02 Mobile broadband connection speed

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Passport1

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I got 02 mobile broadband recently

The information is saying that i should be capable of achieving speeds of 3.6 mbps subject to network coverage and availability but most times when i connect i seem to be getting connected at speed of 236.8 kbps regardless of whether that is during the day or night

Is 236.8 kbps fast? Im based in Dublin

Friend that is with 3 called round the other night and connected their laptop when in my house to their 3 mobile broadband and their connection speed was indicating 3.6 mbps and was much faster accessing same sites and downloading same pages as my machine was trying to download

Machine specs would be similiar that we are using in terms of Ram and Hard disk space etc

Should i have gone with 3?
 
236k is not bad you are getting around 2 megs. The speed of 3.6.meg is advertised as up to & I would be very happy getting those speeds on a mobile network.
 
Have you tried it in other locations ? Do you know whether you are in and area with O2 3G coverage or not ?
Wexfordman
 
if you go into an o2 store they can tell you exactly what coverage is in your area down to a few feet, but generally speaking people based in dublin city should be getting around 500kb p/s.
 
Passport1 said:
Is 236.8 kbps fast? Im based in Dublin
Click to expand...

No, it is not fast. I could not tolerate such a slow speed. Try downloading a song/ video and it will test your patience. I have a 1 MB package with ClearWire and achieve download speeds of > 900 kbps always.
I have a friend who is connected with o2 broadband and she is so frustrated that she is going to kick it into touch.

(....no pun on rugby world cup intended :) )
 
1 meg = about 125 k down load....
Dont confuse bits & bytes 900 k bits equates to less than 115 k
Normally download speeds on your pc are shown in Kbytes per sec.
 
colm said:
1 meg = about 125 k down load....
Dont confuse bits & bytes 900 k bits equates to less than 115 k
Normally download speeds on your pc are shown in Kbytes per sec.
Click to expand...

kbps= 1000 bits/ second

My download speed, as verified by [broken link removed], is 936 kbps today. This of course will vary depending on what day of week ,what time of day etc that I surf the net. The OP declared a download speed (with o2) of 236 kbps, or only a quarter of mine. This is too slow for downloading mp3 or video files (although it is possible).
 
gebbel said:
kbps= 1000 bits/ second

My download speed, as verified by [broken link removed], is 936 kbps today. This of course will vary depending on what day of week ,what time of day etc that I surf the net. The OP declared a download speed (with o2) of 236 kbps, or only a quarter of mine. This is too slow for downloading mp3 or video files (although it is possible).
Click to expand...

Could Passport1 please clarify if the speed he's getting is 236 k bits or Bytes.. Its getting a bit silly arguing about it here.
The download speed as shown by speedtest.ie is 936 which is just under 1 meg.. Divide this by 8 & you get 117 k bytes which would be your download with your connection maxed out. You could not possibly get download speeds of 236 k bytes on a 1 meg connection.
 
colm said:
You could not possibly get download speeds of 236 k bytes on a 1 meg connection.
Click to expand...

Actually you could. I cancelled a subscription to DigiWeb as I was often only achieving a download speed of < 500 kbps on a 2 MG connection! This always occurred at peak times (6- 9pm) when obviously most people are on the net and downloading. The most important variable for wireless broadband customers is the Contention Ratio i.e. the ratio of the potential maximum demand to the actual bandwidth. The higher the contention ratio, the greater the number of users that may be trying to use the actual bandwidth at any one time and, therefore, the lower the effective bandwidth offered, especially at peak times.
In other words, too many users connecting to a fixed bandwidth will inevitably slow each other down if surfing/ downloading at the same time. This may with the case with the OP.
 
I think you are missing what I am saying...
A 1 meg connection = 125 kbytes download maximum.. Contention will reduce this but not increase it. (you would get 125k at 1:1 contention)
2 megs = 250 kbytes....
If you are getting dowload speeds of 500 k bytes you would need a 4 meg connection...
Thats the maths. It cant change. 1 byte= 8 bits divide your Broadband package speed 1 meg 2 meg etc by 8 .. That is you maximum speed
 
colm said:
If you are getting dowload speeds of 500 k bytes you would need a 4 meg connection...
Click to expand...

Not true. I am achieving 900 kbps speeds on a 1 meg connection. Have you checked speedtest.ie to verify your theory on download speed versus the MB package you have subscribed to?
 
[sigh] Speedtest.ie is telling you your speed in bits per second not bytes ..
EG I am on a 2 meg service Irish speedtest shows my download speed at 1.72 mbps (Mega Bits per second)
If I download a file it will max out at around 215 K bytes
If you are acutally downloads a file it will max out at about 125 K Bytes
If you want to imagine you have higher speeds then continue quoting in bits , but its like saying 10,000 cents insted of €100
 
Ok I finally see where you are coming from Colm. Apologies for being a pain in the you know where!
 
No probs.... If someone is getting downloads of 800-900 k BYTES ps I want some of it LOL
 
Hmmmm

I was all set to order this mobile broadband from 02 but this thread has given me second thoughts.

I pay for a fixed line connection at the parents house, but I spend most of time in my girlfriends so was planning to get mobile broadband which I could connect using my laptop. But now I'm unsure. We are planning to rent our own house in the new year so it would prove handy as we only plan to be there for a year or so before getting a mortgage.

The speed issue is worying me, I mainly download the odd album via torrent and use online gambling sites.

I'll have to think this one through! Is there any reputable companies outside the phone networks that offer a simialr/better mobile broadband service?
 
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