Is my download speed what it should be?

[andrew0312]

My city has recently gotten fibre optics and I now have a 20Mb line speed(i'm not sure whether it is megabits or megabytes). I usually get about 2.5MB/s(I know that that is definitely in megabytes). So i'm wondering if I am getting the download speed that I should be getting or if it should be higher. My friend who lives in the same area as me said that he gets around 17MB/s download speed so that is why I am writing this. I use a TP-link AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter to connect to my router.

 

[bill001g]

2.5MB is exactly 20mbit. ISP and most networking testing sites state speeds in mbits/sec.

Even the newest powerline unit models that claim 2000 only get in the 150mbit range. It is greatly affected by your house wires.

You should always test plugged directly into your router with ethernet if you think you are not getting what you are paying your ISP for.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

You divide the bandwidth by 8 to arrive at an equivalent download speed.

So for a 20 Megabit bandwidth supplied by your ISP, your download speed would be around 2.5 Megabytes.

So there's nothing wrong with your internet service.

Your friend must be either on a higher bandwidth than you for whatever reason, or he doesn't understand the difference between megabits and megabytes (8 megabits = 1 megabyte).