Speedtest 2015-06-Jun-25

Speedtest - 2014-11-Nov-12

Aritel Download Speed Test - Something fishy?

I tried out download speed tests and there's something I'm either missing or fishy.

Airtel & SpeedTest.net are indicating that my download speeds are at 2Mbps.

PCPitStop, DSLReports, TestMy.net are reporting that I'm at 0.2Mbps!

That's a whopping difference.

(PCPitStop, depending on the type of test, location of server, shows different results - this is probably truly representative of what can happen with others as well)

I can speculate some reasons why some of those appear faster than other, but when I tried download software (via browser, free download manager), it still remains at around 256kbps or .25Mbps.

See the results for yourself.

2Mbps speed results





0.2Mbps or ~256kbps speed results

Airtel "Fair" Usage Tracking - "Broadband"

I'm on a 512kbps DSL "unlimited" download "broadband" plan which defaults to 256kbps after a certain amount of download (can't recollect the limit). Airtel is my service provider.

This month is the first time, I've come across the limits being applied. And the only thing that was of significant download size for the entire month was the linux Ubuntu download (about 700MB).

Initial Message


Message after "limits" were applied



And to imagine that this comes @ ~Rs900 per month, makes me cringe at the "broadband" options that are available in India.

My broadband connection speed test

Note that I have a 128kbps ADSL connection via Airtel. So, it's technically not broadband. However, I'm fairly happy with it's quality albeit I still think it's overpriced (@ Rs.699+taxes per month).

BTW, has anyone performed such speed tests for a 256kbps or 512kbps connection from Airtel or any other Indian service provider ? If not, can you please do so and let me know (by leaving a comment in here) ?

Tests via dslreports.com













This one in Miami is generally slow, almost always.