Re: DSL Slower With Periodic Outages Since Irene
warwick1
Enthusiast - Level 3

At this point, Verizon has done a number of things to try and solve the problem.  First, as I mentioned in previous posts, they sent me a new modem, which I installed.  I saw no change from the new modem.  A few days later, after there was no improvement from the new modem, I was switched to a new router, and according to Verizon my service was "reset."   They also sent a technician to check wiring to and from the NID in my apartment building.  

This morning, the Verizon technician came in and checked my connection from my modem to the network.  His equipment showed the correct speeds for my basic DSL plan, with no inside wiring issues.  Using some internet-based speed tests, speeds were definitely faster then they had been.   It appears that the new router and resetting at the Cental Office improved things.   The standard download speed for my .500 mbps to 1 mbps plan is .768 mbps.  Some of my internet-based tests have now come in the .610 mbps range, and they occasionally go lower or higher.   According to the technician, Verizon's own speed test is inaccurate.   Verizon's own test site shows very low download speeds; others that I chose show much higher speeds.  It is hard to tell what is real and what isn't.  The technician said that some of the variations in speed are network based, depending on where I am connecting to.   My speeds are worst in the early evening, when network congestion is high.

Switching my service to a new router appears to have improved the service.  I can tell the difference without a speed test.  Last night I was able to watch a brief CNN video without any chop, for the first time in months.  The plan itself may be too slow for today's web, which has bandwidth-clogging links to facebook, twitter and other services on many web pages.

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Re: DSL Slower With Periodic Outages Since Irene
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

Who took care of the router change for you? Was it the person I directed you to or was it the field tech who stopped by today? The 1Mbps plan is starting to show it's age now that everything is becoming content heavy. If the connection continues to work much better for a few days, I would see if you can get the line set to 1Mbps/384kbps. There is room for more speed, so it is up to you as to what you wish to do.

As far as the Verizon speed test goes... I think it seems to be pretty darn accurate based on this attachment! It's NDT-based so it's more sensitive to performance issues. It's worth checking out.


image
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Re: DSL Slower With Periodic Outages Since Irene
warwick1
Enthusiast - Level 3

@Smith 6612, thank you.  I hadn't yet contacted the person you directed me to..  The change was made by Verizon when I told them that the new modem made no difference.  I think there is an improvement, but it still could be better.

I'm not sure about the Verizon speed test - I used it again and again and it was consistent with the other tests I was using, including the ARNL NDT test.   This morning, the results were very inconsistent from various test providers.  The ARNL test showed much better results than the Verizon test.   The Verizon test showed the worst performance of any test on a consistent basis.  The tech said it was optimized for Fios.  I used 4 other test sites.  My speeds still appear to be somewhat erratic. 

I am still thinking about what I'll do next.   I had to stay home from work today to wait for the field tech.  It isn't easy to deal with Verizon on an issue like this.  It is very time consuming.  In this area, we can choose between one cable provider and Verizon.  Most people I've talked to aren't happy with either one.

I just ran another ARNL test.  The test results ran from download speeds of .292 mbps to .410 mbps.  The test results noted "network congestion" and "congestion signals."  Thus, the connection is still very erratic.  The field tech claimed that my Norton firewall slowed the speed, but the tests indicate erratic speeds after the firewall was detected.

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Re: DSL Slower With Periodic Outages Since Irene
warwick1
Enthusiast - Level 3

Well, it's back to Verizon tech support.  Since I stayed home from work today for the Verizon tech, I observed a couple of outages - no internet service.  Internet light on the Westell 6100G was red.  The outages lasted for about 5 minutes, and were internet outages only.  

I was not pleased when Verizon asked me to stay home for another workday so that the tech can enter my apartment... I said no.  Verizon has now said that they will be looking at things they can do remotely and from the NID in the apartment complex utility room. 

I had a feeling the new modem wouldn't solve the problem, and I was right. 

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Re: DSL Slower With Periodic Outages Since Irene
warwick1
Enthusiast - Level 3

The outages seem to have stopped, but the Verizon Technical Support claimed that the size of the cabling to my location limits the connection speed, and that even a higher speed package plan would not yield any higher speeds.  Based on the stats I got from some test sites, it appears that line has plenty of capacity; over 3 mbps..  It is difficult to find out what the facts are...

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