** Off Topic ** Google Fiber confusion

[weinstro]

My desktop is on wifi at the moment with an 802.11n USB wifi adapter that is rated up to 300 mbps.

I'm considering ordering an 802.11ac dual band width adapter right now. Will this make a difference?

My experience with 802.11n was 300 MB/sec at a range of 5 feet and zero (no reception) at a range of 25 feet, through a closet wall. 802.11ac (5 GHz) is considerably better, but the range is more limited than 2.4 GHz.

I'm considering ordering an 802.11ac dual band width adapter right now. Will this make a difference?

Yes, no, maybe. It should but my other comments regarding wifi in post #3 are still relevant. Buy a MIMO equipped wifi router, set for 802.11ac only at 5 GHz. Make an effort to ensure that you are using an otherwise unoccupied channel. You will need a network interface card for your desktop, too. Then it should be pretty darn fast.

You'll need to accept a performance degradation if you need to support 2.4 GHz and 802.11 b/g for older devices.

Another poster suggested wired connections. This really is your best bet for reliable speed for non-mobile gear assuming that you can run LAN cable through your walls.

FWIW, I use wired connections where possible and use wifi for laptops and smart phones. TV, Roku, Squeezebox are all LAN connected and nobody complains about dropouts. I also have a wifi network for 5 GHz (ac), 2.4 GHz (b/g), and a separate network for guests (no encryption). It is impossible to find totally free 2.4 Ghz channels in my neighborhood.

[Millstonemike]

Just a note ... when talking wireless speeds, other devices on the wireless network can reduce the results of the speed test - perhaps just with a maintenance packet in the middle of the system test. And some devices using older WiFi technology will cause the WiFi router to slow to the least common denominator wireless transfer rate.

And when the kids in the neighborhood get home from school, they can load down the cable ISP's network ...

[Æ]

It does what I need it to do, and I only pay $30/month.

I am not paying for cable, Netflix, or internet-phone, etc.
Wolf

So basically you get a small Byte of the Bit pie.

[pknaz]

the speed issue could be a bottleneck on your USB port, older USB ports have very little bandwidth. Try USB 3.0 or USB 3.1. Also, there is a dramatic difference between MB/s and Mb/s.

[Wolf]

It does what I need it to do, and I only pay $30/month.

I am not paying for cable, Netflix, or internet-phone, etc.
Wolf

[Æ]

I'm on DSL, and get 1.3Mb and 0.34Mb respectively.
heehee!
Wolf

Hopefully you aren't paying too much for it, otherwise time for an upgrade. I have a friend who had pretty much the same and he was paying more for it than my Comcast/Xfinity that was 20x faster!

[JRT]

... "Untangle at Home's NG Firewall" (aka Next Generation Firewall) running on an Asus RT-AC88U ...

Follow up: Below is a link to instructions descibing how to install Untangle's firmware on the router.

[Ray Tremblay]

Hi Ray, I also canceled my TWC service yesterday.......

Felt great didn't it! LOL!!

I ran into much of what you are initially. My computer's NIC was limited to 100mbs, so we went and got a new one (USB went out on it too, so a new one was needed). now we are flying, something like 700-800mbs DL and 400mbs UL or something when I last tested.
I ended up getting them to come out again and with a SR tech to get the network straightened out (we had a lot of hardwired things that didn't work after they left the first time). Got it all square and now no more kids complaining on gaming interruptions. Still have a few spots in the house where Wi-Fi is limited, but I will try and turn on one of the other hotspots and see if that works better.
Andy.

Andy, is the 700-800 mbps through a hard wired connection? What sort of speeds are you seeing with wifi?

[JRT]

... I do have the 1000 mbps or 1 gigabit service.

My desktop is on wifi at the moment with an 802.11n USB wifi adapter that is rated up to 300 mbps.

I'm considering ordering an 802.11ac dual band width adapter right now. Will this make a difference?

One of the good sources of information, comparisons, tests and reviews has been smallnetbuilder.com

Read the article recently posted at the link below, a review of "Untangle at Home's NG Firewall" (aka Next Generation Firewall) running on an Asus RT-AC88U. That is a router that has been modified to include a Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewall with feature set more usually found in enterpri$e grade firewall solutions.

Also... Where practicable I would suggest a wired network interconnection. Opinions vary.

[Wolf]

Bell or AT&T?

AT&T is the routing company. My ISP is locl.net.

61ms for pinging Indianapolis.

Later,
Wolf

[Pallas]

It is odd that your upload speed is a fair bit higher than download speed, but the numbers are indicative of a wifi connection.

Fiber is generally equal up/down, while cable is generally biased for faster d/l speeds. FWIW, ours at home (AT&T) is about 400mbps up/down on a MacBook or iPhone on wifi (AT&T wifi router), and usually registers <980mbps on the hard-wired Mac mini. So I feel like we're getting what's advertised. And it's been much much more reliable than those hacks at Comcast ever were. Moreover, my bill has been the same every month, unlike with Comcast; no need to waste time demanding they remove new BS fees they seem to randomly assign to different people ever month.

Google will probably help someone out who's getting much lower rates than expected, if only to let them know where the problem is (incoming vs. router vs. computers).

[neildavis]

I'm on DSL, and get 1.3Mb and 0.34Mb respectively.
heehee!
Wolf

That's not necessarily bad, if the ping time is low. It's not good for streaming data, but for a lot of browsing the ping time is more important. We have satellite service at our cabin, and we get ping times around 600ms. That trip to outer space and back for every request is a real drag. Makes you realize that the speed of light really isn't all that fast .

[Millstonemike]

I'm on DSL, and get 1.3Mb and 0.34Mb respectively.
heehee!
Wolf

Bell or AT&T?

[isaeagle4031]

Been awhile since I tested mine. This is on wifi on an older HP ProBook.

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5985740777

[Wolf]

I'm on DSL, and get 1.3Mb and 0.34Mb respectively.
heehee!
Wolf