Why is my internet connection slow
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Impression or Reality
To have an idea of the actual speed of your Internet connection, you should, in the first place, thoroughly test if your impression of it being slow is true.
For this reason surf to some of the test websites, such as http://speedtest.edpnet.be, http://www.userbase.be and http://www.speedtest.nl and write down the results and, preferably, continue doing it for several days at a different time each day. Make sure that during testing you do not overload your Internet connection, for example, by using a VoIP telephone or receiving or sending your emails. That is why you should try to close as many applications, which use your connection, as possible.
Under normal circumstances you can presume (in good conditions, during off-peak hours) that you can download and upload approximately 80 % of the synchronisation speed of your modem. 20 % of the capacity of your line will be anyway lost to atm- and ip-overhead (control packets).
The values given below will give you an idea what a normal performance of your line should be like, taking into account the above-mentioned off-peak hours and low use. If the majority of your results are the same or even better, there is no need to worry.
ADSL(2+):
| Line | Downstream | Upstream |
| 24 Mbit | 19,2 Mbit/s (2400 kByte/s) | 800 kbit/s (100 kByte/s) |
| 20 Mbit | 16 Mbit/s (2000 kByte/s) | Bruo: 800 kbit/s (100 kByte/s); Broba: 560 kbit/s (70 kByte/s) |
| 15 Mbit | 12 Mbit/s (1500 kByte/s) | Bruo: 800 kbit/s (100 kByte/s); Broba: 560 kbit/s (70 kByte/s) |
| 12 Mbit | 9,6 Mbit/s (1200 kByte/s) | 400 kbit/s (50 kByte/s) |
| 10 Mbit | 8 Mbit/s (1000 kByte/s) | Bruo: 800 kbit/s (100 kByte/s); Broba: 560 kbit/s (70 kByte/s) |
| 9 Mbit | 7,2 Mbit/s (900 kByte/s) | 400 kbit/s (50 kByte/s) |
| 6 Mbit | 4,8 Mbit/s (600 kByte/s) | 480 kbit/s (60 kByte/s) |
| 4 Mbit | 3,2 Mbit/s (400 kByte/s) | 400 kbit/s (50 kByte/s) |
| 3,3 Mbit | 2,6 Mbit/s (325 kByte/s) | 280 kbit/s (35 kByte/s) |
| 2 Mbit | 1,6 Mbit/s (200 kByte/s) | 400 kbit/s (50 kByte/s) |
| 1 Mbit | 0,8 Mbit/s (100 kByte/s) | 200 kbit/s (25 kByte/s) |
SDSL:
| Line | Down and upstream |
| 4 Mbit (bundled) | 3200 kbit/s (400 kByte/s) |
| 2 Mbit | 1600 kbit/s (200 kByte/s) |
| 1 Mbit | 800 kbit/s (100 kByte/s) |
| 512 kbit | 400 kbit/s (50 kByte/s) |
| 256 kbit | 200 kbit/s (25 kByte/s) |
Possible Reasons for a Slow Connection
Narrowband
If you have exceeded the monthly data limit of your adsl subscription and you have been put to smallband, then you download and upload speed is temporally limited to 128 kbit/s (16 kByte/s).
Applications in the Background
Your Internet connection can be overloaded because, for example, files sharing programmes (bittorrent clients, etc.), viruses or other malware take a lot of Internet bandwidth. Check your computer or let it be checked. The article ‘What You Can Do Against Internet Abuse’ can be of help to you.
Performance Loss Due to Hardware
You can be also dealing with performance loss due to your end-user infrastructure (internal cabling, junctions, telephone outlets, adsl-splitters and modems). This can often result in a very low signal-to-noise ratio of your dsl-signal (lower than 10 dB) and in general connection interruptions. We recommend you to read the article Why Is My Internet Connection Interrupted?
Adsl Connection: Heavy Internet Use in Your Region
Not taking into account the above-mentioned influences at the end-user infrastructure, bear it in mind that adsl is best effort. This means that adsl lines are connected to the telephone exchange with shared (not guaranteed) bandwidth. When other adsl-users in your neighbourhood (on the same telephone exchange) are using the Internet heavily, we do not exclude the possibility that the average performance per adsl-line will not be as high as the maximum possible. If your want to be sure of the minimum bandwidth we recommend you to take an sdsl- or a leased line subscription
If your connection is abnormally slow, please, contact the helpdesk.
