Internet Bandwidth Issues

BGC, is your router password-protected? I'm wondering whether you have one or more neighbors who freeload on your wifi when they get home from work...

are you running any programs that are eating up bandwidth?
maybe something in the background, downloading updates or something?

i just ran it.
with bittorrent open 3Mbps down 0.33 up

without bittorrent 15 Mbps down 0.48 up

vidro3 wrote: are you running any programs that are eating up bandwidth?
maybe something in the background, downloading updates or something?

i just ran it.
with bittorrent open 3Mbps down 0.33 up

without bittorrent 15 Mbps down 0.48 up

Do you ever get better upload speeds? If you regularly get these speeds, which are low, I would call your provider to see if they are being hamstrung - when I was running a bittorrent a few years ago, the upload bandwidth that I was using set off a red flag and they throttled back my upload speed, leaving the download alone, all without a notification to me, of course. When I called, they said that they do this regularly, as the usage fits the profile of someone hosting a server, ie using a residential account for commercial purposes...

BrooklynGigCenter wrote: That's great bandwidth.

And there has to be a correlation between my tech's visit today and my modem problem.

really? what are you basing your comment on? JUST because he showed up?

you openly admitted you had problems with your speed before he arrived.
I cant tell you how irritated it gets me when someone who obviously is not in the technology field simply says "oh, he did something, i know it" You might have not said it outright, but you said it in a round about way.

Now, as one of the local techs on this board, there are quite a few tests you can do before pointing the finger. A few already mentioned.

One of the easiest things would be to get a new modem since TWC is freely admitting the modem could be bad.

The next step is a program called ping plotter which can monitor how your connection is 24/7 and keep logs. THIS would give you sufficient evidence of fault at TWC if any.

I have this exact problem. By 8pm every night my bandwidth drops to 1mbps or less. I don't pay for the turbo because this has been an ongoing issue.

I called TW on monday and was told since it had been nearly a year since they last sent a tech to my location there was nothing I could do unless I had a tech come.

I asked what the purpose would be since during the day my bw is fine and if I would just get the run around after the tech reported A-OK? He didn't have an answer. He also wasn't able to answer why a tech was needed when the bandwidth is fine during the day and slow at night, other than to say "That is how our escalation policy works, if I escalate you the first thing they'll ask was when the last time a tech was there."

I told him I wouldn't take a day off to pay lip service to their escalation policy and he replied "You'll just have to wait till it resolves itself then, we don't get calls from Brooklyn regarding bandwidth so it's potentially just your site."

Everyone who has TW in center slope knows that it's not just a single install but that everyone gets incredibly slow bandwidth every night. I was considering papering around the center slope explaining to people what the problem is and providing TW's numbers so that EVERYONE can call and try and resolve it.

TW really has a monopoly on low priced broadband. ADSL 2 which is 8mbps/1mbps so 2mbps slower down and double the up speed is 149.99/mo which is more than what I pay for cable/internet.

BrooklynGigCenter, It might benefit all of us if you could call TW tonight when your bandwidth bottoms out. Having had the tech within the last couple of days they should be able to "escalate" your case to the next level and perhaps that might expedite the fix for the rest of the neighborhood.

Especially since the tech I talked to claimed nobody was reporting this problem.

Subject: Internet

I woke up this morning to no RoadRunner and had to call TW about it. I'm in the north Slope and have cable TV problems all the time but Internet with them - shudder - seems to be free of problems...till today.
The robot at TW got it up and running again.
Yesterday when I left the house before noon, there were two TW trucks on my block and I got a premonition of a dark, dark future.

Yeah if my service sucked in the morning too at least I wouldn't fault the cable company and wouldn't be upset about them sending out a tech. It's clearly their fault and they've clearly made it has difficult as possible to establish that fact.

In the past when I've complained about this they've sent a tech who comes during the day and says "yup everything is fine" then when I call at night they say "the tech was there and said everything is fine."

The very nature of their failings and general usage has allowed them to establish a process designed to doge responsibility.

It's disingenuous to just write it off as "oh well the net has changed" our friends on the other side of flatbush who get Optimum get 20mbps (a speed not even offered by tw) all night long. So it's clearly possible but their defacto monopoly has allowed TW to drag their feet on similar updates.

I don't really blame tw either. If I were in their position where I had customers locked into annual contracts and no competition I'd let my customer service reps get harangued as well. What we really need is a dissolution of the cable monopoly, and not just via the addition of FIOS but by real last mile pooling and actual customer provider choice.

I think it's an issue the city council could actually tackle and come through on.