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View Full Version : What is it with ISP's?



Clinterous
05-02-2010, 01:52 PM
I pay for a 10mb service through Virgin, yet have only been receiving between 1.5 and 2.5 most of the time, according to speedtest.net. We have also had some packet loss of an evening.

So I moan to Virgin and they get a techy to have a look. All's well techy says. Whilst on the phone he went through a few tests and said I was downloading at 11mb which is darn good considering I'm only on a 10mb deal.

After speaking to the techy I try speedtest.net again, low and behold, I am now getting 14mb! This is all within the space of 30 mins.

Can they supercharge the broadband signal at will, just to give it a temporary boost to shut me up for a while?

turbine2
08-02-2010, 09:32 AM
What did the techy get you to do? It's possible that during the diagnostics something that was done fixed the problem.

ini
08-02-2010, 02:47 PM
Is the 10meg connection still 'throttled' to below 5meg at certain times of the day?

Clinterous
08-02-2010, 03:23 PM
Q1: The techy did some line tests to check SNR and other bits and bobs; he also suggested I by pass my router for a moment. All checks were well within tolerances. All the techy said was probably not getting the full bandwith because of other users.

I'm back to 1.50mb in the evening and 2.50mb during the day time - clearly a contention issue.

Time to shop around me thinks to a less well known provider - trouble is that means getting BT in to re-connect the line.

If I ask Virgin to upgrade to say 20mb or 50mb, would I actually see faster speeds proportionately......At the moment lets say I'm getting 20% of the 10mb service, would get 20% of the 20/50mb service I wonder?

nc7503
08-02-2010, 03:31 PM
have you got a lot of wireless connection signals where you live? say more of a night than in the day?

Clinterous
08-02-2010, 03:53 PM
Define 'many'; but my pc is wired direct to the router via ethernet cable. The fluff's pc is wireless via our router though, but that shouldn't affect the wired pc would it? I don't use hers, or worry about her connection quality...

nc7503
08-02-2010, 04:25 PM
im on a wireless connection of a day time it was lightning fast,but of a night it went down hill:zx11: i found that there was around 4/5 more wireless routers of a night i could pick up.i phoned my isp and they told me to change the channel my router broadcasts on i had around 16 to choose from. this improved my connection no end.basically my router was clashing with another router in my area.

turbine2
09-02-2010, 09:50 AM
I'm back to 1.50mb in the evening and 2.50mb during the day time - clearly a contention issue.

Hmm, that's not good. It could be a faulty modem but without access to the diagnostics I don't know. Has he booked an engineer to come out to you?


If I ask Virgin to upgrade to say 20mb or 50mb, would I actually see faster speeds proportionately......At the moment lets say I'm getting 20% of the 10mb service, would get 20% of the 20/50mb service I wonder?

Quite probably, yes. 20/50 Mb/s uses a different version of the technology and that would require a modem swap. Also, 50Mb/s is not throttled at all at the moment if I remember correctly although if you're hammering the network you may be in breach of your AUP.

PFJones
15-02-2010, 04:57 PM
Hi

Ok there are loads of things that factor into the speed of your internet connection, first thing is no one ever gets a speed advertised. If you are on 10mb you are lucky if you get 8mb. Line attenuation is the main reason for this the farther the signal has to travel from the ISP exchange the lower the download speed.

Another thing to look out for, there is a huge difference between MB and Mb. the speeds you are recieving are very low though if you are paying for 10mb. you should at LEAST be downloading at 5Mbps off peak.

if you have a wired connection ignore all comments about wireless since it has nothing to do with your download speed. Changing the channel only applies to the local network it has no effect what so ever on the speed your ISP is providing.

Are alot of people on Virgin in your area? if there are you all share the same bandwidth so if everyone on your street is on the internet through virgin at the same time everyone will suffer reduced speeds. One more thing if you use the internet to download things illegally(Yar!) you may have exceeded virgins fair usage policy which means they will have cut your bandwidth. It might not have been you, if you have children or anyone else that lives with you.

turbine2
16-02-2010, 09:32 AM
If you are on 10mb you are lucky if you get 8mb. Line attenuation is the main reason for this the farther the signal has to travel from the ISP exchange the lower the download speed.


That's true for DSL technology connections but not cable connections. For DSL you're talking about copper UTP cable that can be measured in kilometers where cable is shielded coax and measured in metres (possibly a few hundred at most).

ricbw2
16-06-2010, 03:31 PM
are there are IP that dont have a fair usage or relaxed rules?

will the digital economy law effect this is there is IP's still out there somewhere?

there digital economy law seems to bad news for WIFI hotspots as they will are to clamp down on all usage.

Sam
16-06-2010, 03:48 PM
ricbw2 I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve by posting 5+ replies to each thread but there really is no need.

All threads you've posted multiple replies to have been merged into one post.

Please stop.