Prev Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4 Next Please log in to reply 84 replies to this topic

[Pib]

On this fine Saturday morning, below is what my new TOT 4Mb/512Kb internet package is giving me and I had no outages/disconnects yet:

And my first test to Bangkok gave me a 5Mb plus speed; second test was normal at a little under 4Mb.  









Keeping my fingers crossed with TOT this time; maybe, just maybe, the new phone line and improvement in their system in my area of western Bangkok has made a difference compared to over a year ago.   Fingers crossed...time will tell.

Edited by Pib, 2010-03-27 09:03:57.

[nikster]

Pib, on 2010-03-27 08:49:46, said:

The max speed/capability of the DSLAM is also a key player.   If the DSLAM is speed limited, say to a max of 4Mb, your home could be next door to the DSLAM and you couldn't get more that 4Mb.  Now, if they swap out the lower speed DSLAM with a higher speed DSLAM then you could get higher speed.

Interesting... why would DSLAMs be speed limited? I assume any DSLAM installed in the last few years would support ADSL2+. Is it about the connection from the DSLAM to the backbone? I am hooked up to one of those micro DSLAMs, a small foot-long box hanging on a power pole, and this in turn is connected to the main Pai hub.

Edited by nikster, 2010-03-27 09:08:15.

[Pib]

nikster, on 2010-03-27 08:10:31, said:

I know that TOT is super conservative with their estimates, they told me no more than 3MB for me at 3km from the DSLAM. However, the signal noise ratio indicates that I should be able to get a max. speed of 12Mbit using ADSL2+. After all, the determining factor in your maximum DSL speed is line quality not distance from the station. Line quality deteriorates with distance, but there are many other factors as well, e.g. the "how much did TOT mess up this line leading to my house" factor.

There's an internet page where you can enter your current line speed, attenuation, and noise, and get an estimate on the maximum speed possible for that line quality. Forgot where it is though, google for it...

Here's a couple of max speed estimators.  

http://www2.farina1....SL/default.aspx

http://www.kitz.co.u..._speed_calc.php

And here's a page that gives some layman's/more info on what the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Line Attenuation, etc., numbers mean quality of DSL line/signal wise.   But basically, if you SNR ratio gets down to the 6 to 10 db range you are probably going to have sync/connection problems which are intermittent to routine.   And I personally experienced this before when my SNR got down to 6-7 db due to funky phone line wiring within my house.

http://www.dslreport...ogtrans/auto/en

[Pib]

nikster, on 2010-03-27 09:06:57, said:

Pib, on 2010-03-27 08:49:46, said:

The max speed/capability of the DSLAM is also a key player.   If the DSLAM is speed limited, say to a max of 4Mb, your home could be next door to the DSLAM and you couldn't get more that 4Mb.  Now, if they swap out the lower speed DSLAM with a higher speed DSLAM then you could get higher speed.

Interesting... why would DSLAMs be speed limited? I assume any DSLAM installed in the last few years would support ADSL2+. Is it about the connection from the DSLAM to the backbone? I am hooked up to one of those micro DSLAMs, a small foot-long box hanging on a power pole, and this in turn is connected to the main Pai hub.

Just like computer hardware, cell phones, a 4 cylinder car compared to a 8 cylinder car, etc., the more powerful hardware is made the more it costs and companies/service providers are only going to buy/install what they can afford to install, what easily integrates with their other hardware, what they think most customers will be willing to pay, etc.   Even the TOT tech who installed my new phone line said I should be able to get 8Mb in about a year since they were planning to install some new equipment in the TOT central office/station (about 3KM from me) that services my home.   I'm assuming that is upgraded DSLAMs as they sure ain't going to be running new copper phones lines throughout my area (actually the main phone lines in my area only look a few years old, they are properly strung on poles, etc).   Then again, it may not be upgrade DSLAMs; it could be other equipment they are upgrading.

Are you sure you have a mini-DSLAM hanging on a power pole; that box could just be the phone line connection box where the local home phone lines are hooked into the main phone lines running to the central office...these type of connection boxes are normally used about 18 inches long and 4 inches in diameter.

[Supernova]

nikster, on 2010-03-27 08:10:31, said:

Line quality deteriorates with distance, but there are many other factors as well, e.g. the "how much did TOT mess up this line leading to my house" factor.

All I can say is, my ADSL connection has gone to sh!t thanks to TOT. I have no complaints towards my current ISP (Ji-NET) since they are not at fault. Their 2048/512 has served me well for almost 3 years. My problem is with TOT and their lack of initiative to fix my line. Up until about 5 months ago, my ADSL connection has been rock solid. I was able to sync at the full 2Mbps with average SNR in the 11-13 dB range. Rain or shine, I never experienced any dropouts or loss of signal. I live about 4km from the exchange.

Nowadays, the maximum downstream rate I can achieve is 1184Kbps with an SNR of 6-6.5 dB. Depending on the time of day, downstream speed can dip to as low as 768Kbps! I've switched modems/routers, redo internal wiring (did it so many times I lost count). TOT engineers have been to my home several times, but problems still persist. What's more, router stats show lots of CRC and HEC errors, which to me indicates a fault on the line. I also suspect problems at the DSLAM since my phone service had been interrupted a couple of times over the past several months.

To make matters worse, I can't get a data line out to my home. Tried 3BB and CAT (which don't require a phone line) only to have the operator tell me no nodes are available. Called True and got a similar response... This is in Laksi Bangkok, adjacent to North Park!

Getting a new line installed by TOT is not an option. They can't even fix the one I have, so why should I pay for a second line?

[jfchandler]

I've had True DSL Internet in BKK Sukhumvit for a long time... Recently upgraded from their 4 mb to their 8 mb package...premium level. And true to their word, I regularly get 8 mb download speeds for local Thailand connections. And a fair portion of the time with their 8 mb premium package, I can get decent enough speeds to the U.S. to enable video streaming services...

Their customer service is generally pretty good in BKK, and on those occasions when their service goes out -- usually because a tall truck has come down our street and caught one of the low-hanging overhead cables carrying their signal -- they're usually out to repair it within the same day or usually the next day at the latest. And they do have a dedicated English language call center that's open into the evenings and on weekends, which is nice

Because I'm a True mobile customer as well, people who use both services pay the rate for their regular DSL service of whatever speed but get a free upgrade to their so-called premium service at no extra charge. That includes, supposedly, unlimited Wifi service from True Move at 3 mbps speed, using the same user ID and password as you use for your DSL service.

And, internationally to the U.S., there are times when the apparent connection comes close to their advertised speed...such as this test from 10:30 am on a Saturday morning here in BKK...

 PS0005.jpg   33.92K   0 downloads

But in the evenings BKK time up through about midnight depending on the day of the week, those same True 8 MB connections to the U.S. crawl down to .30 or so Mb/s...  Then then get back to about 1 Mb/s usually sometime between midnight and 1 am...

And those are just regular html connections, not doing anything with seeds or download managers...

PS - I've also heard, but cannot confirm of course, that True does something to monkey around with their connections to Speedtest.net to give higher speed results than actually is the case for a customer who's making other/regular connections to the U.S. and elsewhere abroad.

[Supernova]

jfchandler, on 2010-03-27 10:47:03, said:

on those occasions when their service goes out -- usually because a tall truck has come down our street and caught one of the low-hanging overhead cables carrying their signal <snip>

Funny that you mention this... I hear it quite often from friends who use True. Makes me wonder if there's any truth to it.  

[jfchandler]

Hmm...and....as for the notion that True or someone is doing something to monkey with the test results that come back from SpeedTest.net.... look at the following test results done from BKK to New York and BKK to Los Angeles -- all in the same exact period of about 11 am today/Saturday....

Note: the SpeedTestNet results ostensibly are Mbps, while the other two are Kbps....

New York:

 SpeedTestNet_NY.jpg   32.82K   3 downloads
 DSL_Reports_NY.jpg   292.71K   15 downloads
 M_Lab_NY.jpg   130.4K   7 downloads

And Los Angeles:

 SpeedTestNet_LA.jpg   35.57K   1 downloads
 DSL_Reports_LA.jpg   302.29K   11 downloads
 M_Lab_LA.jpg   134.89K   12 downloads

Beginning to get the idea???

[jfchandler]

Ya...I would say there is... Because every time the service goes out...which isn't too often...I go outside and watch while the True repair guys wander around ...and eventually end up finding and fixing the pulled-out connection outside on my soi...

Last time, I asked them why they couldn't hang, or raise, their cable higher up on the concrete poles that line my soi.. And their answer was they couldn't and they only had permission to hang the wires at the level they are...which is about the height of the middle of a second story level.

Supernova, on 2010-03-27 11:06:46, said:

jfchandler, on 2010-03-27 10:47:03, said:

on those occasions when their service goes out -- usually because a tall truck has come down our street and caught one of the low-hanging overhead cables carrying their signal <snip>

Funny that you mention this... I hear it quite often from friends who use True. Makes me wonder if there's any truth to it.  

[Supernova]

SNR Margin (down/up): 6.2 / 19.0
Attenuation: 58.0 / 31.5
Rate: 1184 / 512
Attainable Rate: 1312 / 992 (downstream used to be over 3000 Kbps.)





For reasons unknown, I cannot sync to the full 2Mbps like I used to.  

[jfchandler]

Now I'm CERTAIN the SpeedTest.Net results for True in BKK are JUNK!!!!

Even ThaiVisa SpeedTest says so... See below.... testing servers in BKK and Singapore on my True DSL 8 MB Premium.... hardly the 7-8 Mbs SpeedTest.Net serves up...

 TV_BKK.jpg   138.06K   7 downloads

 TV_Singapore.jpg   137.38K   1 downloads

[Pib]

Supernova, on 2010-03-27 12:00:08, said:

SNR Margin (down/up): 6.2 / 19.0
Attenuation: 58.0 / 31.5
Rate: 1184 / 512
Attainable Rate: 1312 / 992 (downstream used to be over 3000 Kbps.)





For reasons unknown, I cannot sync to the full 2Mbps like I used to.  

Yea, until you get your phone line problem fixed (i.e., high attenuation and low SNR) your internet connection is going to be slower than its rated speed and I expect you will (are) experiencing frequent disconnects.   Per attached article/link your attenuation and SNR numbers are the pits.

http://www.dslreport...ogtrans/auto/en

[Supernova]

Pib, on 2010-03-27 14:08:22, said:

Yea, until you get your phone line problem fixed (i.e., high attenuation and low SNR) your internet connection is going to be slower than its rated speed and I expect you will (are) experiencing frequent disconnects.   Per attached article/link your attenuation and SNR numbers are the pits.

http://www.dslreport...ogtrans/auto/en

Been nagging TOT to fix it for months, but to no avail. I've just about given up.

Unless I move closer to the DSLAM, nothing can be done about high attenuation. The low SNR problem however, can be sorted out. Now if only TOT would something about it... For over 2 years, I've been been able to sync at the full 2Mbps with SNR hovering around 11dB to 13dB. During the late evenings, I've seen SNR go as high as 15dB. Having SNR drop below 10dB was very rare. << Not bad at all, considering I live far from the exchange.

Since the problems began, SNR has decreased to 6.5dB and has remained like that ever since. The router won't sync higher than 1184Kbps (usually 1056-1120Kbps). Tried other modems/routers with the same results. I have not experienced frequent disconnects though, maybe once in a while.

TBH, I'm at a loss and don't know what to make of this whole situation.  

[azcrilez]

My test...

True 8M/1M

Speedtest.net



Speakeasy - server San Francisco



Thaivisa - server singapore



Singapore speedtest



Torrent file 1



Torrent file 2

Edited by azcrilez, 2010-03-27 18:30:51.

[Supernova]

^ I can only dream of getting speeds like that.

[Seismic]

Seismic, on 2009-11-03 23:13:45, said:

On true 4MB I dont have any problem with speedtest, I can get 4.9 from NJ, What I have a problem with is the constant disconnects and 'seemingly'  loss of DNS. Everything is Ok then I get the dreaded "looking up www.google.com", which says to me the DNS is not functioning properly. Explained this several times to True engineers who dont really seem to have a clue.

Why don't you just use opendns ?


Because at the moment I am not convinced that it is just the True DNS server that is the problem. I have reduced the problem by about 50% by using cat 6 inside and Belkin Premium shielded telpehone cabling. I think that if the crappy telephone cabling from my socket inside my house to the outside was changed/re-routed I would see more improvement. My linksys software tells me that the internet connection is unavailable, that is when I get the "looking up" errors. So is the Internet down or the DNS server down??. As the problem occurs mostly in the very late evening I have a choice of "too many people on the pipeline" or "too much electrical interference from all the aircons being switched on". True engineers are useless, they have been around 4 times and have stated the following are the problems.
1, your computer (I have 5 computers on my home WiFi and they are all affected.)
2, its your WiFi modem ( I had a Belkin N1, so switched for a Linksys WRT610N - no difference)
3, its my splitters ( I threw out the chinese junk and all my splitters are now EU approved and well rated)
4, Its the Modem, (they changed it twice and it made no difference).
On top of that they could not relate noise levels to me to the DSLAM, as they "didnt carry that equipment".
If a True engineer who actually knew his job came around then maybe I would be happy, but I talk to these guys and they obviously dont really understand what they are doing. I'm not a complete idiot (unless you talk to the wife) I have been working with networks and mainframes and modems since back in the days of Racal-Milgo 2400 bps modems, but really some of these guys need a cheat sheet just to access the True network.

[traderjm]

nikster, on 2010-03-27 08:10:31, said:

I know that TOT is super conservative with their estimates, they told me no more than 3MB for me at 3km from the DSLAM. However, the signal noise ratio indicates that I should be able to get a max. speed of 12Mbit using ADSL2+. After all, the determining factor in your maximum DSL speed is line quality not distance from the station. Line quality deteriorates with distance, but there are many other factors as well, e.g. the "how much did TOT mess up this line leading to my house" factor.

There's an internet page where you can enter your current line speed, attenuation, and noise, and get an estimate on the maximum speed possible for that line quality. Forgot where it is though, google for it...

Oh don't get me started on this one, my house in Bangkapi is literally a spit away from the CO. I can see it and literally throw a stone and hit it from my back deck. When they installed my 8 MB connection last May they actually strung a cable right from the building to my house, it's that close.. but they must have done a really poor job of it as I have NEVER had anything approaching consistent speeds...some days it is blazing other days.



Yeah that is an 8 MB connection.... heart warming right?

Just curious does anyone else get such horrible speeds to that IL server?

How about this one, 15 minutes after the first and to a server 200 miles closer? haha....



Maybe this one to LA?



I or my wife call True weekly to have someone come out and replace the line or figure out what the installer did... who it should be noted told us it was his first week installing on his own after his training... I know the DSLAM is fine as I do get 8 or 9 MB sometimes... but its so hit and miss it drives me nuts..

[jfchandler]

TraderJim, that's quite a wide range in speeds.....

But, I must say, I see that same kind of range sometimes at my home in Sukhumvit as well with an 8 mb premium True DSL service....

I think SpeedTestNet is a flawed site for giving accurate measurements of True's real speeds to the U.S. But still, during peak use periods here in the evening, I see DL speeds sometimes approaching those you posted. And then usually after midnight, it picks up again and I can usually do 1 mb or better download from the U.S.

[Supernova]

traderjm, on 2010-03-29 00:03:11, said:

Just curious does anyone else get such horrible speeds to that IL server?

SNR Margin (down/up): 6.2 / 21.0
Attenuation: 58.0 / 31.5
Rate: 1120 / 512
Attainable Rate: 1280 / 1056

^ If I could only get TOT to fix my line so I can achieve 2Mbps sync...  

[Supernova]

traderjm,

I just noticed the 24ms-22ms ping rates to Montreal and L.A.

Given the distances involved, it's impossible -- even for super fast fiber optic connections.

Is True connected to those servers at warp speed or something? LOL. I've never seen pings lower than 200ms to N. America.

[jfchandler]

As I showed above by comparing speedtests from OTHER reliable measuring sites, clearly SpeedTest does not give accurate results for True.... I'm assuming that is due to True doing something in that regard...

I also get ping rates, at best, of 200-300 ms to various sites in the U.S.....and can be as long as 600 depending on the destination.

[traderjm]

Supernova, on 2010-03-29 02:07:11, said:

traderjm,

I just noticed the 24ms-22ms ping rates to Montreal and L.A.

Given the distances involved, it's impossible -- even for super fast fiber optic connections.

Is True connected to those servers at warp speed or something? LOL. I've never seen pings lower than 200ms to N. America.

Agreed... I found it quite awesome that I was getting a Ping time that was pretty much impossible hahaha

[traderjm]

jfchandler, on 2010-03-29 06:47:32, said:

clearly SpeedTest does not give accurate results for True.... I'm assuming that is due to True doing something in that regard...

These two tests were done within minutes of each other and of course BOTH to the Chicago server...

[negreanu]

anyone downloading from usenet using multiple connections to the server (10 or 20 connections) on 16mb Premium True package.  Can you max the connection out or close to it 24/7?

[Lammbock]

Well Speedtest.net just shows your Internet speed. The real download speed is different.
But however i am pretty happy with mine. 12MB/s True Home Wifi @ Nana Sukhumvit: