DSL Speed

[Chris Gehlker]

Recently I upgraded my DSL service from a nominal 1.5 mbps to a  
nominal 7 mbps. Internet speed test sites mostly agree that my actual  
speed went from about 1.3 mbps to about 6 mbps. This conformed to my  
expectations.

Something happened that I didn't expect at all and I'm at a loss to  
explain it. One example will serve for a whole class of sites. I DL  
videos  from an online political site and I used to get speeds of  
about 80 kbps ( that's kilo not mega). Since the upgrade I'm getting  
700 kbps. I'm seeing similar speed increases everywhere.

Here's what I don't understand. If the site is capable of serving  
files at 700 kbps, why wasn't I always getting them at that rate?  
Surely, I thought,  80 kbps fits int 1.3 mbps with so much headroom  
that I won't see any speed increase. But the speed increase is more  
than proportional. Can anyone explain this?

---
Just because they're good at propaganda doesn't mean we have to be  
good at stupid.
-Marty Kaplan


---
Just because they're good at propaganda doesn't mean we have to be  
good at stupid.
-Marty Kaplan