Last Tuesday the expected speed increase in Movistar started up to 1 Gbps for customers with 600 megabytes and 300 Mbps for clients with 100 megabytes. The truth is that the first hours of the day were very chaotic and the operator was overwhelmed. In fact, the private user zone did not start working until the afternoon. From there, hundreds of users asked for the speed increase and it became effective in a very short time. This has allowed us to know the first speed tests, but it has also given us time to study the minimum insured at speed level according to the legal conditions of Movistar .
In summary, all Movistar customers with 600 Mbps fiber can request from the private area, either through the web or the mobile application, the speed increase up to 1 Gb. If we have 100 Mbps, that increase it will be to have 300 Mbps in total of symmetric fiber. Customers with Conecta 300 Mb, Conecta Max TV and Conecta Max TV BOX are excluded from this upload and, therefore, cannot request it.
Up to 1 Gbps?
One of the curious things about this speed increase is that Movistar speaks of “up to” 1 Gbps of speed. That word is not used at 300 Mbps. This reminds us of other not so distant times when the term was quite fashionable. With the ADSL2 + that of “up to 20 megabytes” became popular , of which then half or less would reach us, unless we were really lucky to be very close to a central.
And why does Movistar speak of “up to 1 Gb” of speed in its new mode of Internet connection? The reality is that both the tests that we have carried out and other tests that we have compiled from social networks and other sources, confirm that in practically all cases the speed is very close to those 1000 Mbps both upstream and downstream, but always touching 940-950 Mbps. This is due to headend losses and it is impossible to get more than 940Mbps.
This is the equipment we need to enjoy 1 Gbps according to Movistar :
- Cable to router: UTP-5e or higher
- Gigabit Ethernet network adapter (Except those connected by USB2.0)
- Processor: i5-7200U (Intel) 7th generation or higher. Equivalent in AMD.
- RAM memory: 8 GB.
- RED card: 1 Gbps.
- Operating System Version: 32 bits or 64 bits.
- Updated Operating System (Windows 7 or 10) and virus / malware free.
- Browser: Firefox, Chrome or Edge
In addition, we must refer to the document ” SPEEDS OF FIXED BROADBAND SERVICES” , recently updated, to learn more about it. First of all, it should be mentioned that all this is based on Order IET / 1090/2014, of June 16, which regulates the conditions relating to the quality of service in the provision of electronic communications services. Three “speeds” are listed here:
- The factor for calculating the “top speed” is determined by the level of compliance with the synchronization speed of the 95th percentile of the fastest connections of the probe system for the relevant service that is most comparable.
- The factor for calculating the “usually achieved speed” is determined by the level of compliance of the synchronization speed that corresponds to the average of the connections of the probe system for the relevant service that is more comparable.
- The factor to calculate the “minimum speed” is determined according to the characteristics of each profile and technology.
Regarding the download speed, Movistar confirms a maximum of 1000 Mbps, an average of 916 Mbps and a minimum of 739 Mbps . In the upload speed, we have exactly the same data, that is, a maximum of 1000 Mbps, an average of 916 Mbps and a minimum of 739 Mbps.
Is it a lot, is it little? What does the competition guarantee? Well, for example, we see that Orange guarantees a minimum download of 749 Mbps and an average of 999 Mbps. In the upload, Orange indicates that the minimum is 673 Mbps and the average is 897 Mbps. Unfortunately, quality documents from Vodafone and Yoigo are not updated to collect this speed, in addition to limiting themselves to indicating that the minimum will be 80% of the contracted speed.
The solution to reach the complete giga? Well, beyond factors such as the efficiency of the IP protocol, occupation of servers, ports, etc., which Orange highlights in its quality document, the truth is that it would be necessary to make the leap to the 2.5G standard both in routers and in computer network cards. The solution would be to launch the rumored Movistar xHGU router .
