Being able to test your bandwidth (internet speed) over a speedtest website can be a useful tool when trying to determine if there are any problems in either your or the service provider's network. Secom's speed test site is speed.secom.net, and is located in the core of our network. It is a good way to test the speeds you are getting from your home/business through Secom's network.
To get the most accurate results we recommend the following:
- Make sure you are connected to the internet directly via a cable to your router
- Make sure you are not downloading or uploading anything
- Close any other programs that are using the internet
- Turn off any other computers, tablets, gaming consoles that share your home network
Here are some considerations that can affect your speeds:
- Gigabit Interface - Some of our fiber internet packages are over 100Mb/s in the download, upload. In order for your devices to achieve those speeds you need to ensure your home gateway/router is Gig capable, and that it is connected/wired to Secom's equipment at 1000Mb/s Full Duplex!
- If you have multiple switches or access points, please ensure they're Gigabit capble as well.
- WiFi (wireless LAN) - WiFi signal strength varies due to distance, obstacles, and interfering signals, and poorer signal strength means less bandwidth. Using a wired LAN (Ethernet) connection will provide a more reliable result.
- Shared internet - If multiple PCs are sharing a common internet connection, the bandwidth used by other users on your local network is subtracted from the overall available bandwidth. For example, if you are buying a 10 Mbps internet connection and another user at your location starts using 5 Mbps for streaming video, this speed test will only have 5 Mbps remaining and that is the result it will show.
- Half-duplex links - Some older ethernet devices (hubs and very old PCs) operate at half-duplex and cannot transmit and receive at the same time. Because the internet relies on the receiving side sending acknowledgements of received data, this creates an overall slowdown. Also, if ethernet auto-negotiation is disabled on one device in a link but not its partner, it will create a duplex mismatch and lead to slow speeds.
- Ethernet, IP and TCP overhead - This speedtest is unable to measure a few layers of protocols below the data that it sends and receives. These protocols add a little bit of extra bookkeeping data to every packet, causing the test to under-measure by about 5% in some cases.
- Customer router problems - If you are experiencing sporadic issues, or only experiencing issues with certain websites, or experiencing problems getting to other PCs or servers on your local network, your router may be at fault. SECOM recommends "power-cycling" your router by unplugging its power cable and waiting 10 seconds before plugging it in again.
- Internet routing problems - If you are not on SECOM's internet service when you run this test, it will have to reach SECOM via other internet providers. There are often factors outside of SECOM's control that can affect the test when it traverses other networks. If the client IP address displayed does not begin with 208.123 or 208.117, you are not using SECOM's internet service.
- SECOM network problems - If you are confident that none of the above factors are present, but your speed test result is too slow, it could be a problem in the SECOM network! Please contact our customer service to have a technician check out the reason for the slow speeds.
- You can email support@secom.net or
- 1-800-657-7149 Option 3 Fiber & Business Services Customer Support
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