[Question] ADSL speeds.

[Marq]

I questioned my isp as a result of getting slow downloads.
Did a test via speedtest.net before downloading, and during downloading.
The result was 5.1mbps before and 1,4mbps during.

The answer I received 8 days (they promise 8 hours) later is as follows:-

Speed test only show the current available speed
if you do a speed test during a download you will only get what is left
Please bare in mind slow download can come from the server you connect
to

Can anybody out there confirm whether this is a valid answer or not?

To me it looks like they are throttling despite their denial thereof.

[irneb]

If there's nothing wrong on their side, then the answer is a possibility. Download speed is affected by many things, the entire internet is a set of interlinked connections - any one of which might form a bottle neck, starting with your PC's setup, through your router/modem, to the ISP's local exchange, through whomsoever is providing them with a link to SA's international link(s), and then the same applies for the server from which you're downloading. The problem is an internet connection is not just affected by your ISP, it could be them, but they're just one link in a chain which might span hundreds of connections.

As for speed test during a download: Yes, that's absolutely true if you've got no shaping done to your connection. Shaping means that some types of connections are given priority and others might be throttled. E.g. your email might be given a higher priority than web pages, and downloads (ftp/torrent/etc) might be throttled to only use 50% of the connection's maximum speed. Shaping is usually setup from your ISP's side, but may also be at any one of the connections along the line. And it might be setup to check for various things, usually the port number is used (e.g. web pages go through port 80, 20/21 for ftp, 443 encrypted web pages (e.g. online banking), etc. etc. etc. E.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...P_port_numbers

If there's no shaping, then all connections are given the same priority and none are throttled. That means any 2 concurrent connections share equally from your link - thus the maximum speed is divided by 2 for each. And since a speed-test is literally just a download followed by an upload - timing how long it took, it would be as if you're doing 2 downloads at one time.

[IanF]

Mark
We are on capped and have noticed the webpages etc are not that responsive anymore so maybe it is a capacity problem with the overseas connection.
Also when we watch Netflix it does buffer a lot when you start a show then is fine.

[Marq]

I switched isp's in December and have noticed a slow down which is why I queried it.

I did a trace route (tracert) -it seems the main slow down is from my router through to the local telkom exchange and then again from the local exchange to telkom jhbcore. So if I am analysing this correctly, the slow story is happening in the local Telkom arena.
The speeds through the other ip addresses seem to be slightly slower but not affected that much.

So assumption could be that Telkom is having a local volume problem and they have not got their optic fibre story up and running properly.

I am not sure at what stage the isp's have control, but again I can only assume that they are controlling the local connections and that the connections are being throttled.

Are there any other tests that one can do to highlight the source of the problem?

The responsive service from the isp's is just ridiculous. Having just changed because of this being one of the problems - I have seen two isp's battling first hand now - They do not appear to have the man power to follow up their tickets and the people they have on board do not seem to have a skill set that can help. I hope this is not a problem that is going to follow us into the future.

[irneb]

You could test if some stuff are throttled/shaped: http://www.howtogeek.com/165481/how-...et-connection/

If you're working through a 3rd party ISP (i.e. something like a "CheapAsSand ADSL") it is actually just renting bandwidth from Telkom and then reselling it to you. Telkom might be throttling that ISP's bandwidth due to their fair-use-policies, same as when you buy an uncapped connection direct from Telkom, they might even have a contract stipulating that they will only be give a specified maximum speed throughput from the 1st byte. Over and above that, it might also be that the local connection is overloaded - I've seen this with Telkom in the Sandton area quite a lot.

[Marq]

It seems to be a common scenario around the world.
Heres an article explaining the state in the US.
I also know that they have the same complaint in London - only there, they are supposed to get 80mbps and complaining that they are only getting 25. I reckon 25 would do us just fine over here.
At the moment we are unable to verify anything so will have to give the isp's the benefit of the doubt and blame it on local Telkom congestion.
The roll out of fibre optic has been slowed down I understand as a result of the inability to get power sources to the new network nodes that have been installed by telkom. So now its eskoms fault.

The rollout of the 100mbps lines (commercial fire to the home) have been extended to the end of this year. [Read - maybe this year...if you are lucky] It would seem that we will be playing catch up forever.

Meanwhile..........

The UK's fastest

Open up the field a little, to less widely available connections, and the UK's fastest broadband is a lot faster.

330Mb speeds from BT's fibre to the premises (FTTP) connections, available on demand, can be accessed from 124 exchanges around the country as of December 2013 and will become enabled in just over 300 by March 2014.

[irneb]

There is of course this: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/adsl/9...n-the-way.html

[Marq]

This just in from isp

Fantastic news, the fastest adsl service in the country just got faster. We have upgraded your account to 10Mb/s.

Take this month to trial your new speed and package, the upgrade is absolutely free for the remainder of this month. (Please make sure you reboot your router before you start testing, some routers can only detect the new speed after a reboot).

Whoopeee - Firstly that is what I thought I was paying for.
but secondly and more importantly - my speed is still the same as nothing has changed down the road here at Telkom.

So thanks for nothing.

[irneb]

So thanks for nothing.

Now that is painful! As if the speed which you bought is now suddenly something "new" which you only get for the first month (thereafter probably have to pay extra for) and then to rub extra salt in the promised "new" speed doesn't even happen! I feel your pain!

I'm sorry to say that I've yet to see any of these "new" speeds actually reach their promised potential (even if there's very little congestion - i.e. few people actually using it). The best I've seen as yet was through NeoTel's fibre optic line (though excessively expensive), where it was advertised as a 20MB/s and we got a minimum of 12MB/s - average around 16MB/s, only once in a blue-moon would it even go above 19.

The Telkom double 4MB/s ADSL line we had prior never reached above 500kB/s (note bits not bytes) in all of the 5 years we had it - average was around 130kB/s (i.e. as if it was an old ISDN line), sometimes it would even go down to below 10kB/s (i.e. similar to analogue modems of the 80s). Were always simply told: "That is a maximum figure, we cannot guarantee any minimum no matter how much you pay". That after they've wasted at least a month each time on a complain from us, by every time trying to imply it's "our" fault, our equipment / settings / connections - only to replace all of it and still getting the same molasses speeds, then getting their test equipment out there and finding that their own equipment also get similar snail-pace throughput. This was in the Sandton CBD area, all I can say is ADSL over there is much the same as the N1/N3 during peak traffic - i.e. more like a parking lot than a highway. I've heard of others getting decent speeds, though no-one ever getting the max as advertised.

[AndyD]

What type of downloads are giving you problems Marq? (Are they P2P or direct downloads etc?)

[Dave A]

I did a trace route (tracert) -it seems the main slow down is from my router through to the local telkom exchange and then again from the local exchange to telkom jhbcore. So if I am analysing this correctly, the slow story is happening in the local Telkom arena.
The speeds through the other ip addresses seem to be slightly slower but not affected that much.

Marq, you and I route through the same exchange, and I've noticed a marked drop in responsiveness over (approximately) the last two weeks. The good news is today it seems to be back to normal, so perhaps there was an infrastructure problem and it's now sorted.

I know the Dbn to Jhb leg runs pretty much on the rivet at the best of times and anything that hurts throughput tends to have a pretty dramatic impact on performance.

[Marq]

Andy, It seems to be mainly direct downloads. Cybersmart assure me that they do no throttling or tuning.

What I dont understand, Dave is that for about a week (about three/four weeks back) I had speeds of about 8.5 and the local technician that has been working in our area for many years told me the lines should handle at least 12.
But it was Cybersmart who told me the line at that speed (8.5) was unstable and they had reduced it back to 5.
I do not understand who is doing what - do isp's have control of the whole line from computer point to exchange as well?
and what does 'unstable' mean? I thought it was working great.

Dave, they have also been working in my area on something with many teckies down the main man holes and many vehicles lined up at the various exchange sub stations. I was told they were connecting the optic fibre stuff. So perhaps that was creating a problem on the existing infrastructure. They have now gone - so hopefully you are right and we are back to normal awaiting the final big switch over sometime in the future...........

[AndyD]

do isp's have control of the whole line from computer point to exchange as well?
and what does 'unstable' mean? I thought it was working great.

Yes, the ISP can control line speed. I guess unstable in the context they're using it would mean there's high transfer errors or dropped packets due to noise or attenuation caused by poor line infrastructure or long line distances to the exchange.

I'm with Cybersmart and I've not had any problems with speed in the past or even now. I have unshaped and I test it regularly to see if they're throttling or prioritising protocols and in all fairness I've never caught them doing it. Most of my larger filesize downloads are via bittorrent protocols via VPN but I direct downloaded a 115Mb PDF file this morning and it took < 3 mins.

[Marq]

Thanks for the input Andy.
I am fairly sure my speeds are slower than I had before but cannot be sure as to whether its the isp or telkom. It seems that its telkoms local network, but being slowed down more than they should by the isp.
The one thing though thats really annoying is Cybersmart's lack of response. They ignore emails and have taken over a week on average to answer some of my questions. I left the previous guys as a result of their lack of interest, not sure if I am worse off at the moment.
Time will tell, but they are on short notice so far.

[AndyD]

Weird, all the queries I've ever sent them I immediately get a reference number by return email and a response within 24h. They can actually become annoying because there's usually at least one and sometimes as many as three follow-up phonecalls to make sure the response can be closed on their system after it's been dealt with. Maybe it's a difference in service levels between areas. I'd give you good odds on it being a Telkom issue, I could only suggest you become a pest and keep reporting the issue until you get a satisfactory result.