Bell Canada → [Internet] Bell 50/10 speeds

Hi all,

I recently had Fibe 50/10 installed (two days ago, actually). Thus far I am only testing at 50/10 from Bell's internet speed test utility on their web site. Every other third party test I've tried is showing roughly 20/10.

I've just switched from Rogers 45/5 and when I used to test my speed on that connection it would show 45/5 from any test, including third party services.

Is there a reason that I'm only seeing 50/10 from Bell's test and not the third party tests? I am particularly concerned with my results using the Xbox One's network statistics test, as I want the 50 Mbps download speed for gaming. I used to get 45/5 from the Xbox One test when I was with Rogers.

Naturally, Bell's tech support was not helpful, as they simply said that they only approve tests using their own service. How convenient for them...

Any help would be greatly appreciated...thanks!

Bell's own test is so so. Try the infamous www.speedtest.net

That's the one I've been using the most. I am getting about 20-25Mbps on that test.

try »speedtest.fibrenoire.ca

Post in the direct forum as you may not be on the correct speed profile yet...

I got 45ms and 22/3 from Fibrenoire. :-(

Edit: Just realizing I was uploading some files when I took that test - that explains the low upload figure.

Did you try with a wired connection? If you are getting the full 50/10 from the bell speedtest then there shouldn't be anything wrong with your line.

Make sure you test from a hardwired connection (forget wifi) and that nothing else is using the connection.

Hmmm...ethernet connection got me 43/3.6 on Fibrenoire.ca, 40/3.6 on Speedtest.net, and 46.5/3.6 on Bell's speed check.

Download speeds are faster with wired, but upload speeds seem to top out at 4 regardless.

I didn't expect that big of a difference between wireless and wired speeds. Is that normal? Is it a limitation of the wireless capabilities of the Bell Sagemcom router?

Thanks.

By "gaming" do you mean "downloading games" or just playing them on-line?

50, 25, 16, etc aren't going to make any difference if you just mean playing. Playing depends on latency, not bandwidth.

Wireless speeds drop as you get further away from the source or "access point".

Very true - however, I would still like to receive the full 50/10 speed I'm paying for, regardless of whether 50Mbps or 25Mbps has little or no effect on my gaming experience.

Understood! However, the router is literally about 1 foot away from the laptop when performing these tests, and only about 15 feet from the Xbox One.

Hardwire the Xbox One to the gateway to eliminate any interference. Ping will be better if you use an ethernet cable. Remember the speed that Bell advertise is an "Up To" value, you may not get that with DSL on copper wires. Distance to CO is one thing, the wire condition is another factor. Only FTTH will get you the full speed or better as in my case, see my avatar.

That 45ms ping will affect your gaming experience. If any device is eating up the upload speed, that will drive up the ping when you don't have a lot of upload to start with.

It should also be noted what with Bell FTTN, the "up to" speeds are bracketed. In the old days, if you signed up for 6Mbps DSL you would get anything up to 6Mbps, including as low as 1Mbps or so if that's all your line could handle.

With FTTN Bell has minimum speeds you must be able to get for them to qualify your line for service. They won't install a 50/10 line, for example, if you can't get at least 46Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream.

SO... if you're getting less than 46 Mbps downstream without any mitigating factors (something nerfing your connection on you) to a local speediest server, you likely have actual line issues rather than just "up to" problems.

The Sagemcom is notoriously poor, yes. It's a 1x1 access point IIRC and these forums are riddled with performance complaints. You -should- be able to get 50Mbps downstream out of it unless you have a lot of interference issues or a dodgy client device; your mileage will definitely vary though.

I think a lot of guys are buying a better access point, disabling the Sagemcom wireless, and setting up the new AP in bridge mode (so the Sagemcom can handle the routing).

To give you an idea of how bad the wireless is on the connection hub I get the full 25/10 right beside it but when I go just 15 feet away I am down to a speed test of 10 or so.