The majority of internet users in the province of Malaga and other parts of Spain do not get what they were promised when they took on the service. Internet service providers publicise attractive offers of, in some cases, up to “20 megas” for ADSL connections, and now in Malaga 78.5 per cent of all internet users have broadband. Nevertheless the great demand has not meant improved facilities. In fact the “20 megas” sold by the companies boils down in Malaga to no more than an average 777 kilobytes per second.
According to Javier Castilla, director of the firm ADSLnet, specialising in internet speed tests, the firms are offering speeds that they cannot provide to the majority their customers due to a lack of infrastructure.
“The real speed of a broadband connection depends on the proximity to the nearest telephone exchange. The further away you are, the slower the connection; there are other factors such as the number of users connected at any one time”, points out Castilla, who explains that the companies do not make it clear that a user’s connection could reach 20 “megas” in ideal conditions, but this is very rare indeed.
As far as the city of Malaga is concerned the fastest connection is obtained in the Tabacalera area with an average speed (in the case of users with the “20 mega” contracts) of 1,849 kilobytes per second and a maximum of 2,355. The worst connection speed for this service is in the Malagueta and El Limonar areas.
In the province as a whole the highest average speeds, of 1,742.67 kilobytes per second, are obtained in Estepona while the “20 megas” customers in Arroyo de la Miel end up with an average of 33 kilobytes per second.
A study by the Telecommunications Market Commission estimates that the “20 megas” speed is only really available to four per cent of users all over Spain. That is, 296,000 out of a total of 7.4 million. Neither do the 14, 11 and 10 “megas” packages work as fast as the companies suggest they will.
According to the study made by ADSL.net the broadband users who get the best deal are those who pay for the one or four “mega” packages.
According to a report by the internet users association AI (Asociación de Internautas),which took into account “1 mega” contracts, Ya.com provided the slowest service with an average of 425.48 KB/s, that is 42 per cent of the speed offered. Second slowest was Jazztel, with 50 per cent, Orange with 71 per cent and Telefónica with 83 per cent.
Javier Castilla points out that one of the main problems with the service in Spain is that the majority of the providers rent the infrastructure from Telefónica. “If all the operators invested in the network as they do in other countries, internet would be of a higher quality and faster for everyone”.
Until then, the recommendations are to find out the limitations of your connection and take on a service whose real speed is closest to the “megas” you are paying for.
How to test the internet speed in your area
The internet users association AI recommends that people test the real speed of the internet connection in their area before deciding to go with one offer or another, especially when contracting an ADSL broadband line. A large number of webpages measure connections speeds in real time. After all, there’s no point signing up for a “10 megas” offer when the average speed in your area is no more than 200 kilobytes.
Regards