|
Q: What is the typical user experience that 4G LTE offers?
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
A: The combined 4G LTE network will improve user speeds as compared to today’s existing 3G networks.
Typical user speeds should be:
CSL’s 3G Next G network is already the fastest wireless broadband network in Hong Kong, as shown in numerous performance tests by E-Zone, PC3, Ookla (Speedtest.net), and independent benchmarking commissioned by CSL.
|
||||||||||||||||||
4
|
Q: Can I use speedtest.net to benchmark the performance I am getting?
|
|||||||||||
|
A: Speedtests in general provide a quick and easy way to benchmark network connection speeds. However some care must be exercised when using Speedtests as the results can be lower than the actual connection speed, especially for high-speed mobile broadband technologies like LTE. The reason for this is because of the use of TCP protocol in the testing. Standard TCP settings (assuming a maximum 65536 byte TCP window size, TCP window scaling not enabled) limit speeds to ~17 Mbps per TCP connection for a network with the latency characteristics of 4G LTE. It should be noted that TCP settings are dependent on the settings on both your computer and the server you are interfacing with.
To accurately measure the connection speed the user should either:
That said, Speedtests are convenient ways to quickly measure connection speeds and are well known and understood. In Hong Kong there are two primary methods to do Speedtests – Speedtest.net (//www.speedtest.net) and OFTA (//speedtest.ofta.gov.hk/). For those unfamiliar with the OFTA site, it is a server maintained by OFTA for the specific purpose of benchmarking Hong Kong connection speeds. The OFTA site utilizes the same testing engine as Speedtest.net, as both are developed by the American firm Ookla. Based on CSL’s internal testing, the Speedtest sites ranked in order of accuracy of measuring 4G LTE connections speeds are:
** Note for Speedtest.net the preferred testing server can be accessed by going to the “Settings” tab on the top-right of the Speedtest.net webpage
See the graphic on the next page for a test done in CSL’s Kowloon Bay office. The tests were done sequentially one after the other in the exact same location.
CSL is currently working with OFTA to ensure that the OFTA Speedtest fully reports the capabilities of LTE/DC-HSPA+.
|