Acceptable speeds on 1/4mbps?

[radicool]

Just had 1/4mbps ADSL installed, and can't download anything at better than about 500kbps, local or international.

I have tried with a SAIX and IS account, and they both give the same results. I also have a 4mbps IS line at work, which can download from my IS-hosted servers at about 2500kbps, but my new line at home only reaches 500 when testing with the same files and at the same time (well, not exactly the same time, immediately afterwards).

According to my router I am sync'ing at 4096, with "good" attenuation (I am about 3.5kms from the exchange) and noise from what I have read in other posts, which should allow up to 2mbps:
ADSL Link | Downstream | Upstream
Connection Speed | 4096 kbps | 384 kbps
Line Attenuation | 44.0 db | 24.5 db
Noise Margin | 16.8 db |14.0 db

I called Telkom who say that the line is perfect, everything is fine and there's nothing they can do about it. But even their website states 640kbps is the min level for a 1mbps line, and I have yet to reach that on any speed test or through my own testing, including using a download manager.

Should I be complaining? Or is this most people's experience, and I am just lucky that my line at work performs at decent speeds?

 

[jacobstone]

You're not talking about downloading at 500kb/s are you?

Cos you realise kbps and kb/s are seriously different things...

kilobits per second versus kilobytes per second (one is 8 times the other).

if you are gettin 500kb/s downloads then your line is absolutely functioning correctly.

 

[radicool]

No, I am definitely referring to kilobits, not kilobytes, I am getting roughly 50 kilobytes (I am mathematically challenged so I always divide by 10, not 8, but you get the idea )

 

[netstrider]

In general you get about 400-500kB downloads. If you're lucky you might get even up to 600 local. If you are on Windows try using DAP (Download Accelerator Plus). My brother uses it at work and he gets about 640kBps instead of 500kBps. Hope this helps..

 

[radicool]

That's the whole problem, even with a download manager, it hits a ceiling at about 50kB/s. And I'm not testing with a download from an international site - that's downloading from my IS-hosted servers using my IS ADSL account, when immediately afterwards my work ADSL (also IS) manages 250kB/s (without a download manager).

 

[netstrider]

That is seriously weird. The lowest my brother gets at work is about 180kiloBYTES...I mean I get roughly your speed on a 384K line...

 

[radicool]

Yes, I know ADSL is a "best-effort blah blah" service, but 50kilobytes/500 kilobits is surely worth fighting about to get them to sort it out?

I'm paying for 1/4Mb ADSL and just barely getting 512kb service.

 

[bwana]

According to my router I am sync'ing at 4096, with "good" attenuation (I am about 3.5kms from the exchange) and noise from what I have read in other posts, which should allow up to 2mbps:

As it is if you line is syncing at 4096 then you should be able to get the full 4mb/s - otherwise it would sync at a lower speed. Considering you're getting 50kb/s on a line that should get you somewhere in the mid-400's I'd be pissed too.

How long ago was the install?

 

[radicool]

They installed yesterday (Tuesday). Was fighting with them already the whole of today. Technician says everything is fine, and the reason I am getting such slow downloads is because I am using wireless!?

Explaining to him that 54mbps wireless, even at a realistic 20mbps, is not going to cause any sort of bottleneck, was like explaining nuclear fission to a 3yr old.

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

Hahahaha, those Telkom techies are amazing hey. They get employed for technical knowledge surely (okay maby its for their skin colour at Telkom) and they say wireless causes you to be bottlenecked at 50Kb/s.. roffel.

I would honestly complain and refuse to take "everything is fine" as an answer. If you dont get anywhere, then there is definitely no point in keeping 1/4mb. Rather downgrade to 512kb, it should perform the same or better.

Try some other local downloads, or the Telkom speed test, just to be sure.

 

[netstrider]

Yes, we were to get a 512K line but the techie said our line runs over a couple of houses so we can only get 384K. So we said fine then we will only pay for a 384K line. Our throughoutput is averaging at 420kilobits - 460. Which is fair since we should only get 384.

 

[ziglet]

Maybe you are synching at 4mbit but they have limited you to the incorrect speed, just like my friend has a 384account syncing at 1024kbps and up 640kbps but only have to get 512speeds...

 

[jacobstone]

radicool - i would leave Telkom out of the equation on this one, it sounds to me like your ISP account is throttling you, get on the phone with IS and give them horns.

 

[savage]

Have the same thing for the last month or so on my 4MB line... I did a quick hack last night - and it SEEMED to have made things better... Still have to test properly when I get home tonight...

Disable IP Header Compression
Disable Compression
Disable Encryption

Normal Windows PPP won't have the options to set all of these. It seems that some of the DSLAMs does not neogotiate the PPP process correctly.

After I disabled those settings on my side (and not leave it up to neogotiations), I immediately saw a massive improovement in my speeds...

 

[jacobstone]

Disable IP Header Compression
Disable Compression
Disable Encryption

This isn't going to work in radicool's situation, he is using an ADSL router so windows it not negotiating any PPP settings with the DSLAM. I'm sure it's the ISP account throttling him.

 

[radicool]

savage, this shouldn't be the problem because we are using routers at both locations, plus I have been using my same laptop at both locations, so it can't be any Window's issue that I can think of.

jacobstone, it can't be the ISP either, because I have tried with both ISP accounts at both locations, with the same problem, and my ISP is WebAfrica, so I don't think they would be throttling me surely? (Not that I've checked with them yet, but none of their other subscribers have seem to have reported such a problem)

 

[jacobstone]

weird