PC Mag Ranks ISPs By Browsing Speed - Optimum Online, FrontierNet top magazine's ratings...
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PC Mag Ranks ISPs By Browsing Speed
Optimum Online, FrontierNet top magazine's ratings...
(old news - 09:03AM Wednesday Dec 03 2008)
tags: business · bandwidth · stats
PC Magazine has unveiled the latest data on broadband ISPs collected by their surfspeed application, which, unlike most speed tests measures the browsing speed of an ISP connection. When the application first launched you'll recall many of you took issue with PC Mag's data and their methodology, which they've since expanded to include tests from 17,000 IP addresses. We'll let them explain their system and let you make up your own mind:
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The SurfSpeed application was designed to measure the real-world speed of your browser—the speed at which you surf the Internet—not the absolute speed of your Internet connection. Most line tests measure speed by sending you large files, and seeing how long it takes you to download them. ISPs cite numbers based on abstract mathematics—the number of users divided by the theoretical line speed. Instead, the SurfSpeed application measures the time it takes your computer to visit several popular Web sites, giving you a real-world measure of your connection speed. As such, that result will differ, in some cases dramatically, from the number quoted by your ISP.
PC Magazine's tests unsurprisingly show that satellite carriers Wild Blue and HughesNet come in at the bottom of the rankings, while FTTH-based systems like FiOS, Utah's Mstar and New Mexico's CityLink Fiber scored the best.

The study also found cable to be faster than DSL, with user's able to browse at 688 Kbps, compared to 469 Kbps for DSL. The data suggests that among cable operators, Optimum Online tops the list at 839 Kbps, while interestingly, small rural telco FrontierNet tops the speed list for DSL providers at 724 Kbps.

The report also breaks down speed by geography, noting that users in the west (565 Kbps) browse slightly more quickly than users in the south (551 Kbps) -- as well as browsing speed by State,

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  8. Sandvine: P2P Now Just 20% Of Internet Use
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Jodokast96 @ 3rd Dec 09:11AM:
FIOS?

Optimum Online, FrontierNet top magazine's ratings...
And FIOS smokes them both at 931.
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 09:11AM:
Oh Sure don't put the new Clear..

They must be scared.. lol
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mlundin @ 3rd Dec 09:12AM:
Hmmm...

I see that Comcast has a fairly high speed, yet an extremely low satisfaction rating. I wonder why.
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BF69 @ 3rd Dec 09:21AM:
PC mag sucks

They force you to register if you want to see the PDFs. WTF? Nice way of getting me to NOT to continue to visit your site PC mag.
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 09:42AM:
Re: PC mag sucks

That's how consumer reports is... I just go to Barnes and Noble and sit in cafe and read the mag's and drink coffee.. lol
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Dogfather @ 3rd Dec 09:43AM:
Comcast, 33% of satisfied users

Not too surprised.
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JSRoman @ 3rd Dec 09:50AM:
Re: PC mag sucks

.
Speed_By_State.pdf
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Shamayim @ 3rd Dec 09:54AM:
Re: PC mag sucks

said by Smile__ :

That's how consumer reports is...
Consumer Reports accepts no advertising. It derives its income solely from subscriptions and services.
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 09:59AM:
Re: PC mag sucks

It gets a lot of money from the comapnies who pay them to advertise that they write a good article on that companies product. Just like JD Powers awards.. You can't as a company say that someone said you had a great product without buying the rights to the article.
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mrchris @ 3rd Dec 10:32AM:
Speeds

Why are they all under 1000 kbps?
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 10:58AM:
Skewed?

Some people must have some seriously hosed computers/lines or fried routers!



2345.48kbps using THEIR tool - on Comcast.

EDIT: Full Size Image.

*NOTE*: See speedo needle burried?

EDIT2:
A few more screenies/test runs.

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Click for full size
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Karl Bode @ 3rd Dec 11:21AM:
Re: Skewed?

I assume Powerboost would give Comcast an edge in this test as well?
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 11:31AM:
Re: Skewed?

said by Karl Bode :

I assume Powerboost would give Comcast an edge in this test as well?
One would think, huh?
Using their own "tool" I blew everything out of the water.
... and considering most Comcast subs also have PowerBoost, why are their numbers so low?

I call Bullshit on PC Mag!
Browsing is not bandwidth intensive, and PowerBoost will last for 40MB...
There is no way browsing will run PowerBoost long enough to drop back.

Test results at PC Mag are wack!

Yet another PC Mag Red Herring.
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iansltx @ 3rd Dec 11:38AM:
SurfSpeed tests differently...but logically...

The tool likely takes DNS resolution, latency and other such issues into account. People with slow computers using IE will register lower than a properly tuned system...
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Karl Bode @ 3rd Dec 11:39AM:
Re: Skewed?

I'll have to fire them an e-mail inquiring why cable operators who've deployed Powerboost didn't score higher....that does seem odd.
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 11:41AM:
Re: Skewed?

said by Karl Bode :

I'll have to fire them an e-mail inquiring why cable operators who've deployed Powerboost didn't score higher....that does seem odd.
Yes! Thank you!

Several cablecos are using it and they all score low? :huh:
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TKJunkMail @ 3rd Dec 11:54AM:
Re: Skewed?

said by Karl Bode :

I assume Powerboost would give Comcast an edge in this test as well?
A lot of the Browsing Speed depends on the users computer and its speed in resolving all the various links on a web page and how fast it can complete calling them up. Line speed makes up only a small portion of what Surfspeed measures. Also, the locations of the servers used by Surfspeed (mostly East & West coasts) can skew the results by region.

My results on a powerboosted Comcast link in NJ, which has short distances to some of these servers, but many servers are on the West Coast.
[att=1]

More info on a post from yesterday:
»RE: The Fastest ISPs for BROWSING - not file transfers
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 12:02PM:
Re: Skewed?

NJ?

CA here...


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MrMoody @ 3rd Dec 12:56PM:
No Embarq

I wondered why Embarq, the 3rd(?) largest DSL provider in the country wasn't shown in the results.

After downloading the program, I found out. Embarq isn't even included in the ISP list in the program (and you can't type it in, either). Fail, PC Mag.

My connection tests at 1916 kb with a very busy machine (running DVD and XVID encodes and several browser tabs open) at nearly 1 PM.
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 01:20PM:
Re: No Embarq

said by MrMoody :

I wondered why Embarq, the 3rd(?) largest DSL provider in the country wasn't shown in the results.

After downloading the program, I found out. Embarq isn't even included in the ISP list in the program (and you can't type it in, either). Fail, PC Mag.

My connection tests at 1916 kb with a very busy machine (running DVD and XVID encodes and several browser tabs open) at nearly 1 PM.
Yeah, PC Mag is a joke. :huh:
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joeMI @ 3rd Dec 01:40PM:
worthless!

IMO, PC Magazine ISP speed tests are WORTHLESS!!!

Why? Because they don't break it down by plan speeds.

For example, they show an average speed of 733Kbps for TimeWarner/RoadRunner. If that's on 1Mbps plan, it's not too bad. If that's on a 10Mbps plan, that's awful.
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Lazlow @ 3rd Dec 01:42PM:
Uverse?

I found it interesting that there was no Uverse listed, unless I missed it. One would expect it to be significantly different from regular ATT Dsl(from non uverse areas).
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joebarnhart @ 3rd Dec 01:46PM:
No Paxio choice :-(

I guess it's not a household name yet, but I can't even type in "Paxio" for my ISP choice. Bummer!

Oh well, I like DSL Reports tool best anyway.


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JoelC707 @ 3rd Dec 02:12PM:
Re: Skewed?

said by TKJunkMail :

Line speed makes up only a small portion of what Surfspeed measures. Also, the locations of the servers used by Surfspeed (mostly East & West coasts) can skew the results by region.
Exactly. This whole test is a good idea but they're reporting it wrong. They're reporting it as if it were still a basic speed test. I wonder how many users got pissed because they scored low on DSL, saw cable was much faster, switched and their score never went up? If they really want this to be effective they need to report all the other factors and show the user exactly what is the slow point. Perhaps the DNS servers you use are slow/bogged down. Perhaps your computer is slow or your router is limiting you. If you don't fix any of those, you can switch providers all you want and never gain anything.

This test shouldn't be about the ISP at all. They need to report it like Vista's scoring system. Give you a score for each component and an overall score. If you've got an old single core CPU, adding a 4870 GPU will give you a nice score in that category but won't do anything for the overall score. It certainly won't let you play Crysis any better (hell if at all in that scenario). So why would changing the ISP (as they seem to indicate) make your surf speed any faster if your computer is riddled with viruses or you still use a router with a 10Mb WAN port?
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ScottMo @ 3rd Dec 02:18PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

Except Consumers' Reports doesn't do that. They accept no advertising and do not allow their reports to be used in advertising.
From their website:

CONSUMERS UNION
NO COMMERCIAL USE POLICY

We accept no advertising and we are not beholden to any commercial interest. ...Such information may not be used by others in advertising or to promote a company’s product or service. In addition, this policy precludes any commercial use of any of Consumers Union’s published information in any form, or of the names of Consumers Union®, Consumer Reports®, or any other of Consumers Union’s publications or services, without our express written permission. If Consumers Union learns that this policy has been violated, it will take all steps necessary to prevent the misuse of its names or of any of its materials, including legal action where appropriate.
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 02:30PM:
Re: No Paxio choice :-(

There's Joe!
Wassup neighbor! :)

Beat them down! :D
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funchords @ 3rd Dec 02:41PM:
Re: Oh Sure don't put the new Clear..

Oh Sure don't put the new Clear..
What are you talking about?
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funchords @ 3rd Dec 02:43PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

said by Smile__ :

That's how consumer reports is... I just go to Barnes and Noble and sit in cafe and read the mag's and drink coffee.. lol
While I always appreciate frugality, keep in mind that PC Magazine is ad supported. Consumer Reports is not.
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funchords @ 3rd Dec 02:46PM:
Re: Skewed?

said by Karl Bode :

I assume Powerboost would give Comcast an edge in this test as well?
It would, but higher latency would also hurt them in time from the first HTTP "get" until the final resource finishes loading.
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 02:52PM:
Re: Oh Sure don't put the new Clear..

Clear/XOHM is an ISP and they are not listed.. It was a joke my friend.. Have a nice day.. :) RELAX...
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 02:55PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

Okie Dokie Smokie.. :) Not sure why your being so defensive over this blurb... Nothing against anything here... But thanks for pointing somethings out.. Have a great day my friend..
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funchords @ 3rd Dec 03:15PM:
The only chart that matters -- your own

I'm in Portland, OR, and my choices are Comcast and Verizon DSL. I happen to have both. Consider this test "quick and dirty" -- but basically you shouldn't do this while you're backing up the hard drive, sharing your private Microsoft Money files over any P2P networks, or streaming video across the network.

1. Install Extended Statusbar in Firefox
2. Load a www.dslreports.com (or whatever one site that you want), reload it with Shift-Ctrl-R
3. Reload with Shift-Ctrl-R and record result
4. Repeat step 3 a few more times


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funchords @ 3rd Dec 03:19PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

Defensive is a strange charge, since I had nothing at stake to defend. (Of course, now I'm defensive :mad: :D ).

But remember I'm the P2P guy who tells other P2P fans to support the art they like. I guess I feel the same way about CR.

No biggie. :) ;)
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 03:42PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

;)
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 04:53PM:
Re: The only chart that matters -- your own

What if I don't use Firefox?

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emptywig @ 3rd Dec 06:35PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

Huh?
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emptywig @ 3rd Dec 06:37PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

I subscribe - I pay them money each year - and its the best money I spend on any publication.

wig
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Smile__ @ 3rd Dec 07:11PM:
Re: PC mag sucks

Huh? What?
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funchords @ 3rd Dec 07:16PM:
Re: The only chart that matters -- your own

said by dadkins :

What if I don't use Firefox?

Well that speaks for itself, doesn't it!? (snark, snark) :D

Use it for this test. It's cross platform. Or find something similar for the browser of your choice.
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blackzero @ 3rd Dec 08:09PM:
Comcast with 33%

just not surprising
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BF69 @ 3rd Dec 08:37PM:
Re: Speeds

said by mrchris :

Why are they all under 1000 kbps?
Try READING the article before commenting.
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dadkins @ 3rd Dec 08:43PM:
Re: The only chart that matters -- your own

said by funchords :

said by dadkins :

What if I don't use Firefox?

Well that speaks for itself, doesn't it!? (snark, snark) :D

Use it for this test. It's cross platform. Or find something similar for the browser of your choice.
Naw, not important enought to justify an unwanted software install. :p

YMMV
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joebarnhart @ 4th Dec 02:31AM:
Re: No Paxio choice :-(

What's that thing with red glowing eyes, Dadkins? I think it's gonna give me nightmares... It looks sorta like an angry Aibo wearing a Santa hat.
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evilpeppard @ 4th Dec 10:13AM:
Re: PC mag sucks

Thanks for attaching this. :)
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SuperWISP @ 4th Dec 03:28PM:
No category for terrestrial wireless ISPs (WISPs)

The article and software completely ignore the presence of WISPs -- not even offering them as a category of provider. Given that WISPs are the up-and-coming alternative to the cable and telco monopolies, this doesn't just skew the results -- it misleads consumers into believing that no alternative exists to cable, the telcos, and satellite. This throws the credibility of the entire survey into question.
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