As the highest capacity Internet access technology available, fiber offers the best advertised vs actual performance.

Residential Internet services are referred to as shared access in the industry. Gigabit Minnesota follows the industry standard practice of advertising “up to” Internet speeds for residential services. This is the maximum potential speed for a user’s circuit, not necessarily the speed a user will see at any specific time. Overall Internet usage, Internet routing, your computers/router and other factors determine the maximum possible speed you may achieve at any given moment.

The Internet is constructed of connections, called ports, with varying maximum capacities. These capacities frequently range from 1Gbps to 100Gbps. Our network utilizes 1Gps and 10Gbps ports, depending the path your data takes. Depending on Internet usage patterns, a 1Gps port can typically support 100s to 1000s of users and a 10Gbps port several times that.

Web browsing and email generally use the least amount of bandwidth. A gigabit port can typically support 500 to 1000 users doing these activities. Streaming video requires more bandwidth, a 1Gbps port can typically support 200-500 users

Dedicated Internet access is a business oriented service which reduces the user-to-port ratio to provide higher sustained speeds. A dedicated circuit offers guaranteed speed on an ISP’s internal network, but is still subject to limitations of the Internet itself. Dedicated circuits are much more expensive.

A speed test is an application that floods your circuit to determine the maximum possible speed at a given point in time.

If you have Premium service or below and your computer is directly connected with an Ethernet cable, you will frequently be able to max out your connection with our internal network speed test at https://gigabitmn.com/support.php. If you have one of our faster services, such as 1Gbps, your maximum speed will be more variable. Gigabit Minnesota speed tests are automatically recorded and associated with your account for analysis, should you contact us.

Speed tests performed over wireless connections do not generate valid results due to the extremely variable nature of wireless networks. To ensure accurate test results, you must connect a computer to your router with an Ethernet cable and power off all other wired and wireless devices connected to your network.

200x20 megabits
Our speed test will generally reflect this speed at most times.  Because our smallest ports are 1Gbps, speed tests are rarely affected by other usage.

500x50 megabits
Our speed test will generally reflect this speed at most times. Because our smallest ports are 1Gbps, speed tests are rarely affected by other usage. If your internal network uses 100Mbps ports, the maximum speed you will see is approximately 90-95Mbps due to inherent network overhead.

Gigabit 1000x100 megabits
Our speed test results will vary, typically between 400-800Mbps. The higher speeds Gigabit service provides are more susceptible to other network usage. You will generally see the fastest speeds during the middle of the day, or night. Late afternoon and evening are the highest usage periods. You will not be able to achieve maximum results during these times. The maximum theoretical speed you can achieve is approximately 900Mbps, but it is unlikely you will see this speed.

Wireless
Wireless network performance is highly dependent on local interference, the construction of your home, placement of your router and quality of the router. Speed test results performed over a wireless connection are not valid and will not be analyzed by our support team. You will be asked to perform a wired test. Gigabit Minnesota does not provide support for wireless speed or connectivity problems.

We recommend 2 wireless routers:

TPLink Archer C7 for homes/medium-large apartments
TPLink Archer C5 for smaller apartments.

These lower cost routers generally perform very well.

Managed WiFi Service
We also offer a MANAGED WiFi SERVICE to our residential fiber customers to maximize the fiber experience.

Computers
Speed tests provide the most accurate results on modern computers with 1Gbps wired network cards. Tablets, phones and similar devices will not produce accurate speed results. Speed tests run from these devices are not valid and will not be analyzed by our support team. You will be asked to perform a wired test from a laptop or desktop computer. The overall performance of your computer has a great effect on speed tests. You must shut down all other programs and stop any other Internet activities.

Help
If you are experiencing slower than expected speeds, please contact our support team and 651-444-8888 or support@gigabitmn.com for evaluation and assistance.