3G datacard and MSN

[gboy]

Hi

Does any one know why a MSN Internet call or video call to another user is very pachey and broken up. It seem that Vodacom is dropping packets from my connection. as a test i dropped the firewall on both pcs and even tried other software other than MSN but still extreamly bad connections.

 

[vodacom3g]

Does any one know why a MSN Internet call or video call to another user is very pachey and broken up.

When you connect to another user over the internet, there are so many network paths you cross over which you have no control, so I guess this is what you're seeing.

Where is the other party you're trying to connect with? Any congested link in the path will result in poor connection.

This is why 'normal' cellular voice and video calls use a switched circuit where you have guaranteed bandwidth for the call.

With internet telephony (which is packet based) you share the network with every other application and every user on that specific internet link. So if you're doing a download while you're trying to talk, you'll get a bad connection, for example.

 

[gboy]

Thanks for your reply

I considerd that, but msn Uses TCP/IP protocol and such even if you connect via nomal ADSL Or dial up the packets are sent in the same way. But However if you use VOIP over a normal broadband line the quality is much better. Hence the popularity of Voip and Video calls on lines mutch slower than 3g offers. I presume there is a falt in the 3G system in transmitting packets from my card to the tower. Or Vodacom has some special firewall or strange router setup. The person i call in in Seattle USA and has a simmilar connection speed.

 

[vodacom3g]

Try the Telkom ADSL speed test and post the results here. Also do some downloads and see what throughput you get. You can also do some latency tests.

This will give us a good idea on how your link is performing and if there are any problems.

Vodacom does not shape IP traffic in any way.

 

[Carlhead]

Maybe try using a different application instead of MSN. I had problems with it over DSL, so I used Skype for the voice and MSN for the video feed.

 

[gboy]

Thanks for your reply.

On conducting the ADSL speed test 3 times (one affter the other and clearing my cache) the results are as follows:

1) 216.2 kbps
2) 310.9 kbps
3) 245.4 kbps

If Vodacom does not shape TCP/IP could there be a possible source of interference. I live in Knysna and I get 3 Bars signal with a novatel card (updated firmware) and external antenna.

Using skype is a good idea but how do i set MSN to only do video.

 

[vodacom3g]

Those speeds (although a bit low) should be more than adequate for your application. Seems to point to a bottleneck further up the path, i.e. from the Vodacom international link out.

Try http://www.internetfrog.com/mypc/speedtest/ for an international view.

 

[gboy]

Hi thanks for your reply.

This is the results from the international test:

Download: 149,736 bps
Upload: 0 bps
QOS: 75%
RTT: 3 ms
MaxPause: 1641 ms

It seems a bit slow to me, but how does it compare to a normal telkom ADSL connection ???.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Kneebough]

If you are using MSN Messenger, then click on the little webcam icon below the avatars of both people in the conversation. For audio, click on the audio button on the top toolbar of the conversation window.

I used MSN Messenger for video and Skype for audio to alabama on christmas day and it worked well. Also on 3G.

 

[gboy]

thanks will give it a try. It must be something in MSN then.