Download speed isn't everything

I was recently faced with a difficult situation, working overseas and trying to connect to US servers. My internet speed when measured, was consistently 200 Mbps. What what gives?! Why does my shell sessions take seconds to register a keystroke? 200 Mbps is good enough to download a movie or facetime someone.

In hindsight, my first mistake was choosing the wrong server to measure my internet speed. Somewhere along the way I forgot what the internet is... The internet is a network of computers strung together by a collection of switches. My measured speed of 200Mbps is the speed of which it takes me to download a single file from Singapore. This number is not indicative of my internet speed when trying to reach the US.. A person's internet speed is only as fast as the weakest link between two endpoints. While the leakest link between myself in singapore can process at 200Mbps, the weakest link between me an Los Angeles could be 5Mbps; thus, my internet speed relative to Los Angeles is only 5Mbps.

So the next time you're out shopping for an internet provider. Keep in mind that advertised internet speed is not everything. What does matter is the internet speed between you and your intended region of the world. While two ISPs might advertise as having the same internet speed, it should be noted that their path from point A (you) to point B, can take varying paths. The quality of path between A & B is often time more important than advertised speed and if you have the luxury to test your path before signing a contract... you should definitely test the speed and if possible trace route it.