Is this wired...or wireless? Don't expect good speed tests on wireless ...too many variables.

Wired

To put it in context, a consistent 100M bandwidth (it's really not speed) would allow 10 users to watch streaming video simultaneously. If you're experiencing sluggishness - moments of unresponsiveness, or delays - it's most likely

1) The originating site

2) Spectrum's hardware carrying the signal to your home having a hiccup or problem

3) Your hardware having a hiccup or problem

If your equipment (modem and router) is relatively new, if coax and ethernet cabling is in good condition and connections are tight, pursue it with Spectrum Tech Support.

Early last month, I had a problem on three consecutive nights with Amazon video streams getting interrupted. There were other disconnects too - I know because I have some special purpose equipment that happens to log internet disconnects so I know when the signal dies. After getting over the initial time wasting ("the problem is on your end with your equipment, our system is fine" that I pushed back about), I got passed along to Tier 2 Tech Support. They agreed to send out a tech. I thanked them, but said - let's wait and see what happens. Two days later, I got a notice that the neighborhood's cable services (TV, internet, phone) would be down all afternoon for "System maintenance". Funny thing, after that, "my" problems went away. That tells me THEY had some wonky equipment in my signal path that needed to be replaced.

Azioh, I get excellent service via wifi - consistently tests to be excess of 60 Megs, same at two different homes. Far more than we ever use. Why do you say "don't expect good speed tests"?

Many people would kill to have those speeds. If they are consistent speeds, the problem is likely to be within your setup: hardware or software. Is the sluggishness just a delay in, say, getting to a site, or do you have buffering and interruptions when streaming a movie? And how old is the computer you are using and what is the operating system?

The computer is pretty new (last year), with an I8 processor, running Windows 10. The specific issue I noticed is that when I was on a GIS web site, displaying a map, every time I clicked on a region, it would take several (10-20) seconds to respond. It may be the originating site, or, since I am using a high resolution video setup (4K), it might be that, although when I reduce the number of pixels being used, it doesn't seem to help.

Sounds like a site-specific issue that you just have to live with. I don’t think you can do anything on your end to improve the site's performance.

Do other sites hesitate too?

I'm away from my home right now so can't make a reasonable test. Thanks, Elmer.

If you are not getting the speed you are paying for then you should complain to spectrum. Do you have their modem or your own? We have them with our own modem. Think we pay about $45 a month for Speeds up to 100 Mbps. No issues here and it runs fast and smooth for us. There is only me and my husband on our computer, phones and tablets so not a lot of people gaming at once so don't need to pay for faster than that. Mary

What's called "internet speed" isn't speed at all but rather capacity or quantity capacity of data. For data flow, it's measured in bits per second, for internet connections, most often megabits - Mbps-(one million bits) per second.

A 1 Mb connection moves digital data signals at the same speed as a 2 Mb connection. The 2 Mb connection is twice the size so in a given period of time, it can move twice as much data. It has double the capacity, and that's what's casually called twice the speed but it's not a matter of speed. It's helpful to think of different pipe diameters with flow at always the same rate to understand the concept. Bigger pipe, more water flows through it. Smaller pipe, a given amount of water or data will take longer to pass through

The word used for delay in data transmission is "latency". Some amount of latency is normal. Signals travel at the speed of light but distance, bandwidth of the pathway and delay from the equipment the signal passes through all have an effect.

I see systemic latency when downloading podcasts, as an example. For a given say 40 MB file, some will download quickly and some noticeably slower. The difference is usually the responsiveness and setting for bandwidth max permitted for an individual user session that's set by the source site.

Few internet sites that receive user sessions return data at anything near a large rate. Because they don't need to. I'd guess that few go at more than about 15 Mbps and most are well below that. An exception would be sites that serve-up large downloads all day, like operating systems and programs from Microsoft and Apple and others. Most casual and commerce-oriented sites go at much lower rates.

Many people have bandwidth far in excess of what they ever use. For two people in a house, even if watching TV individually, anything over 20 or 30 Mbs goes mostly unused.

Obviously if one downloads big files like music, videos, etc, the speed is very important. But for some like me, it doesn't make nearly as much difference. I recently HAD to get satellite internet (~15.0 mbits/s dload) because the at-one-time reliable landline DSL (~2.8 mbits/s dload) deteriorated too much. Suprisingly, because I don't normally dload big files, and my browser caches my regular sites like here, I don't see any real difference, except on those rare occasions when alot of data-dload is required.

I'm convinced my problem is with the other end - a county-run GIS website. It now seems more responsive.