20 mb - slow speeds in the evening

[ruddock08]

Hi guys,

Am on XL Broadband - only had 1 problem with it in the whole 2 years I've been on it and I love it - (a lot better than my 512 kbps ADSL connection!!) Now I've started having a problem recently where it'll slow down in the evening - from about 5 to 9 PM. Now I know this is peak time, but speaking to Virgin, they say they can sustain my connection to a minimum of 16 MBps 24/7.

Running speed tests show I'm getting around 6-9 MBps with upload of around 17 kbps, and a ping of anywhere between 30 ms and 90. Web pages do sometimes hang, and it takes a while to load (requires a couple of refresh's)

I have tried it wirelessly and hard wired and still have the same issue,
I am in the Colchester CO3 area, Essex.

Thanks for your suggestions

[Peter_]

Please post the Upstream and Downstream stats from your modem just click http://192.168.100.1/CmOpConfig.asp or if that does not work click http://192.168.100.1/

[ruddock08]

Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 5
Downstream Frequency : 331000000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM256
Downstream Symbol Rate : 5360.537 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps32Increment4
Downstream Receive Power Level : 2.6 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 41.1 dB

Upstream Lock : Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 2
Upstream Frequency : 37500000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 44.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by ruddock08

Downstream Receive Power Level : 2.6 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 41.1 dB


Upstream transmit Power Level : 44.0 dBmV

The power levels are normal so the issue must be elsewhere possibly on the network.

You may need an engineer to raise a ticket for networks to have look at your connection so that means you will have to call in again.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by ruddock08

Now I know this is peak time, but speaking to Virgin, they say they can sustain my connection to a minimum of 16 MBps 24/7.

While it's not your issue that is total nonsense. They cannot sustain your connection to any minimum and they probably gave you that figure as it's conveniently the same as Sky's Max used to be.

[jrhnewark]

It's because the upstream in your area is being hogged. There isn't much of it to go round on Virgin Media's network..!

In TCP terms, if you've not got enough upstream to return packets, your downstream will be severely affected.

[Risco]

As someone who has terrible issues in getting fast broadband I sympathize with you. The only way to get anywhere is to keep on complaining and taking pictures of the times when you get slow speeds. If you speak to the Indian call centre they will end up giving you a credit on your bill and should book and engineer. Be warned it is not a quick fix. It took 9 month for them to figure out I had a corroded line outside. My speeds for 20mb were then perfect. However I then upgraded to 50mb and the issues arose again. So I complained and complained then went to the CEO. I got phone calls and emails from head office. Eventually the problem got fixed and now I get 50mb even at peak times.

Don't give up and if you feel like you are not happy just ring up the indian call centers at night, they will keep pumping you with credits on your bill lol.

[jrhnewark]

The thing is, a problem with the coax out of the OP's property wouldn't explain this problem. It's a network problem. No amount of Indian call centres or "engineer" home visits will fix that.

[Risco]

Originally Posted by jrhnewark

The thing is, a problem with the coax out of the OP's property wouldn't explain this problem. It's a network problem. No amount of Indian call centres or "engineer" home visits will fix that.

Nope they won't fix it. However at the point of exhausting all avenues you then contact the CEO office and it does get things sorted.

[ruddock08]

Thanks for all the help guys.