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

[ChrisD.]

Minimum guaranteed speed participation by an ISP is voluntary.

Broadband slow? You've now more rights

Major broadband providers now have to give customers a minimum guaranteed speed before they sign up – and if speeds subsequently drop and cannot be fixed within one month, you'll be able to ditch your contract penalty-free.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

But as it's a voluntary code, they only apply to firms which have signed up to it. This includes the biggest companies such as BT, Sky and Virgin Media, but not some other big names such as the Post Office and Vodafone – so the rights won't apply to everyone.

 

[ChrisD.]

Also:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-2-6-weeks/237423-updating-and-clarifying-customers-rights-to-exit-contracts-for-broadband-services/associated-documents/bbscop-gc-alignment-statement-version.pdf?v=328448

Update to the Residential and Business Voluntary Codes of Practice on Broadband Speeds

 

[ChrisD.]

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.

Shady marketing department IMO. They're being clever with wording, rightly or wrongly. They have clear clauses which state speed fluctuates depending on network load as ultimately it's a shared residential connection.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

OK, you know what, I'm big enough to admit that this may mostly have been a PEBKAC problem...

I plugged in the router they supplied (which in typical Wildanet fashion is pants) because of two things. Firstly it has a 2.5Gbps WAN port and secondly it has a built-in speed test. The speed test running on the router was hitting 1022Mbps-ish every time. Now I'm not sure if this is because there are no Gigabit ethernet ports in the chain or if the built-in speed test might be a little generous, but since I've always had slightly over the rated speed in the past I'd say there's a 50% chance that that figure is accurate.
So then I had to try to figure out why that is so consistent. I think the issue is that the PC I was mostly using to test is an old B350 AM4 motherboard that only has a Gigabit ethernet port built-in. So when I updated my home network to be 2.5Gbps I bought a USB 2.5Gbps ethernet dongle. It seem to work well, decent speeds between PCs and decent speed to the NAS. iPerf3 seemed reasonable. However I tried another PC that only had a Gigabit ethernet port and that was getting 920Mbps-ish consistently in speed tests. So I tried the AM4 board using the Gigabit ethernet ports and all of a sudden 900Mbps+ every attempt. Started to worry it was some of my 2.5Gbps hardware (I didn't get the most expensive options/brands) so decided to try a PC with an AM5 motherboard that uses a built-in 2.5Gbps ethernet port. 940Mbps-ish every time so far.

So now it's looking like it was the bloody USB to ethernet adaptors! If the router's in-built speed test is anything to go by I might even be able to get over 1Gbps if I get a router with at least 1 2.5Gbps LAN port.

While I'm still not a massive fan of Wildanet, I will admit that this might not have been their fault.