IS/CellC is shaping fixed LTE traffic but keeping Speedtests fast so you don't notice

[Ipwn 4]

Right now I cannot stream DSTV or a home movie from openload without buffering yet my 10Mbps speedtest suggests I shouldn't have issues, seems strange right?

To test my hunch I setup my own speedtest server using this using this code from Github on a dev server at Hetzner with a 100Mbps breakout.

I first tested my speedtest server from my office which has a 300Mbps connection, it managed to do 90Mbps down which is close to the bandwidth limit on Hetzner's side for their truserv packages. The only purpose of this test is to prove that my makeshift speedtest server has enough bandwidth for the tests below

Next I tested CellC against speedtest.net, results were pretty much in line with what I was getting off my phone on wifi, 15Mbps down, 17Mbps up. That should be a enough for DSTV Now or a random video off the internet yet none of them are working right now...

Next I tested CellC against my speedtest server and I think the results speak for themselves, < 1Mbps seems a whole lot less than the speedtest.net results.

A pretty reasonable explanation for my speedtest server showing such poor speeds when testing from CellC fixed LTE is that IS might have a peering issue with Heztner right now so to be safe I tested my speedtest server from IS's Randview DC, results confirm that IS can definitely connect to Hetzner just fine.

Pretty frustrating that major speedtest services like mybroand and speedtest always show high speeds yet when trying to stream video from DSTV now or download random data from my hetzner server the throughput never comes close to this.

If you are a CellC fixed LTE subscriber please share your feedback?

PS Would love to see MyBB do some actual journalism and investigate ISPs unshapping speedtest.net and speedtest.mybroadband.co.za to skew the regular results posted on here but I am not holding my breath...

 

[biometrics]

Cell C fixed LTE seems stuffed. I can barely maintain a 1 Mbps connection with 4/5 bars.

Also, DSTV streaming has always been crappy, hasn't it?

Double whammy.

 

[Ipwn 4]

Cell C fixed LTE seems stuffed. I can barely maintain a 1 Mbps connection with 4/5 bars.

Also, DSTV streaming has always been crappy, hasn't it?

Double whammy.

Full signal here, doing 50Mbps on a prepaid cellC Sim without issues, fixed LTE on the other hand is a different story.

My DSTV now is usable 99% of the time, with the release of the Samsung TV apps I can get a 720p stream pretty much any time other than peak times.

 

[lilggg]

Exactly what i was thinking. Downloading from anywhere between 6 - 10 i barely get 30kbps, but speed test is always way higher. If they are they doing a terrible job of it, because its far from stable, connection resets, dropping etc.

 

[awvince]

Too be fair, the speed test is pathetic even though slightly higher than actual download, well in my case.

 

[epah]

Everyday after 7/8pm I cannot stream anything yet my speed test will show 10Mbps download. However I can still watch YouTube but only at 480p max. During the day everything works perfectly and speed tests are also around 10Mbps .

 

[awvince]

Where is that CellC rep, we need answers here. @Cell_C

 

[Sumen]

I think the towers are too congested, unfortunately.

I'm lucky as people around my area are not "tech-savvy" and the Mount Edgecombe area that's across the road has fibre so they have no need for LTE - Yes I have noticed that speeds are not as great as they were when the service first launched but I'm still able to watch 1080p YouTube videos.

 

[Ipwn 4]

I think the towers are too congested, unfortunately.

I'm lucky as people around my area are not "tech-savvy" and the Mount Edgecombe area that's across the road has fibre so they have no need for LTE - Yes I have noticed that speeds are not as great as they were when the service first launched but I'm still able to watch 1080p YouTube videos.

If it was congestion on the tower everything would be slow, this is them shaping a capped service as if it was a cheap uncapped DSL account

 

[lilggg]

Certainly seems like shaping but could be congestion. Either way u getting shafted. R840 (in my case) for something you cant use, its ridiculous.

 

[stephen5891]

THIS!

is exactly what is happening. Speedtest last night and every other night showed above 30 Mbps but the Internet speed was crawling.

DStv Now / Netflix would not even load.

Where is Cell C to comment?

 

[diepes]

THIS!

is exactly what is happening. Speedtest last night and every other night showed above 30 Mbps but the Internet speed was crawling.

DStv Now / Netflix would not even load.

Where is Cell C to comment?

Did you test with https://fast.com

 

[Swa]

Anybody thinking they wouldn't prioritise a speedtest is naive. Just like grfx card makers optimise their drivers to run better with benchmarks. The shaping policies are also a state secret unlike with adsl where most ISPs are willing to state what shaping they employ. Vodacom claims no shaping but that's from the early days. I'm sure by now they've introduced shaping since people are using it as an adsl replacement.

 

[Ipwn 4]

Anybody thinking they wouldn't prioritise a speedtest is naive. Just like grfx card makers optimise their drivers to run better with benchmarks. The shaping policies are also a state secret unlike with adsl where most ISPs are willing to state what shaping they employ. Vodacom claims no shaping but that's from the early days. I'm sure by now they've introduced shaping since people are using it as an adsl replacement.

Missing the point mate, no ISP provides a customer with a 1:1 connection unless stated and backed by an SLA.

These clowns however are taking things to a new level by selling a product on a network with next to no capacity while reserving the little capacity there is to fool customers into thinking something is wrong with the site they are trying to access.

There is a huge difference between slightly reduced performance (like most ISPs) during peak time and not being able to provide a service at all

 

[Swa]

Missing the point mate, no ISP provides a customer with a 1:1 connection unless stated and backed by an SLA.

These clowns however are taking things to a new level by selling a product on a network with next to no capacity while reserving the little capacity there is to fool customers into thinking something is wrong with the site they are trying to access.

There is a huge difference between slightly reduced performance (like most ISPs) during peak time and not being able to provide a service at all

No I get the point completely. I never said anything about contention or anything. Shaping (what we are talking about) is something different and not related to contention.

 

[gamer16]

I suspect Telkom of doing this, with the 450Gb night bundle. Both normal downloads and peer to peer slow down but speed test results are good, the issue goes away if I use a VPN.

 

[Plaas]

They are 100% shaping Youtube and Netflix speeds. Did a test between ADSL and LTE. Speedtest for LTE: 35MBs buffered 1080p Youtube every 3 sec and took 3 min on average to start. ADSL Speedtest 6MBs. Youtube did not buffer once at 1080p. These snakes are at it again.

 

[jammio]

Im thankfully having fibre installed in my building so i can finally get out of this nightmare. netflix "loading 99% " on the chromecast then streaming in 480p or something.

Got it in feb. Dumping it.

 

[Dretastic06]

always do a fast.com test reveals the real speed

 

[pkid]

I think I am going to have to cancel. Netflix UI takes forever to load and the video plays in low quality. Youtube stuck at 144p at 07:00 on a Saturday. Speedtest.co.za shows 20 up and 20 down and Speedtest.net 20 up and 26 down. The best is I can't stream Netflix in SD on the one TV and watch a 144p Youtube video on my laptop.