Internet speeds consistently slower than paid rate

Hello, my download speeds are typically 20% of my paid rate (8-10MBPS) from a wired connection, no other devices connected to the network, just the one computer when tested. Sometimes as slow as 5% which makes it as good as AOL circa 1991, I can hear the dial tone now... Upload speeds are typically at or above 50MBPS which is great for the 2% of the time I upload files, not a real cloud user. Wi-Fi signal is the same speed, wired never improves tested speed. Using Macbook Pro mid-2012 model very virus/2nd party/3rd party software free. Timeline, over 4 months, I don't have the time to spend 45 minutes on the phone to have them do one of two things: tell me to plug a wire in directly or stare aimlessly at a router that is cycling power. Best part from the Customer service call: I have to pay for a new router if it's in question, I swear it's been less than a year. I wish I could pay the percentage of my bill that I was actually getting service for then I'd have no complaint. Come back Pacific Bell!!!

Accepted answers

CRobGauth

The only thing any ISP guarantees is the speed of your local connection.

If you run to speedtest.verizon.net with a wired connection to your router and get the speed you are paying for, they have met their part of the contract.

Yes, getting off their network may be poor (which may or may not be their fault), but your contract doesn't cover that.

Just like TV content providers and cable providers squabble over price, the same is happening between Internet content providers and ISPs.

Content providers get a free ride across the ISP network to their customers. If the ISP raises its rates to cover additional infrastrucutre required to handle the increased customer traffic, customers complain. If the ISP refuses ti increase their connectivity to the content providers without some compensation, the customers complain about poor performance.

And the customer is the one stuck in the middle just like they are with TV service.

In the end, it is all about providers (content and ISP) trying to make the most money with the least amount of costs.

All comments

eljefe2

Hey...I'm only a fellow user but I doubt that you'd have to pay for a replacement router if yours is defective.

A couple of thoughts that may help one of your fellow users here on the forum come up with a guess at what's causing your problem:

Have you ever seen full download speed since you've had FiOS?

Do you have any neighbors with FiOS, and if so, do they have the same problem?

It sounds as if you have rebooted your router, but have you also tried rebooting your ONT?

Are you testing speeds at www.speedtest.net, and if so, have you tried several different severs?

gonebonanza1

A couple of thoughts that may help one of your fellow users here on the forum come up with a guess at what's causing your problem:

Have you ever seen full download speed since you've had FiOS? Yes, when I first signed up. As today was Presidents day I was home at 7am this morning and I checked the speed, it was up at 50MB/s, sadly I have to work and the speed at this time of day would normally go unnoticed.

Do you have any neighbors with FiOS, and if so, do they have the same problem? Try to make this short. I've seen a few tree trimmers around here subbed by Verizon due to complaints about poor service. My neighbor has a tree hanging on supposedly FiOS lines, so those houses up the street are reportedly getting crappy service. I thought 'great!' problem solved (when decides to be home so they can enter his property), turns out I have a line that drops from the pole to my house and is not effected by the tree branch scenario (according to the contractor trimmer that knows the lines). So sorry for all the people up the street, is never home so they can't trim the branch that pulls the FiOS line down like 7 feet from it's natural position, but turns out this is aside from my issue.

It sounds as if you have rebooted your router, but have you also tried rebooting your ONT? What's the ONT?

Are you testing speeds at www.speedtest.net, and if so, have you tried several different severs? Yes, server never changed download just ping.

thanks for your feedback.

eljefe2

Here's a link describing the ONT:

http://www.verizon.com/support/residential/internet/fiosinternet/general+support/getting+started/questionsone/121496.htm?pos=8

You can restart the ONT by disconnecting the connector to if from the BBU (battery backup unit) and then reconnecting it.

However, a key bit of info in your last was that you are getting expected download speeds at some times of the day. It's unlikely an ONT reboot will solve the problem of intermittent slow speeds.

I'm fortunate in that I've never seen the erractic speeds you're experiencing. However, numerous other users have posted in many threads on the forum that they're having the same, or at least similar, problem you are. This is just one such thread:

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-Internet/7-11-Slow-Download-Speeds/td-p/745879

If you scroll through forum threads or do some searching you'll find others.

The bottom line, as far as I can tell, if there is a Verizon problem in some areas. The problem sounds like saturation during peak evening hours.

Maybe someone else here will jump in with another suggestion, but as a user, I can't think of anything you can do to correct the problem except complain to Verizon about it.

Good luck.

CRobGauth

Verizon can only guarantee the performance of their network.

To verify if it is an issue with their itnernal netowrk, check here: http://my.verizon.com/services/speedtest/

If performance is good, it is outside of their network.

If you still have poor performance, these results make it easier to prove to Verizon you have an issue they are responsible for.

gonebonanza1

@CRobGauth wrote:
Verizon can only guarantee the performance of their network.
To verify if it is an issue with their itnernal netowrk, check here: http://my.verizon.com/services/speedtest/
If performance is good, it is outside of their network.
If you still have poor performance, these results make it easier to prove to Verizon you have an issue they are responsible for.

Used the link above and get 13MB/s down and 60 up. I thought the 'peak hours' concept only applied to DSL and FiOS overcame that bandwith clogging deal.

eljefe2

@gonebonanza wrote:
@CRobGauth wrote:
Verizon can only guarantee the performance of their network.
To verify if it is an issue with their itnernal netowrk, check here: http://my.verizon.com/services/speedtest/
If performance is good, it is outside of their network.
If you still have poor performance, these results make it easier to prove to Verizon you have an issue they are responsible for.
Used the link above and get 13MB/s down and 60 up. I thought the 'peak hours' concept only applied to DSL and FiOS overcame that bandwith clogging deal.

I used to think that peak hours saturation only applied to cable and, like you, I thought FiOS didn't have the problem. Unfortuantely, the number of posts where users are having bandwidth problems in the evening has changed my thinking.

smith6612

Each technology has shared peak hour congestion. Where it cogests depends on how the network designer planned the network and how well the network is maintained. On paper, FiOS is superior in the sense that compared to cable systems and most DSL systems, the last mile should never be a problem. You share 2.4Gbps down, 1.2Gbps up on GPON with up to a potential 64 homes (usually 32). With Cable you generally share up to 672Mbps (assuming 42Mbps per channel on a 16 downstream channel node) download, 168Mbps (assuming 42Mbps per channel on a 4 channel upstream node) with up to potentially a couple hundred homes.

On DSL those numbers typically get worse. Depending on the setup and geography, you could be sharing anything from 6Mbps (4xT1 circuits) to 1Gbps with up to a couple thousand homes. In my area, I share 155Mbps (OC-3 Fiber) with approximately 500 potential homes. There are not that many ports on the DSLAM, but all are in range for at least 5Mbps service.

With FiOS, the OLTS typically connect back to the network using 2x1Gbps Fiber or copper, or a rare 10Gbps circuit. From there you're at the mercy of whatever aggregate network Verizon has in the CO, and then what runs between the Aggregate to the Verizon Residential and Business backbone POP.

Assuming Verizon uses X-GPON at the edge, which supports 10Gbps connections, and Verizon is using 100+Gbps circuits throughout their network, and using routers like the Juniper MX2020, all of the issues should then be falling squarely on either your end or on the rest of the Internet. Sadly, neither one of those is the case. Verizon still messes around with old Redback and ATM gear in many spots.

gonebonanza1

well i'm glad to see that there is no resolution to the problem. So reading through the last lengthy response there is a lack of bandwidth running through my neighborhood. So it the service is restricted/capped, why am I paying Verizon full price for limited services?? Hello Verizon reps out there?

gonebonanza1

2/21/2015 Update: 15ms Ping, 4.23 MB/s download (you read it right, I didn't miss a number, FiOS @ 4MB/s down is ridiculous), 28.64MB/s Upload.

Tried to run the Verizon network diagnostic tool, it just sits there saying "Testing in Progress," everything says "Not started" yet I can get to any website so something seems broken. Also installed the "broadband tuner" and that had zero effect on performance.

Don't see any discounts in my inbox from Verizon.

smith6612

I should have included a TL;DR. The capacity issue is very unlikely to be in your neighborhood, but would be more common to your area in this case. Verizon in many areas has been seeing some capacity issues in some central offices and in the residential backbone. They seem to be addressing these issues now. At this point since you see subscribed speeds in the morning, report trouble to support. The router is not the problem, so if they give you beef ask for the problem to be escalated to someone who won't use the router as a scapegoat. That's not how network troubleshooting works.

Also, ask anyone near you seeing similar issues at night to call or chat. The more support hears about slowdowns, the more Verizon has to pay for support, and the more likely they are to fix the problem. If they don't then start letting the FCC know that Verizon isn't taking care of their network.

gonebonanza1

thanks for the tip

gonebonanza1

Update: problem still not resolved. still getting 9 MB/s down. It's so awesome having to watch youtube videos at 480 res with FiOS! totally worth the money... No hope in sight. Separately I wrote into the Verizon Wireless side and within 3 days they opened a service ticket to look into why my cell service wasn't as good as they claimed it should be. Verizon FiOS on the other hand has created this board so they don't have to actually resolve problems, just have Verizon customers troubleshoot when in my case it is not a community resolveable issue. It's the service network.

[Deleted User]

Hi gonebonanza,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you. Please go to your profile page for the forum and look at the top of the middle column where you will find an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name beside your post, or at the top left of this page underneath the title of the board.

Under "My Support Cases" you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. The title of your post is the link. This should be checked on a frequent basis, as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions. To ensure you know when they have responded to you, at the top of your support case there is a drop down menu for support case options. Open that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.

gonebonanza1

thanks, I'll have a look.

Service for tonight:

Ping: 18 ms

Down: 4.7 MB/s

Up: 15.6 MB/s

Ex-PC-Tech

Check my forum thread "Possible solution to slow upload speed" for a likely solution to this common connection problem.

gonebonanza1

Ping: 15ms

Down: 4.3 MB/s (didn't miss a digit), this is as slow as my former Verizon DSL

Up: 41.1 MB/s

service ticket opened 3/8/15.

takesurmoney

from some of the stories i've been reading on here. it seems only if you annoy verizon enough. daily tickets maybe, your issue will be fixed. the rest of us are still anxiously waiting for something to be done about the sluggish speeds.

gonebonanza1

Update for this lovely March 18 evening:

FiOS Service:

Ping: 17ms

Down: 8.2 MB/s

Up: 60.0 MB/s

In better news on my Verizon Wireless cell; Verizon offered to let me out of my contract due to my poor signal provided to my area so cheers to them. They stated that I should get a high speed wireless service, to which i replied "well...about that, my FiOS service is poor" and he replied with a 'sorry to hear that.' They said no tower upgrades were scheduled in the next 3-6 months and gave me the option of leaving. Great! sadly i get better cell service in the middle of a desert where I work (about 30 miles from the nearest town) and right here in the thick of the city I get poor service, but, hats off to the Wireless side for giving me resolution and options within 2 weeks of my inquiry 🙂

So my FiOS saga continues, haven't had an offer to opt out of this contract yet...

philhu

Is that 4.7 MB/s or 4.7 mb/ps

See B means bytes, b means bits, so if you are saying 4.7 MBPS, you are saying 47 mbps. You are paying for 50 mbps

gonebonanza1

I'm not quite sure how my situation was 'solved' when Verizon never actually did anything other than opening a ticket to say they'd look into it then never get back to me. Last I heard was an automated message saying "your issue has been resolved" which it hasn't been.

To the persons question of bits bytes yada yada yada... I pay for 50 Mbps down and I get 12Mbps down.

Current awesomeness:

Ping: 15ms woohoo!

Down: 12 Mbps ....sad this is what 95% of consumers care about

Up: 59.8 Mbps ...if only I uploaded anything...

So as far as I'm concerned as a Consumer it is not satisfying to get an automated message from Verizon saying my 'issue was resolved' when nothing actually was corrected or improved when compared to my service ticket opening to investigate in the first place. I'm not a difficult person, just tired of being ignored for what has been months while I continue to pay for marginal service. VERIZON; just give me a discount for my reduced service since you cannot resolve my problem!!