or a little above at this site

http://www.speedtest.net

I love it! It allows me to upload my radio program segments very quickly. An hour-long show goes up to my website for affiliates to download in just a few minutes.

I wouldn't settle for lower speed, having had 10mbps. Not unless I really had to!

Anyone with this speed? How do you like it? how many mbps do you download?