INTERNET FAQ's

At Direcpath, we are focused on delivering the most efficient high speed internet products available in the industry.  Often times, we are offering 10Mb or higher speeds to the communities in which we serve.  The information below is intended to help you achieve the maximum Internet speeds (thruput) possible when you are connected to our network – optimizing both your experience, and the value of our products:

·        Bulk Data Services:  Often times DirecPath contracts with a property owner, or Home Owners Association to provide its Internet services in bulk format to the entire community at a reduced rate.  The contract that your community has signed with DirecPath will dictate the exact Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) which describes both uptime and performance (thru-put).  In almost all cases, DirecPath is able to provide a much greater product than what is required as a minimum in the contract language; however we recommend that you should check with your property management, HOA leadership, or DirecPath customer service for accurate information on exact service level expectations in your community.

·        Speed Test Sites:  There are many, many speed test sites on the Internet.  However, very few are capable of delivering reliable speed test results over 3Mb.  This is because today on the internet, the average broadband internet product is still in this range.  Additionally, it is important to understand that the internet is a non-regulated, public transit network.  For this reason, the further distance your computer is geographically located away from the location of the speed test site you are using, the higher likelihood that your internet traffic will slowed down, or deferred as it passes from one network to another.  For example, if you are requesting Internet content located in Seattle Washington, it is very likely that your request is passing thru 3 or more public Tier 1 networks (ATT to Sprint to WorldCom to Level 3).  DirecPath provides direct connectivity to at least 6 of these Tier 1 networks to minimize this effect; however you will always get a more accurate representation of your true maximum Internet speeds by using Speed Test Servers that are geographically near where you are.  We recommend using the following speed test sites that are capable of producing speed test results in excess of 50Megabit per second (depending on the service DirecPath is providing in your building, what you have subscribed to as an individual):

o   www.speedtest.net

o   www.speakeasy.net/speedtest

·        MegaBits (Mbps) vs. MegaBytes (MBps) vs. Kilobits (kbps):  Oftentimes,  people are confused about the difference between these measurements.  Most Internet providers speak about Megabits (Mbps) which are Millions of Bits per second.  However, on DirecPaths network, often times you may receive speeds that are MegaBytes per second (MBps).  1 MegaByte per second is the same thing as 8 MegaBits per second.   The next time you see a download going at 2MBps, that really means that you are getting 16Mbps (Over 5 times faster than a typical 3Meg DSL service).  <BR></BR>The speed test sites we recommend often indicate speeds in Kilobits per second (kbps).  1,000kbps per second equals about 1Megabit per second (.9765 to be exact)

·        Wireless (WiFi) Use in your Apartment or Condo:   Technologies such as 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n are all very convenient technologies to utilize inside your Apartment or Condo.  However, we have found that in almost all cases, the use of these technologies will greatly slow down your Internet experience – regardless of the rated speed of the wireless router you have purchased.  The reason for this is quite simple.  All of these 802.11x technologies utilize the same frequency range (2.4Ghz).  This is also the same frequency used by many household appliances like cordless phones.  It is common in a high density Condo or Apartment to have 20 or more nearby WiFi Access Points (from your neighbors) and other unknown electronics all fighting for the same frequency range.  To minimize this effect, take the time to change your wireless access point to a channel that provides the highest SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) – most equipment ships on Channel 6 by default, but can be configured to channels ranging from 1 to 14).  We also recommend looking at 802.11a equipment that operates in the 5Ghz range.  This equipment is much more difficult to find, however it is rarely used by retail end users, therefore you will see much lower levels of interference from your neighbors using this frequency range.  For best results, always bypass your wireless equipment when running speed tests by plugging you computer directly to the Ethernet wall outlet, or your cable modem with an Ethernet Patch Cable.

·        USB Network Interface Cards:  If you are using a USB type Network Adapter, ensure both the adapter and the USB interface on your computer are USB 2.0 compliant.  Older USB 1.0 or 1.1 equipment is rated at 12Megabits per second, but often will not deliver thru-puts of over 3-4Megabits per second.

·        If you are using a hub or switch in your home, ensure that it is rated at 100Megabit per second or higher (Gigabit).  There are still many 10Megabit type switches and hubs in circulation that will work, however they will greatly limit the effective throughput of your connection.

·        Dated operating systems and MTU settings:  Older operating systems like Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and others often were configured out of the box to work best with what the world knew of “Broadband” and “High Speed Internet” at the time – where speeds rarely exceeded 1.5Mb per second.  For this reason, if you are still running one of these older “legacy” operating systems, you must manually adjust a setting known as the “MTU” to allow for effective throughput of 10Megabit per second or more.  There are several free MTU utilities available; we recommend ‘SG TCP Optimizer from the folks at speedguide.net: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php