@Agent327 wrote:
Hi everybody - Can somebody explain why Swisscom makes me pay for 50 Mbit up/down, the Swiss average being 80 Mbit up and 40 Gbit down (according to www.geschwindigkeit.ch) ... and the real speed being 30 Mbit up and 10 Mbit down (with an Internet Booster)? Seems a lot of money for a "not so very good" speed ...
You seem to mix a couple of values here. First of all the average is not 80Mbps up and 40Gbps down. The page you mention does provide average values but you have to properly interpret them.
First of all they claim "Average for Switzerland" and they do not claim this to be the average on all consumer connections but they claim this to be the average on all tests done on their page only.
As the page seems to offer speed-tests often also people with fast connections are testing their limits there while the average user with low-end products does not often tests. So statistically the values presented on this page might be a bit on the high side.
Moreover the figures they claim right now are 86Mbps "Downloading" and 49Mbps "Loading". Assuming the "Loading" refers to upload the averages claimed might be 86/49Mbps.
Given the fact Swisscom now offers the smalles subscription a full 50Mbps download and 50Mbps upload value this is not even totally unrealistic. Even though 50Mbps is something the average user at home almost never exceeds. But hey, it's good for posing and looks good on paper.
Also the actual speed you can get is limited by technical contraints. This includes the modulation (VDSL, g.fast) as well as length of the phone line and in some cases also the teting device itself. For example there are people paying for 500Mbps downstream and then performing speedtests on a tablet/phone/laptop with 802.11n devices with single-antenna setup which never will exced 150Mbps on the WiFi line.
Coming back to your "problem"... You might believe that Swisscom is making you pay for 50Mbps up/down at minimum but Swisscom also offers a 10/2Mbps subscription (inOne Light). If you go for a 50Mbps subscription or more then this just means this is the maximum you will be granted. It does not include the technical possibilities of your phone line (in regards of length, line attenuation etc.).
You can open the web-interface of your internet box at http://192.168.1.1/ and then click on the top-most green checkbox named "Internet connection" to see your line capabilities. If your line is capable of providing 40/10Mbps it of course does not make sense to pay for a 500/100 subscription as the maximum you will get is 40/10 limited by physical capabilities. But nobody will stop you paying for 500/100 though.
So if you can get onla 40/10 it's up to you if you want to pay for the 50/50Mbps subscription or if you go for a smaller subscription like the inOne Light mentioned above (effectively limiting your subscription to 10/2 then).
Essentially it's up to you to chose the right subscription (or get recommendations in a Swisscom shop). You can also check the estimated bandwith on a certain address here. Be aware that the database might usually provide slightly lower values as it is an estimated value based on known parameters with a conservative calculation and real values might be slightly better usually (check internet box sync speed as indicated above).
If you don't like the subscription offers provided by Swisscom of course you can also chose any other provider available at your location. But be aware too that if the provider is renting the line from Swisscom you might be bound to exactly the same maximum speed allowed by your landline connection.
One exception might be cable providers which operate their own network. So there are locations where you can chose between Swisscom/Sunrise/others on phone landline or using Cablecom/WWZ/others on cable networks. In some locations cable networks are able to provide much higher bandwith.
Your decision might also include other services like Swisscom TV, MyCloud services or similar offerings by competitors.
So check your options and decide for the technology and the services you want to have and then chose an appropriate subscription.
I can't comment the price tag complaint though as I don't know which speed you actually get or if you even have chosen a subscription where you pay a lot of money for a service which is technically limited (e.g. paying 500/100 subscription on a phone line which maxes out at 40/10).
