CONFUSED ABOUT CONNECTION SPEEDS

QUESTION:
I recently upgraded my 802.11g Wi-Fi connection speed by purchasing a new wireless router that supports the faster 802.11n standard. I have a fast DSL connection that gives me a 6 megabits-per-second (Mbps) Internet connection and I was told that the new router would help me take advantage of the faster Internet speed. But as far as I can tell, things don't seem to be any faster than they were with my older router. What am I doing wrong?

Aaron - Gainesville, FL


ANSWER:
Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion regarding connection speeds so I hope you don't feel too bad when I tell you that your older Wi-Fi connection at 54 Mbps was already giving you far more speed than your Internet connection could muster. If your main objective is to get faster Internet access, then your initial concern should be with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and not your computer equipment.

Your ISP is the company that hooks you up to the Internet. If you are an average consumer looking for hi-speed (broadband) Internet service into your home and you live in a fairly populated area, typically you have three choices available to you. You can get it over your phone line, your cable TV service or via satellite TV. Recently AT&T is making headway in various markets by offering a fourth choice with its U-verse that delivers the Internet over a fiber-optic connection.

If your broadband choice is the phone, it's most likely a DSL connection. DSL typically comes in speeds of 1.5, 3 or 6 Mbps. If your Internet connection comes over your cable company's connection, speeds are around 10 or 20 Mbps with some cities offering even faster speeds. Satellite service speeds vary up to 5.0 Mbps. U-verse offers various speeds topping out at about 18 Mbps.

That said, let's take a look at your Wi-Fi connection. Your older 802.11g is rated at 54 Mbps while the newer 802.11n has a top speed of 300 Mbps assuming you are close to the transmitter. As you move further away, the connection speeds begin to drop. There are other speed-altering variables but let's put those aside and keep the answer to your problem simple.

Your Internet connection has two data pipes. Like a water hose, the wider the pipe, the more flow it can handle. The first pipe is your ISP connection to the Internet coming into your home. The other pipe is the delivery of that data to your computer. In your case, this second pipe is your Wi-Fi connection. Your old Wi-Fi pipe could already handle 54 Mbps of information flow. But the flow from your ISP's Internet data flow is only 6 Mbps at best. So you can see that your Wi-Fi pipe was more than wide enough to handle your Internet flow. Adding a bigger Wi-Fi pipe like you did with the 802.11n router doesn't do anything for you since the Internet data coming into your house is still only 6 Mbps. Get it? Not to make you feel any worse but even if you had elected to upgrade your ISP to something faster, the fastest of them still wouldn't outpace your 54 Mbps.

So why do network companies offer these faster Wi-Fi routers? Aside from the fact that they offer better distance ranges and penetration through walls, they allow for data to flow more quickly within your home network. If your home network for example has other devices connected to it such as a wireless printer, then it will begin its printing more quickly when you send something to it. If you want to transfer files from one connected PC to your wireless notebook, then the faster 802.11n data transfer rates will let you copy that data a lot faster.

So there you have it in a nutshell. If you didn't fully get it the first time around, read it again. It's important stuff you should know, especially if you're planning to upgrade what you already have. Being in the know will save you from buying something you may not need and getting something you do.
 

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