How fast is a fast WiFi Connection?

uberman

Golden Member
Sep 15, 2006
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I'm always getting 1.1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps. I was in a hotel awhile back and was downloading at 30 Mbps, later on in another place I lucked out and got 59 Mbps. Reportedly, the US has slow Internet, because any attempt to hand it out for free is squashed by the big ISPs.

It was a thrill to actually download on a decent connection. I was curious what were others high-speed connection speeds, please post.

BTW: I use DU Meter which is a full time speedometer for my Internet connection, so I always know if my connection is working or not. There are also free speedometer downloads out there.
 
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smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
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I'm always getting 1.1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps. I was in a hotel awhile back and was downloading at 30 Mbps, later on in another place I lucked out and got 59 Mbps. Reportedly, the US has slow Internet, because any attempt to hand it out for free is squashed by the big ISPs.

It was a thrill to actually download on a decent connection. I was curious what were others high-speed connection speeds, please post.

BTW: I use DU Meter which is a full time speedometer for my Internet connection, so I always know if my connection is working or not. There are also free speedometer downloads out there.

Sounds like you're confusing Internet speed with Wi-Fi speed. Which question were you meaning to ask?
 

azazel1024

Senior member
Jan 6, 2014
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Yes (IE sounding confused). Internet I have 75/75 at home which I get around 82Mbps down and around 90Mbps up.

Wifi...about 490Mbps if I am close to my 11ac router, that is local network only of course.
 

uberman

Golden Member
Sep 15, 2006
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I meant WiFi speeds. My only connection at this time and for the past 11 months has been WiFi. Sometimes I do get a little faster speed using an active antenna. I use this Alfa dongle that I purchased on Amazon.

I used to live out in the boonies, so I only had a dialup connection. The phone lines were bad and the cable company stopped laying cable a mile from my ranch.

http://www.amazon.com/Alfa-AWUS036NH...+on+the+Market
 
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smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
3,382
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I meant WiFi speeds. My only connection at this time and for the past 11 months has been WiFi. Sometimes I do get a little faster speed using an active antenna. I use this Alfa dongle that I purchased on Amazon.

I used to live out in the boonies, so I only had a dialup connection. The phone lines were bad and the cable company stopped laying cable a mile from my ranch.

http://www.amazon.com/Alfa-AWUS036NH...+on+the+Market

It is all entirely dependent on your wireless router/Access Point, the wireless adapter of your device and the signal strength between the two. The signal strength is affected by things like obstructions, distance and gain of the antennas between the two.

A good connection:

For a wireless G connection in the same room - about 20mbps
For a wireless N150 in the same room - 50-60mbps
For a wireless N300 in the same room - 80-90mbps
For a wireless AC1750 in the same toom- ~450-500mbps

Hope that answers your question.

I was just confused because you brought up the thing about the US having slow internet since that would have nothing at all to do with WiFi. I think there is probably a deeper question in here somewhere.
 
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IGemini

Platinum Member
Nov 5, 2010
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If you're talking about internet downloads, your ISP connection would be the bottleneck, not your WiFi.

A solid 11n wireless connection won't bottleneck the vast majority of internet speeds. That's a telecom issue.

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I've gotten d/l up to 125 before, my 300Mbps wireless can handle about double that (factoring in overhead).
 

uberman

Golden Member
Sep 15, 2006
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I haven't tried ookla before, but here's what I got. For me, this is about as good as it gets.

 
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smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
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That ain't bad.
'Faster than 74% of the US'

What do you pay for?
 
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repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
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I recently upgraded to the newest Asus 802.11ac router and card .. 526Mb/s according to Windows at 4 bars in my bedroom, the farthest room from the router which is completely unable to get an 802.11g signal. I'm impressed!
 

uberman

Golden Member
Sep 15, 2006
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OK, how fast is your free connection supposed to be?

I nominate uberman as being the single most evasive OP for 2014.

I don't know. Many things give you Internet access, jobs and such. You've got to get it where you can.
 
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smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
3,382
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I don't know. Many things give you Internet access, jobs and such. You've got to get it where you can.

So this is what I think is happening.

OP is picking up internet service at different places (work, cafes, restaurants, libraries), etc.

OP is wondering about the limits of the speed of his internet access via wireless so when he finds a good one he won't continue looking for something much better.

The question is not "How fast is a fast WiFi Connection" but "What would be considered a fast internet connection via my WiFi as I log into to different Access Points?"

Right?
 

uberman

Golden Member
Sep 15, 2006
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So this is what I think is happening.

OP is picking up internet service at different places (work, cafes, restaurants, libraries), etc.

OP is wondering about the limits of the speed of his internet access via wireless so when he finds a good one he won't continue looking for something much better.

The question is not "How fast is a fast WiFi Connection" but "What would be considered a fast internet connection via my WiFi as I log into to different Access Points?"

Right?

You are wrong.
 

Sheninat0r

Senior member
Jun 8, 2007
515
1
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You are wrong.

well, thanks for the clarification. you're phrasing your questions badly, demonstrating a very poor understanding of computer networking and internet architecture, and now giving us absolutely no information to discern whatever it is you're really trying to ask.

do you know the difference between LAN and WAN? do you understand that the speed of the connection between the wireless access point and your computer is completely different than the speed of the connection between the access point and the internet? everyone else in this thread does, and we're trying to interpret your questions accordingly by using our knowledge of how computer networks function. please give us more information and explain what it is you are actually trying to find out.

tell us who (which internet service provider) provides you your free internet. it looks like comcast based on your speedtest result, but as far as i know comcast has no free internet plans. are you stealing your neighbor's wifi with your high-gain antenna?

there is no such thing as a wifi connection from an isp, by the way; they run copper or fiber all the way to your neighborhood or home, then you run ethernet to your pc or to a wireless access point which provides a wifi network your pc is capable of connecting to. the speed of your downloads and uploads (like i mentioned above) is the minimum of the speed of the isp<->ap connection and ap<->pc connection.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
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there is no such thing as a wifi connection from an isp, by the way; they run copper or fiber all the way to your neighborhood or home

In rural areas, there are indeed wireless ISPs. I have a relative using one. There's a dedicated forum on DSLR for people running them.
 

smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
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In rural areas, there are indeed wireless ISPs. I have a relative using one. There's a dedicated forum on DSLR for people running them.

They're fairly common here in East Idaho and I welcome them, if for no other reason, to provide competition for the local cable company and the local bell DSL connection. Actually, there's at least 4.

My parents live outside of a town of 250 people and the nearest place you can find on a map is Pocatello (60,000 people) and that's 45 miles away. The wireless speeds aren't great but a 5mbps internet connection for $40 for them is revolutionary.

I don't think that's what OP is talking about.... but then again...... ?
 
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Sheninat0r

Senior member
Jun 8, 2007
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In rural areas, there are indeed wireless ISPs. I have a relative using one. There's a dedicated forum on DSLR for people running them.

They're fairly common here in East Idaho and I welcome them, if for no other reason, to provide competition for the local cable company and the local bell DSL connection. Actually, there's at least 4.

My parents live outside of a town of 250 people and the nearest place you can find on a map is Pocatello and that's 45 miles away. The wireless speeds aren't great but a 5mbps internet connection for $40 for them is revolutionary.

I don't think that's what OP is talking about.... but then again...... ?

oh, cool. i stand corrected; i guess that's what i get for living in cities and suburbs all my life.
 

JoeMcJoe

Senior member
May 10, 2011
327
0
0
How long is a piece of string?

Once I saw a piece of string 34 ft long, it was free.

Then one day I saw a piece 456454545 miles, it was free.

... this message makes as much as sense as this thread! :D :) ;) :D :D :D
 

BirdDad

Golden Member
Nov 25, 2004
1,131
0
71
I've been lucky if I get 12MBps speed transferring between computers between a wired 1Gbps and a wireless AC. !.2MBps if I am on wireless G and that is with full bars.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,647
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www.anyf.ca
Fast wifi is exactly as fast as a fast wifi of equivalent speed.

On serious note, my internet is 50/30 and I get close to that on mine at home. Though I don't trust the android speed test app, it sends too small of a data spurt and I suspect the values may be inflated, at least the upload because it's higher than 30 when I do a test.

I will need to do a test over my LAN using a better technique to see what I get. I know I get very good speeds. My AP is only 10/100 though so obviously wont get more than 100 but don't think N can even do that.

There's also AC which is even faster than N, quick google search tells me it can do gigabit with 4 antennas at the AP and 2 at the client. (various streams I imagine)

Wifi speed can be affected by many factors though, from environment to configuration.

A wifi network can also be seen as a hub. Only one client can talk at a time and only one direction. Though I'm not sure if this is true with multiple antenna/radio setups.