Hi Ralphy,
from what i understand, the 16mb dsl connection is probably "VDSL" technology. it supposed to be much faster than the current DSL that can top at 6mbps. while VDSL is much faster, one catch about it is the price and location. Its said that the closer your home is to a telecom circuit, the better vdsl performance you will get.
im not sure if the term CIR will apply to the offered VDSL. CIR (committed information rate) is like a guaranteed speed that should be given to you at all times. If the speed goes below the CIR, then you can contest this issues with your provider and ask for possible rebate.
some telecoms may be misleading in terms of just advertising the amazing 16mbps speed. might be a good idea to undego a trial period - so you can see how it goes during peak hours.
also, one thing to consider would be the upload speed. if 16mbps is the promised download speed, then you can at least expect a minium 1mb upload. anything an upload speed lower than this would be unacceptable/unfair in terms of the fast download speed that is promised.
if you are able to test that near 16mbps download speed is true, i suggest you try download and uploading at the same time. lets see if the 16mbps bandwidth will apply simultaneously to your download and upload. if this is true --- that you can download @16mbps speed while uploading @5+ or even @16mbps speed, then definitely this is a great deal
usually, the download speed will decrease to match the usage of the upload speed and total back to the 16mbps bandwidth
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this tip might be a bit old, but if you use Windows and want a free, and do-it-yourself realtime internet speed test
http://www.syschat.com/internet-realtime-speed-test-windows-performance-6659.html
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VDSL on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very-hi...ubscriber_line
A lot of news is on with internet providers offering the second generation 16mbps DSL lines
http://www.google.com.ph/search?q=dsl+16mbps&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US
fficial&client=firefox-a