01 ― Definition of Internet Speed?

The performance of an Internet connection, which is based on the number of bits or bytes per second that data travels from the user's device to the Internet. For example Internet speed of 1Gbps, 100Mbps or 10Mbps has nothing to do with how fast your internet works. It’s not like a car or motorcycle where you can measure how fast it goes.

02 ― What is an Internet CIR (Committed Information Rate)?

CIR (Committed Information Rate) is a minimum Internet Speed guaranteed by an ISP service provider. CIR is the bandwidth for a virtual circuit guaranteed by an internet service provider. At any given time, the available bandwidth should not fall below this Committed Rate. CIR is also known as Dedicated Internet Services or Direct Internet Service.

03 ― Is CIR important?

Yes, CIR is the only things that matters when using Internet applications such as Facebook, Youtube, Game Streaming etc. CIR defines the guaranteed minimum speed to the Internet. CIR guarantee should be obtained from the Internet service provider at the time of contract.

Example Internet with CIR rates from other Providers

04 ― Can I order Internet service with CIR as a residential customer in the Philippines?

Large service providers don't provide minimum Internet Speed guarantee to the residential customers. However, CIR can be negotiated for each customer at a significantly higher cost.

05 ― Why Internet Speed Test shows 500Mbps but my upload and download speed is still very slow?

Speed Test does not show your CIR. It only shows the speed between your device and service providers server.

06 ― What type of Internet connectivity is provided by Integranet?

Integranet provides High-Speed Internet Service through Point to Point Fixed Wireless.

07 ― Why is fixed wireless is faster than 4G or LTE?

Fixed wireless relies on small stations to transfer data at high speeds, similar to a satellite but localized. Because the stations are clustered close together, the technology is capable of delivering up to 1Gbps of internet speed with extremely low latency. Fixed wireless connectivity speed is more reliable, stable and faster than 4G/LTE.

08 ― What is an ISP?

ISP stands for Internet Service Provider.

09 ― What type of Internet connectivity is available in the Philippines?

Mainly, there are five types of connection to the Internet:

• Wired connection through DSL.(This type of connection is usually installed when your order a landline phone)
• Internet through Cable TV.
• Mobile Broadband / Mobile Data (2G, 3G, 4G & 5G).
• Internet through point to point Fixed Wireless.
• Internet through Fiber Optics cable.

10 ― What is an Internet Speed or Internet Bandwidth?

Internet Bandwidth is a size of digital highway and how much traffic can that highway handle.

Note: It’s important to know bandwidth doesn’t actually increase the speed of a network, it just appears to make the network faster. Packet loss (Heavy Internet traffic, high number of users sharing same network, latency, and jitter are all related to slow throughput speed. Increasing network’s bandwidth will not increasing the data transmission speed.

11 ― What is Internet Transmission rate or Throughput?

Internet throughput is an actual measure of how much data is successfully transferred from source to destination over the bandwidth. Throughput has direct impact on user experience.

12 ― What is Internet Transmission rate or Throughput?Why my Internet appears slow even though my Speed Test shows 1gbps/ or 100mbps?

Speed Test shows the available Internet Bandwidth only between testing device and the host. It does not show transmission speeds between different applications and or services such as Facebook, Youtube etc.

13 ― What are the main reasons for slow Internet service?

Network Congestion

Network Congestion. Just like in road congestion, Network Congestion occurs when a network is not able to adequately handle the traffic flowing through it. While network congestion is usually a temporary state of a network rather than a permanent feature, there are cases where a network is always congested signifying a larger issue is at hand.

Causes of Network congestion:

1. Over-Subscription

   Have you ever experienced a case where your web browsing experience is consistently faster at certain times of the day than others? For example, there is a high probability that you will have a better browsing experience at night than during the day.

   
   

   This is because there are more users on the network during the day (peak period) than at night (off-peak period). This is like getting on the train during rush hour versus when everyone is at work.

   
   

   Cases like this are usually the result of Over-Subscription where a system (e.g. anetwork) is handling more traffic than it was designed to handle per time.

2. Poor Network Design/Mis-Configuration

   A more serious cause of network congestion is poor design or device Mis-Configuration. Take for example a broadcast storm, where a large volume of broadcast and/or multicast traffic is seen on the network within a short time, resulting in severe performance degradation.

   
   

   Since broadcasts are contained within subnets, the larger the subnet the more serious the effect of a broadcast storm. Therefore, a network that has been designed with large subnets without considering that broadcast storms can result in network congestion.

   
   

   Another case of broadcast storm is Layer 2 loops. In a layer 2 segment, broadcast messages are used to discover unknown MAC addresses. If there is a loop on the network, the same broadcast message can be sent back and forth between the devices on the network resulting in broadcast storms and possible network congestion.

3. Over-Utilized Devices

   Devices such as routers, switches, and firewalls have been designed to handle certain network throughput. For example, the network switch has a capacity of 20Gbps. Apart from the fact that this is a theoretical value (the capacity in the production environment will be slightly lower), this is also the maximum capacity.

   
   

   Therefore, constantly pushing ~20Gbps of traffic through that device means that the device will be over-utilized and will likely result in high CPU utilization and packet drops, leading to congestion on the network.

   
   

   Another issue related to over-utilized devices that can cause network congestion is Bottlenecks. As in most hierarchical designs where multiple devices feed into a higher-level device, care must be taken to ensure that the higher-level device can handle all the traffic from the lower-level devices.

   
   

   If this is not the case, then the higher-level device can result in a bottleneck causing congestion on the network. Think about a 4-lane highway merging into a 2-lane road.

4. Faulty Devices

   Another cause of congestion can be due to use of faulty devices. You can have a 100 Mbps link capacity from your ISP, but if your edge device is limited to 30 Mbps, then your network is limited to just 30 Mbps instead of the 100 Mbps capacity of your link. Make sure that your routes and switches are compatible with your network throughput.