1Gbps internet not reaching 1Gbps in speed tests, is that normal?

Are you testing near the router, hard wired and getting the 700mbps results?

Further away, I guess the speed will dip, that’s normal over WiFi at least.
 
Have you checked what the router is getting off of the ONT? It should have an idea of what it is getting off of it.

It might also be possible you have a slightly damaged or faulty/poorly manufactured ethernet line between the router/switch and your machine for it not to hit 900Mb/s+.

But I'd also ask what is the chip for your network on your computer? How old is it? And what browser are you using to check? etc. As I had a Gigabyte Z77 D3H where the 1Gb/s port at the back would connect at 1Gb/s but when testing speeds, part of it was lost from the browser being poor at handling the speed test, as well as the system being unable to push it that hard either (lack of oomph behind it at that point being 12 years old then).
 
My speed tests are all done wired.

So, the ONT box is an Adtran with a 10Gbps LAN port and I'm using a TP-Link AX72 router (which only has 1Gbps WAN and LAN ports). There is a new firmware for it though, which I'm tempted to try.
Wildanet sent me an Adtran 854-v6 router which has a 2.5Gbps WAN port but 1Gbps LAN (how does that make sense?), so I might give that a try and see if it at least help the stability. I tested at lunch time and got speeds between 900Mbps and 500Mbps.

I've tried 2 different PCs, one with a 2.5Gbps USB ethernet adaptor and a Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX V2 with onboard 2.5Gbps port. Using iperf3 both seem to be able to achieve over 2Gbps.
 
As for why the Adtran only has LAN ports limited to 1gb... I suspect it's because it's mainly used for WiFi, I would imagine with compatible wireless devices you might actually see true 1gb speed (if the ISP has overprovisioned); although pointless since you still have to be close to the router.

What time of the day are you testing? If you're able to test past midnight, and it's consistently 900mb+ during then, then it could be congestion during the day time, caused by the fibre line possibly being shared with other homes.
 
Still seems pointless to me to only have Gigabit ethernet of the wan port is 2.5G, but I suspect like most ISPs it's the cheapest possible device they can get away with.

I've tested during the evening yesterday and around midnight and then around lunchtime today. I think it was even worse at lunchtime today.

I'm not sure how many people here have it, I know it neighbours do. As for contention, I can't imagine that would account for 400Mbps+ of the guaranteed speed (1Gbps). They do say they're could be some slight variation but I think 40% would be stretching the term "slight".
 
Hmmm, not sure. I think most providers these days say anything that's still offering 50% or more of the base speed, qualifies as still "within spec" of the service offered. So a 1Gb/s line would basically be anything above 500Mb/s.

You have tried with iPerf, but have you tried also with a different browser? And also do you have wireless on your devices as well that's testing on ethernet? If so, turn them off whilst testing in case your machine is trying to use both connections and messing up the test that way.
 
not, turned off any wifi on the PCs. Tried in Chrome and Edge but get basically the same thing (just over 800Mbps at the minute).

Wildanet list it as 1Gbps and guarantee their speeds, so I'd hope to get 1Gbps (with some slight variation).

A bit later I'll try restarting the ONT and also I'll try the supplied router. After that I'll probably have to contact customer support.
 
If you complain and end up leaving to go elsewhere, the best result you will get is still likely to be 940mbps, but it might be advertised "correctly" at say 900 and then over provisioned by a bit.
You would win mentally, but perhaps not financially.
The 60mbps you feel you are missing is very insignificant and is lost via overheads.
 
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GoogalyMoogaly said:
Still seems pointless to me to only have Gigabit ethernet of the wan port is 2.5G, but I suspect like most ISPs it's the cheapest possible device they can get away with.
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It's not pointless - the whole point of connections with more bandwidth is to be able to use multiple devices (e.g. a mix of wired and wireless) at once without contention, rather than just a single device maxxing out the bandwidth.

Realistically the difference between a 1Gbps and 2Gbps won't be noticeable for the majority of people - games downloads are still a decent speed on both, and are often limited/restricted by the content servers
 
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jaybee said:
If you complain and end up leaving to go elsewhere, the best result you will get is still likely to be 940mbps, but it might be advertised "correctly" at say 900 and then over provisioned by a bit.
You would win mentally, but perhaps not financially.
The 60mbps you feel you are missing is very insignificant and is lost via overheads.
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That's the trouble, they're the only FTTP player in the area so if I get out of the contract I'll end up having to go with them again anyway.
But best case would probably be that they discount my bill. Failing that I'd just have to rejoin them on the 500/100 plan which I know they can actually deliver. When I was on that plan I was getting just over 500Mbps not 450Mbps, not 400Mbps.
Maybe I could look at seeing if there's any other legal action I could take, they're smallish (just the local area not national) and already have a pretty poor reputation so they probably wouldn't want any more bad publicity. I don't think most people would touch Wildanet if there was another option in the area.
To be fair the 60Mbps is annoying because I'm paying for 1000Mbps, that's what's on the paperwork they sent me. If they'd sold it as 900Mbps and I could get 940Mbps I'd be happy, but they didn't. Also, really, it's more that I'm not even getting 940Mbps most of the time, I'm not getting 900Mbps very often, I'm usually in the 700s or 800s and since they guarantee their speeds I would expect a darn sight closer to what is advertised.

Armageus said:
It's not pointless - the whole point of connections with more bandwidth is to be able to use multiple devices (e.g. a mix of wired and wireless) at once without contention, rather than just a single device maxxing out the bandwidth.

Realistically the difference between a 1Gbps and 2Gbps won't be noticeable for the majority of people - games downloads are still a decent speed on both, and are often limited/restricted by the content servers
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Yeah that's a fair point. I'd like to re-phrases that as "Still seems pointless for me to only have Gigabit ethernet if the wan port is 2.5G".
 
Honestly, you sound like the type of customer ISPs don't wish to have. Just accept that residential broadband connections are based on shared bandwidth/contention ratios and be happy you you have fibre to the house - there are many far less fortunate than you and would bite your hand off for 'just' 50 Mbps. Consistent tests above 6/700 Mbps is decent. If you're that bothered, ask them what their guaranteed bandwidth is and go from there, rather than trying to get money off?

You're free to go and spend 5 figures possibly 6 to have a dedicated fibre to your house, followed by well north of £100 per month payments if you wish. Pays your money and all that.
 
My last 3 runs on my "Guaranteed" 1000Mbps internet:


11/27/2025 5:47 PM
ping: 13
download: 539.57
upload: 216.76
server/location: Gosport / Iomart


11/27/2025 5:46 PM
ping: 10
download: 532.17
upload: 202.72
server/location: London / Wildanet


11/27/2025 5:45 PM
ping: 10
download: 750.65
upload: 216.71
server/location: Andover / Cilix Limited


So please I paid the extra to upgrade from 500Mbps!

11/26/2025 2:37 PM
ping: 10
download: 521.82
upload: 107.85
server/location: Andover / Cilix Limited
 
ChrisD. said:
Honestly, you sound like the type of customer ISPs don't wish to have. Just accept that residential broadband connections are based on shared bandwidth/contention ratios and be happy you you have fibre to the house - there are many far less fortunate than you and would bite your hand off for 'just' 50 Mbps. Consistent tests above 6/700 Mbps is decent. If you're that bothered, ask them what their guaranteed bandwidth is and go from there, rather than trying to get money off?

You're free to go and spend 5 figures possibly 6 to have a dedicated fibre to your house, followed by well north of £100 per month payments if you wish. Pays your money and all that.
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Surely they shouldn't guarantee 1000Mbps if they're not going to deliver it though?
 

Understanding Common Factors That Affect Broadband Speed​

You might not be getting the speed you want or expect for several reasons. This often comes down to various factors relating to your network, equipment, or the times of day you’re online. Examples of common factors that affect broadband speed include:

Network Congestion​

During peak hours, typically in the evening when more people in your area are online, your internet speed may slow down due to increased demand on the network. This is particularly common in areas with shared broadband infrastructure, where multiple users access the internet simultaneously, causing congestion and reduced speeds for everyone.
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My guess is because it's the only one in town, someone is also using their connection hard, probably uploading/downloading er... "work" files non stop and causing a nuissance for others.
 
Also as I understand it there's a legal requirement for them to state a Minimum Guaranteed Speed and the only speed they state for my package is 1000Mbps.
So either they're not meeting the minimum Guaranteed Speed or they've not specified one (which is illegal?).

I just ran a speed test and got 375Mbps. That's worse than when I was on 500Mbps, it baffles me that they're allowed to charge me more for 1000Mbps and then give me 375Mbps and there's nothing wrong with that.
 
ChrisD. said:
That just means it's provisioned at layer 2 to your ONT at 1000 Mbps. It doesn't guarantee anything else.
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Any consumer would understand the word guarantee as meaning just that... if you're trying to be facetious then fair enough, I'm not going to argue the point, but that is absolutely not how Ofcom and the ASA see things.
 
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