Typical
 Broadband Speed

StarHub uses both integrated hardware and software test clients to measure the typical speeds of the broadband plans. These test clients generate legitimate Internet traffic requests to web servers, similar to what you would experience when accessing an Internet website. The test clients are connected (wired) to cable modems (in the case of MaxOnline - Cable Broadband plans) and home gateway (in the case of MaxInfinity – Fibre Broadband plans) to measure the typical speeds of the broadband plans.

Measurements are conducted using test clients geographically distributed in Singapore (North, North-Eastern, Eastern, Western, and Central regions) to simulate a typical consumer home connection in major regions of Singapore. Currently, the test clients are located in Ayer Rajah, Queenstown, Pasir Ris, Sembawang, East, Orchard, Bedok. The measurement examines the throughput of different broadband plans between the test clients, StarHub’s network, local and overseas Internet servers located in US and Hong Kong. File sizes ranging from 10Mb to 1000Mb are used, depending on the type of the broadband plans tested. The measurement is carried out 24 hours daily, covering the peak and non-peak periods. Measurement results, expressed in Megabits/second or Mbps, represent the rate at which data “packets” are transferred over the broadband connection. The data “packets” are collected at pre-set intervals. At least 200 measurement samples are collected for each broadband plan. Below illustrates the set-up of the measurement methodology.    

Why is there a difference between the Subscribed Speed and Typical Speed Range published?

StarHub publishes an indicative range of typical speeds for each broadband plan, to reflect the variable nature of the broadband Internet access service performance.

However, do note that the Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks and servers that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. In an ideal environment, customers are able to reach the subscribed speed.

Therefore, as with any network, there are many factors that could affect the performance of a broadband connection. This may prevent you from reaching the subscribed speed. For example, when if you're driving a sports car with a top speed of 200km/hour, and if there are no other vehicles on the road, your car can achieve the maximum speed of 200km/hour. However, you will never be able to reach the maximum speed of 200km/hour if there is heavy traffic on the road. Similarly, factors affecting broadband speed include:

• Overall network traffic
• User's computer's performance and configuration
• Accessing non-cached or cached data
• Location and configuration of the accessed server
• Number of users sharing the same home network
• Web server speed, i.e. how fast data is received depends on how fast the web server transmit
• Speed of the link connecting the web server to the Internet
• Uncertain Internet traffic all over the world
• Congestion on Singapore's link to the Internet