The user of this web page and the tw telecom's Speed Test Tool ("Tool") agrees, as a condition of using the Tool, that:
(1) The Tool is solely for the convenience of tw telecom customers and provides only a gross benchmark estimate of internet service performance.
(2) The test result data obtained from the Tool shall not be used to determine compliance with, or violation of, any service level performance metric or objective applicable to any tw telecom service or contract. Neither shall the test result data from the Tool be used to determine adequacy of any service component or contract compliance. The test result data cannot be used to determine such compliance, violation, or adequacy due to variable factors such as, without limitation, network topology, round-trip time, link capacity/usage, and computer processor/hardware limitations, all of which can impact performance.
(3) tw telecom does not represent, warrant, or guarantee that the test result data obtained from use of the Tool is accurate, complete, or free of technical or other errors or defects. Access to and use of the Tool, and the test result data obtained, is at the risk of the user. ALL TEST DATA RESULTS ARE TO BE RECEIVED BY THE USER .AS IS. AND tw telecom DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR OR ORDINARY PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. NEITHER tw telecom NOR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THE TOOL OR THIS SITE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, ARISING OUT OF ANY USER.S ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE OR THE TOOL OR FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR CONTENT OF THE TOOL OR THIS SITE.
(1) The Tool is solely for the convenience of tw telecom customers and provides only a gross benchmark estimate of internet service performance.
(2) The test result data obtained from the Tool shall not be used to determine compliance with, or violation of, any service level performance metric or objective applicable to any tw telecom service or contract. Neither shall the test result data from the Tool be used to determine adequacy of any service component or contract compliance. The test result data cannot be used to determine such compliance, violation, or adequacy due to variable factors such as, without limitation, network topology, round-trip time, link capacity/usage, and computer processor/hardware limitations, all of which can impact performance.
(3) tw telecom does not represent, warrant, or guarantee that the test result data obtained from use of the Tool is accurate, complete, or free of technical or other errors or defects. Access to and use of the Tool, and the test result data obtained, is at the risk of the user. ALL TEST DATA RESULTS ARE TO BE RECEIVED BY THE USER .AS IS. AND tw telecom DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR OR ORDINARY PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. NEITHER tw telecom NOR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THE TOOL OR THIS SITE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, ARISING OUT OF ANY USER.S ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE OR THE TOOL OR FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR CONTENT OF THE TOOL OR THIS SITE.
I Agree to the above terms and conditions
GENERAL CUSTOMER FAQ
Q) Why do I get better performance internally when I run the tw telecom speed test than when I run a speed test from a location that is outside of tw telecom?
A) tw telecom proactively monitors and grows networking infrastructure under our control to meet the demands of our customers. Capacity enhancements to the public internet are much more ad hoc in nature, so bandwidth contention is a much larger issue. Most speed test locations outside of the tw telecom network are limited to testing T-1s or DSL circuits, and are limited in testing accuracy due to server and link capacity issues.
Q) Why is the download speed greatly varied compared to the upload speed?
A) Client based PCs are optimized for downloading data from the internet. Uploading is a secondary function and has not been optimized. Numerous factors such as network topology, round-trip time, link capacity/usage, and computer processor/hardware limitations, to name a few, have a role in influencing download and upload performance.
As it turns out, IT professionals have access to tools to "tweak" download and upload performance by changing settings on their PCs. This is usually performed in the registry, and should be done with extreme caution and under the direction of a qualified IT professional.
Note: It is not unusual to see a large difference (30%, 50% or more) between download and upload speeds, especially as latency between the client and the server increases.
Q) What are the biggest reasons for degraded speed test results?
A) If you experience significant degradation from your expected download speed, tw telecom has found that, in approximately half the cases, there is a speed/duplex setting issue somewhere in the customer network or the connection from the customer network to the tw telecom provided equipment. Contact your IT professional to validate network speed and duplex issues. Please follow the Speed and Duplex Setting Guidelines provided below. Other reasons for performance degradation include, but are not limited to: bad cabling, PC issues (slow processor, limited RAM, competing applications), and large amounts of latency between the client application and the server.
Speed and Duplex Setting Guidelines
Unless your equipment was set to auto/auto during a coordinated turnup with our provisioning team, the device that connects directly to the tw telecom demarcation networking equipment must be set as follows:
Duplex = Full
Speed = 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps (whichever you have specified in your order)
Another key reason why degradation occurs is due to a suboptimally functioning device (router, firewall, switch) on the network between you and where we hand off the circuit. It is best to test directly at the edge with a known good laptop and work your way back into the network, device by device, in order to isolate where the issue resides.
It is also best to ensure that your test machine has sufficient processing power, RAM, known good hardware, and that the system is virus/spyware free before proceeding with testing. Information of this nature should be available through your IT professional.
Note: If these instructions are not followed, severe performance degradation is very likely.
Q) Why do I get better performance internally when I run the tw telecom speed test than when I run a speed test from a location that is outside of tw telecom?
A) tw telecom proactively monitors and grows networking infrastructure under our control to meet the demands of our customers. Capacity enhancements to the public internet are much more ad hoc in nature, so bandwidth contention is a much larger issue. Most speed test locations outside of the tw telecom network are limited to testing T-1s or DSL circuits, and are limited in testing accuracy due to server and link capacity issues.
Q) Why is the download speed greatly varied compared to the upload speed?
A) Client based PCs are optimized for downloading data from the internet. Uploading is a secondary function and has not been optimized. Numerous factors such as network topology, round-trip time, link capacity/usage, and computer processor/hardware limitations, to name a few, have a role in influencing download and upload performance.
As it turns out, IT professionals have access to tools to "tweak" download and upload performance by changing settings on their PCs. This is usually performed in the registry, and should be done with extreme caution and under the direction of a qualified IT professional.
Note: It is not unusual to see a large difference (30%, 50% or more) between download and upload speeds, especially as latency between the client and the server increases.
Q) What are the biggest reasons for degraded speed test results?
A) If you experience significant degradation from your expected download speed, tw telecom has found that, in approximately half the cases, there is a speed/duplex setting issue somewhere in the customer network or the connection from the customer network to the tw telecom provided equipment. Contact your IT professional to validate network speed and duplex issues. Please follow the Speed and Duplex Setting Guidelines provided below. Other reasons for performance degradation include, but are not limited to: bad cabling, PC issues (slow processor, limited RAM, competing applications), and large amounts of latency between the client application and the server.
Speed and Duplex Setting Guidelines
Unless your equipment was set to auto/auto during a coordinated turnup with our provisioning team, the device that connects directly to the tw telecom demarcation networking equipment must be set as follows:
Duplex = Full
Speed = 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps (whichever you have specified in your order)
Another key reason why degradation occurs is due to a suboptimally functioning device (router, firewall, switch) on the network between you and where we hand off the circuit. It is best to test directly at the edge with a known good laptop and work your way back into the network, device by device, in order to isolate where the issue resides.
It is also best to ensure that your test machine has sufficient processing power, RAM, known good hardware, and that the system is virus/spyware free before proceeding with testing. Information of this nature should be available through your IT professional.
Note: If these instructions are not followed, severe performance degradation is very likely.