Understanding internet speeds

Many factors affect the home internet service you purchased from AT&T. Learn how these factors influence the internet speeds you experience.

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Internet service levels and speeds

Your Service Capability Speed (internet speed) is the rate we deliver internet traffic to and from your home. Many factors affect the internet service you purchased from AT&T and influence the actual internet speed you experience at any given time.

Data and content you send or receive travels many paths before reaching its final destination and being returned back to you:

Through the wiring in your home.
Between your connected computers and devices and your modem or gateway.
Through the Network Device located outside your home to the AT&T Network.
From the AT&T Network to the internet, which has millions of private networks.
Through various Internet Service Provider (ISP) networks used by websites to send you content.

Internet speed

Each internet service option has a different capability speed range. The term speed is used to describe the rate a particular broadband internet access service can transmit data. This capacity is measured by the number of kilobits (Kbps), megabits (Mbps), or gigabits (Gbps) that can be transmitted in one second.

Some applications don’t require higher speeds to function optimally. Examples of these applications include sending short emails without attachments or basic Web browsing. Other activities perform better with higher-speed services. This includes transferring large data files or streaming high-definition video.

Lower speeds may not be suitable for some applications, particularly those involving real-time or near real-time, high-bandwidth uses such as streaming video or video conferencing.

AT&T speed tiers

AT&T Fiber

AT&T Fiber is an ultra-fast broadband technology. It’s delivered over a fiber optic connection to the premises. Or, it’s delivered to units within certain Multi-Dwelling Units (MDU). All speed tiers are symmetrical.

AT&T speed tier	Expected speeds
AT&T speed tier	Download	Upload
Internet 5	5	5
Internet 10	10	10
Internet 25	25	25
Internet 50	50	50
Internet 100	100	100
Internet 300	300	300
Internet 500	500	500
Internet 1000	940	880

IPBB

IPBB includes ADSL2+, VDSL2, G.Fast, and Ethernet technologies. These are delivered over a hybrid of fiber optic and copper facilities. IPBB provides users with faster download speeds compared to traditional DSL connections. All speed tiers are asymmetrical, or the download and upload speeds are different.

AT&T speed tier	Expected speeds
AT&T speed tier	Download	Upload
Internet Basic 768	0.8	0.4
Internet Basic 1.5	1.5	1
Internet Basic 3	3	1
Internet Basic 5	5	1
Internet Basic 6	6	1
Internet 10	10	1
Internet 12	12	1.5
Internet 18	18	1.5
Internet 24	24	3
Internet 25	25	2
Internet 25	25	5
Internet 45	45	6
Internet 50	50	10
Internet 75	75	8
Internet 75	75	20
Internet 100	100	20
Internet 500	500	100

DSL

FastAccess DSL packages are available in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

AT&T speed tier	Expected speeds
AT&T speed tier	Download	Upload
FastAccess DSL Lite, Fast Access DSL Direct Lite, High Speed Internet Basic	0.768	0.256
FastAccess DSL Ultra, Fast Access DSL Direct Ultra, High Speed Internet Express	1.5	0.256
FastAccess DSL Xtreme, Fast Access DSL Direct Xtreme, High Speed Internet Pro	3	0.384
FastAccess DSL XtremePro, Fast Access DSL Direct XtremePro, High Speed Internet Elite	6	0.512

Get more info about our broadband internet access services

Factors impacting internet speed

AT&T broadband network

AT&T delivers internet service to your home through copper or fiber wiring, depending on the service you purchased.

DSL and lower broadband services are usually wired using copper.
Most high-speed broadband services (IPBB) deliver internet via a hybrid fiber and copper network.
AT&T Fiber delivers internet directly to your home using 100% fiber network.

Home network

Many factors inside your home affect the rate you send or receive internet data. These include:

Age of wiring inside your home
Distance between the gateway and your device
Age and type of gateway or router
Number of devices connected to the gateway
Type of connection used

Connection types

You can access your home internet through a wired Ethernet connection or a Wi-Fi connection.

Wired connections use Cat5e or Cat6 cables plugged into the Ethernet port on your wall or gateway. These connections provide the best performance, consistently.
Wi-Fi connections give you flexibility to move throughout your home, but it isn't as fast as a wired connection. You get the best Wi-Fi signal closest to your gateway, with fewer devices running.
Wireless connections rely on your mobile service provider and are not part of your home internet service. To make sure you are not using your wireless data, make sure that your mobile phone or tablet are connected to your home network using Wi-Fi.

Type and number of devices

Internet devices come in all shapes and sizes. Each device has a maximum internet speed it can reach. But, that speed might not be as fast as your possible internet service level. For example, if your older laptop or tablet only supports 11Mbps and you have 1Gbps internet service, your laptop will never be able to reach the more than 11 Mbps.

When devices connect to your network, they each use a portion of your allotted speed. Multiple devices sharing your internet connection can affect the speed each device experiences.

TV and internet speed

In many cases, your TV and internet enter your home through the same terminal. Using both services at the same time consumes more available bandwidth and can affect your internet download speeds. For example, in certain speed tiers, watching multiple HD TV shows at the same time as very data-intensive internet usage, such as downloading an entire HD movie file on your laptop, may lead to reduced internet speeds as compared with such speeds when no other uses are placed on the home network.

Other networks and websites you visit

Even though you purchased a specific speed and the AT&T network is highly reliable, the websites you interact with may not provide their services at the same speeds. Things to consider as you surf websites:

Websites may not have the same network speeds as you.
Website server capacity can impact your Internet speeds.
Website owners may use other ISPs to deliver content back to you. These network serving arrangements can also impact your Internet speeds.
Visiting sites during their peak hours may also result in slower speeds.

Additional impacts on internet speed performance and speed test results

As noted, many factors can affect service speeds and speed test results. These include:

Customer equipment
Connection type
Network issues
Internet usage

In addition, protocol overheads, such as IP overhead in IP technology, diminish internet speed and speed test results. Overhead(s) means the various control and signaling data (e.g., transmission control protocol (TCP)) required to achieve the reliable transmission of Internet access data.