Is my ISP blocking/throttling my service

RyanMB

RyanMB

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So I stream IPTV daily and until Sunday I was able to do so without the use of a VPN, however since Sunday, I haven't been able to use it. I am aware that there is a current problem with WACS but my confusion is that all my other services like Netflix, Youtube & MyFamilyCinema all work, my IPTV streams fine from midnight till 11am, then buffers for the rest of the day.

This however is resolved when I use a VPN so this is where my confusion lies, might this be an actual problem related to WACS or is it possible my ISP is throttling when streaming IPTV?
 
RyanMB said:
So I stream IPTV daily and until Sunday I was able to do so without the use of a VPN, however since Sunday, I haven't been able to use it. I am aware that there is a current problem with WACS but my confusion is that all my other services like Netflix, Youtube & MyFamilyCinema all work, my IPTV streams fine from midnight till 11am, then buffers for the rest of the day.

This however is resolved when I use a VPN so this is where my confusion lies, might this be an actual problem related to WACS or is it possible my ISP is throttling when streaming IPTV?
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ISP's won't throttle IPTV. If they do throttle it would be p2p or downloads in general.

With the advent of fibre throttling is a thing of the past, ISP dependent of course. I am on an Openserve line with Afrihost and there is no throttling as they state.

I have had buffering on certain channels on my IPTV and it would only be on one channel and other channels are fine.

Using a VPN changes your routing so that could be the difference. I don't use my IPTV or any other thing online without my VPN running anyway. I use Protons secure config so I am routed via Sweden or Iceland to the endpoint country.
 
RyanMB said:
So I stream IPTV daily and until Sunday I was able to do so without the use of a VPN, however since Sunday, I haven't been able to use it. I am aware that there is a current problem with WACS but my confusion is that all my other services like Netflix, Youtube & MyFamilyCinema all work, my IPTV streams fine from midnight till 11am, then buffers for the rest of the day.

This however is resolved when I use a VPN so this is where my confusion lies, might this be an actual problem related to WACS or is it possible my ISP is throttling when streaming IPTV?
Click to expand...

Possibly routing your vpn through a better service than the one it usually uses. I haven’t felt the impact of the big fibre problem yet.
 
IamNoone said:
ISP's won't throttle IPTV. If they do throttle it would be p2p or downloads in general.

With the advent of fibre throttling is a thing of the past, ISP dependent of course. I am on an Openserve line with Afrihost and there is no throttling as they state.

I have had buffering on certain channels on my IPTV and it would only be on one channel and other channels are fine.

Using a VPN changes your routing so that could be the difference. I don't use my IPTV or any other thing online without my VPN running anyway. I use Protons secure config so I am routed via Sweden or Iceland to the endpoint country.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm also just a little frustrated with my ISP, I'm on Vumatel with WebAfrica. They keep telling me about the WACS problem and that I'm affected by a Vumatel outage, yet when I check the map for network outages, it's nowhere near me. Definitely no issues whem using the Proton VPN.
 
IamNoone said:
I was guessing it's Rain... But WA is worse.
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i really am thinking about switching to Afrihost, every time I have an issue with WebAfrica I consider it but never do, right now I want to switch to Afrihost, I know Atomic has been recommended to me too but I don't know much about them.
 
Consider the WACS cable outage before switching anything.
Went out the 1st (Sunday) and is expected to be repaired on or around 16th..
GLHF
 
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So one youtube video could play fine and the next one could buffer, as it is being served from a different location and your tube to that location could be problematic. This is why speed tests are generally useless for anything other than confirming that your tube to the speed test server is fine.
 
S
ld13 said:
View attachment 1825874

So one youtube video could play fine and the next one could buffer, as it is being served from a different location and your tube to that location could be problematic. This is why speed tests are generally useless for anything other than confirming that your tube to the speed test server is fine.
Click to expand...
Since YouTube started having local caches it's been much better. Though if you do access a video not locally cached it may have some delay but usually not.

My Netflix and Amazon Prime is routed via VPN from California to Sweden to my TV and no buffering ever.
 
IamNoone said:
S

Since YouTube started having local caches it's been much better. Though if you do access a video not locally cached it may have some delay but usually not.

My Netflix and Amazon Prime is routed via VPN from California to Sweden to my TV and no buffering ever.
Click to expand...
Which VPN are you using for Netflix? I thought Netflix blocks VPNs.
 
Moosedrool said:
Possibly routing your vpn through a better service than the one it usually uses. I haven’t felt the impact of the big fibre problem yet.
Click to expand...
I’d also think this is the reason, with a VPN it’s connecting to a better server that is faster than whatever server you are being assigned to via a straight local connection.
 
RyanMB said:
Please explain.
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Mweb and Webafrica are known for their service issues. 8t does not surprise me if they shape and throttle connections. In fact, I believe there was a post/thread to that effect here in the past.
 
IamNoone said:
Mweb and Webafrica are known for their service issues. 8t does not surprise me if they shape and throttle connections. In fact, I believe there was a post/thread to that effect here in the past.
Click to expand...

My friend gets 935Mbps on Speedtest on his 1000Mbps Vumatel line with Webafrica.

But when he downloads from a game launcher like Steam/EA/Battlenet he's only 15-20% faster than my 500Mbps Openserve line with Cool Ideas... But they're R200-250 cheaper than Afrihost and Cool Ideas so somehow he puts up with it.
 
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