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Question of the Day: Which compact crossover would you choose?
PC Network/Wibire Review
- Thread starter willsotaku
- Start date
Hi there.
This hasn't affected us as yet. With regards to the connection being down etc, could you get an email through to our support desk so that we may have a look? [email protected]
I do see that your link is still active on our side however, and am able to get as far as your dish on your roof.
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Nevermind - looks like my wife just shut down the box I was trying to remote into
Thanks for the help anyway.
willsotaku
Senior Member
http://speedtest.net.uk/result/600567/
Speedtest 3/5/2015-8:24pm
No downloads have been running for an hour or so.
Edit:
Speedtest was from London. Unsure why ping is 8ms hope its not a proxy being used.
Speedtest 3/5/2015-8:24pm
No downloads have been running for an hour or so.
Edit:
Speedtest was from London. Unsure why ping is 8ms hope its not a proxy being used.
willsotaku
Senior Member
I tried out their 4MBps Business package since i do Twitch.tv livestreams and Youtube uploads..it did not work at all! at first i thought something might be stopping traffic going through port 1935 as that is the TCP port twitch uses for their ingest servers and found that nothing was getting shaped in regards to that port but rather that it's peering issues causing me to barely get a constant 1500Kbps Bitrate stream out so i will be going back to my 10MBps Home package as it works better for me in general.
Gaming is a bliss on this package my ping went down from 13ms on CS:GO CT server to 7ms, JHB servers hung around 13ms-32ms depending on line load. EU game servers hand a buttersmooth ping of 167ms on Smite vs 172ms on Home.
So if your a hardcore gamer where each ms counts go for the 4MBps homepage but do not torrents are shaped to 512KBps during all hours.
Gaming is a bliss on this package my ping went down from 13ms on CS:GO CT server to 7ms, JHB servers hung around 13ms-32ms depending on line load. EU game servers hand a buttersmooth ping of 167ms on Smite vs 172ms on Home.
So if your a hardcore gamer where each ms counts go for the 4MBps homepage but do not torrents are shaped to 512KBps during all hours.
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Updated review after about a month:
Generally still happy, but I can see the speeds have been decreasing day by day - getting around 7mbps locally on speedtests, whereas I get around 4.2mbps internationally (less than half of the product speed, but still within the contention ratio I guess :/)
My downloads after hours have gone from an average of 650-700kb/s to an average of 400-430kb/s, which also isn't too great.
Latency however is still nice and low, so can't really complain in that department.
Might need to open a ticket to have someone look into the speeds and see if that's intended.
Generally still happy, but I can see the speeds have been decreasing day by day - getting around 7mbps locally on speedtests, whereas I get around 4.2mbps internationally (less than half of the product speed, but still within the contention ratio I guess :/)
My downloads after hours have gone from an average of 650-700kb/s to an average of 400-430kb/s, which also isn't too great.
Latency however is still nice and low, so can't really complain in that department.
Might need to open a ticket to have someone look into the speeds and see if that's intended.
willsotaku
Senior Member
From what i have heard this is normal as its the "FUP" 5 minutes download = 5 minutes throttle to 5MBps where it stays if you keep downloading so not sure how that is contended since contended would mean the less people do anything the more speed you get and since the whole time i have been on 10MBps i have never gotten more then 5MBps after hitting that throttle wall, latency is great...uptime is great but i really wish PC Network would review their FUP and maybe update to leaky bucket for throttling since i had about 2 weeks i barely used traffic only to be throttled within 5 mins
From what i have heard this is normal as its the "FUP" 5 minutes download = 5 minutes throttle to 5MBps where it stays if you keep downloading so not sure how that is contended since contended would mean the less people do anything the more speed you get and since the whole time i have been on 10MBps i have never gotten more then 5MBps after hitting that throttle wall, latency is great...uptime is great but i really wish PC Network would review their FUP and maybe update to leaky bucket for throttling since i had about 2 weeks i barely used traffic only to be throttled within 5 mins
I'd be fine if the speed stayed as it was in the beginning - I was getting 10mbps when not in the contended pool, while I was getting 6-7mbps when I was contended after hours.
I guess it's not the service we signed up for though - we're still getting way higher than the 1:15 contention as advertised, so now it's a case of I'm unsure if I should bring it up with them since it's still technically within the contention limits.
willsotaku
Senior Member
Hi,
I bought it up with them but i think they misunderstood me..you seem to have abit more technical knowledge then..me i do not expect 24/7 10MBps but i have only had my full line speed for 5 minutes at a time and this is the only issue i have with the service and odd i never burst past 5MBps when contended..
Think I'll raise it with them in a support ticket.
International - http://www.speedtest.net/result/4272079102.png
Local - http://www.speedtest.net/result/4272083478.png
International - http://www.speedtest.net/result/4272079102.png
Local - http://www.speedtest.net/result/4272083478.png
willsotaku
Senior Member
Really unimpressed with my speed today - After 5pm local/int slow pings fine
Update: 6pm speeds seem to have been restored to the old contended 5MBps =/
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willsotaku
Senior Member
Update to the thread:
This is my contended speed its always 5MBps no matter the time of day, during 9-5pm it goes down till 1MBps depending on load so please be aware that as that is completely normal and to be expected..pings still remain stable though and low. PCNetwork DOES NOT SELL 10MBps connections only Burst 10MBps for a few minutes
Yes the 5MBps limit applys to local traffic too and Youtube/Windows Updates etc
This is my contended speed its always 5MBps no matter the time of day, during 9-5pm it goes down till 1MBps depending on load so please be aware that as that is completely normal and to be expected..pings still remain stable though and low. PCNetwork DOES NOT SELL 10MBps connections only Burst 10MBps for a few minutes
Yes the 5MBps limit applys to local traffic too and Youtube/Windows Updates etc
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Right - so after a few chats with support and sleeping on it, here's my consensus:
I don't think they're contending connections properly. Normally you'd want to fill up your international capacity to the limit (seeing as you're paying for it anyway), which means that sometimes you'll be contending more (in office hours) than others (after office hours), especially since this is a product aimed more at businesses.
What I seem to be finding is that they'll still throttle/contend (whatever term they want to use to call it) even if they have plenty of spare international capacity (by their own admission), which just boggles my brain - if you already have the capacity and you've paid for it, why would you limit your customers?
I wasn't told about the contention pool after using xkb/s when I signed up, which just seems sneaky as hell - willsotaku is 100% right in saying that this Wibre home product isn't a proper 10mbps connection, but a 10mbps burst connection. Note that you won't even get 10mbps burst in office hours.
I've raised all of the above points with them in support tickets, with the response of "this is the product you signed up for" and you know what - that's probably true for the most part.
They guaranteed me 15:1 contention in office hours and 3:1 after hours and the speeds I'm getting in those hours are still above those limits, so *technically* there's no reason or grounds for me to complain.
Even though I have to commend them on their amazing support times (I once received a response to a ticket in under 1 minute) and the rock-solid low latency, I just feel like I'm being taken for a ride by paying R1539 for a service that I *might* be able to see 10mbps speeds if I load a website or two, not if I'm streaming anything in HD, nor if I want to do any sort of download (be it P2P or gaming updates). They can tell me till they're blue in the face that I'm getting what I'm paying for - it's not going to change the fact that I feel like I'm paying an insane amount of money for the actual product that I'm getting.
I barely even use the connection in the day and the only downloading I ever do is NNTP from 00:00 - 06:00 - the only high bandwidth service I use outside of those hours (not even in office hours) is streaming occasionally from twitch.tv - wanting decent speed if there's capacity available on their network, paying the rate I'm paying, is not too much to ask. At this point, I'm considering to just push all of my downloads from 17:00 - 06:00, as I might feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
As the service stands currently, here's how I'd sum up the service to someone potentially looking to sign up:
1. If you have the option of getting 4mbps and up stable ADSL, rather go with that. Much cheaper and better value for money.
2. If you're a light internet user who primarily needs a connection for browsing, email, gaming and some non-hd streaming and you don't have the option of getting > 4mbps adsl, you'll probably be more than happy with this product.
3. If you'd like to feel like you're getting value for your money however, you might want to look at another option - such as this: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/686940-Sonic-Wireless - Pricing seems comparable and they don't seem to have any of this "contention pool/throttling" nonsense at similar pricing.
I'm locked in for another 11 months without the option to cancel, since they're still providing me speeds higher than what they initially guaranteed me - here's to hoping they can come around and implement proper contention, use their international connectivity to it's full capacity and provide a service that you can truly call a great alternative to ADSL.
If the service stays as-is and I'm afforded the right to cancel before my contract term is over, I'd probably take it without a second thought.
As a sidenote - I'm not against being contended, in fact, contention is how you properly manage a network, but I can't help but feel that it's being improperly managed.
I don't think they're contending connections properly. Normally you'd want to fill up your international capacity to the limit (seeing as you're paying for it anyway), which means that sometimes you'll be contending more (in office hours) than others (after office hours), especially since this is a product aimed more at businesses.
What I seem to be finding is that they'll still throttle/contend (whatever term they want to use to call it) even if they have plenty of spare international capacity (by their own admission), which just boggles my brain - if you already have the capacity and you've paid for it, why would you limit your customers?
I wasn't told about the contention pool after using xkb/s when I signed up, which just seems sneaky as hell - willsotaku is 100% right in saying that this Wibre home product isn't a proper 10mbps connection, but a 10mbps burst connection. Note that you won't even get 10mbps burst in office hours.
I've raised all of the above points with them in support tickets, with the response of "this is the product you signed up for" and you know what - that's probably true for the most part.
They guaranteed me 15:1 contention in office hours and 3:1 after hours and the speeds I'm getting in those hours are still above those limits, so *technically* there's no reason or grounds for me to complain.
Even though I have to commend them on their amazing support times (I once received a response to a ticket in under 1 minute) and the rock-solid low latency, I just feel like I'm being taken for a ride by paying R1539 for a service that I *might* be able to see 10mbps speeds if I load a website or two, not if I'm streaming anything in HD, nor if I want to do any sort of download (be it P2P or gaming updates). They can tell me till they're blue in the face that I'm getting what I'm paying for - it's not going to change the fact that I feel like I'm paying an insane amount of money for the actual product that I'm getting.
I barely even use the connection in the day and the only downloading I ever do is NNTP from 00:00 - 06:00 - the only high bandwidth service I use outside of those hours (not even in office hours) is streaming occasionally from twitch.tv - wanting decent speed if there's capacity available on their network, paying the rate I'm paying, is not too much to ask. At this point, I'm considering to just push all of my downloads from 17:00 - 06:00, as I might feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
As the service stands currently, here's how I'd sum up the service to someone potentially looking to sign up:
1. If you have the option of getting 4mbps and up stable ADSL, rather go with that. Much cheaper and better value for money.
2. If you're a light internet user who primarily needs a connection for browsing, email, gaming and some non-hd streaming and you don't have the option of getting > 4mbps adsl, you'll probably be more than happy with this product.
3. If you'd like to feel like you're getting value for your money however, you might want to look at another option - such as this: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/686940-Sonic-Wireless - Pricing seems comparable and they don't seem to have any of this "contention pool/throttling" nonsense at similar pricing.
I'm locked in for another 11 months without the option to cancel, since they're still providing me speeds higher than what they initially guaranteed me - here's to hoping they can come around and implement proper contention, use their international connectivity to it's full capacity and provide a service that you can truly call a great alternative to ADSL.
If the service stays as-is and I'm afforded the right to cancel before my contract term is over, I'd probably take it without a second thought.
As a sidenote - I'm not against being contended, in fact, contention is how you properly manage a network, but I can't help but feel that it's being improperly managed.
I made an account JUST to comment on this. Because, as I understand it, PC Network/Wiber's contention ratio is clearly obviously set out. I have both a PC Network account AND a Web Africa Uncapped home account. And I can guarantee you, on the ADSL connection I get NO where near what I get from the PC Network account. For one, YES my account on Webafrica IS in 5 Stars at the moment, so no one comment dare give me the bull **** about my account is throttled. I KEEP reporting this EXACT same issue. AND NO ONE EVER FIXES IT. MY ISSUE: LATENCY. I have JUST done a speed test. And hey look. 268MS on their crappy network with 2Mbps MAX after 4 tries to a local server (IS Actually). I have done latency tests to games overseas and I get the exact same result. Now before I get told, exchange problems. No. Line problems. No. IF i VPN on my account to a test server, I get flawless results. I am tired of their crappy connections. SO I stick to my PC Network account. The latency when testing to a local server (IS speed test as well, Cape Town) comes down to 11ms. and I get much better speeds (3.5 average on testing). To be honest, I love the Wiber connection I have. I will post screen shots right now of the difference of latency etc compared. All I know is I am happy to be off ADSL and more importantly. crappy uncapped accounts.
Screen shot 1: 5 Stars on account. http://puu.sh/hcd4u/cf4c9cc54d.jpg
Screen Shot 2: Latency on the mentioned account: http://puu.sh/hcd5L/7c8414c9b7.jpg - This is on an EU server
Screen Shot 3: Latency from Router to the same game server IP: http://puu.sh/hcd7q/75ef57b10b.png
Screen Shot 4: Wiber/PC Network Latency Test on the same game: http://puu.sh/hcdbz/eb9c4670e6.jpg
Screen Shot 5: Wiber/PC Network Test from CMD (Can't use my Mikrotik for this one as its a dish on my roof): http://puu.sh/hcdUX/4b8e2d1346.png
I'm sorry but ADSL better? My ass. I love my Wiber/PC Network account to be honest. And I will never go back to ADSL.
Screen Shot 2: Latency on the mentioned account: http://puu.sh/hcd5L/7c8414c9b7.jpg - This is on an EU server
Screen Shot 3: Latency from Router to the same game server IP: http://puu.sh/hcd7q/75ef57b10b.png
Screen Shot 4: Wiber/PC Network Latency Test on the same game: http://puu.sh/hcdbz/eb9c4670e6.jpg
Screen Shot 5: Wiber/PC Network Test from CMD (Can't use my Mikrotik for this one as its a dish on my roof): http://puu.sh/hcdUX/4b8e2d1346.png
I'm sorry but ADSL better? My ass. I love my Wiber/PC Network account to be honest. And I will never go back to ADSL.
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You aren't comparing apples with apples - if you take a 10mbit line with 10mbit home uncapped from WA, you'll be paying R899, whereas I'm paying nearly twice that amount - I'd expect the Wibre product to be a hell of a lot better than the ADSL at that price
I still have my adsl line and I duplicated your tests on a normal WA home capped account (not even a business capped account that'll fit more than comfortably in the pricerange I'm paying now).
I've got a very ****ty 2mbps line that often loses sync as I'm > 5.5km from the closest exchange.
ADSL ping test: http://i.imgur.com/ezyBoIe.png
ADSL traceroute test: http://i.imgur.com/tyAzxPA.png
Wibre ping test: http://i.imgur.com/dDww8BQ.png
Wibre traceroute test: http://i.imgur.com/3YQ0hkp.png
As you can see, it's fairly similar - the latency difference alone isn't worth almost double the money.
Having the correct package for your needs would also help - no matter how you try to punt "it's uncapped, so I should be able to game and download without being limited", no ISP truly provides this on ADSL without there being a tradeoff, which is normally price, or in your case, speed/latency.
A home capped account would most likely suit your needs better.
Having said all of that, the speed on my Wibre service has improved drastically since I've made my last post - I'm actually getting >5mbps in the day (bursted) and I'm getting around 6mbps after office hours. I can live with this - at the very least, it doesn't feel like I'm getting little value for the money I'm paying.
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willsotaku
Senior Member
Well you guys are really lucky..mine sticks to 5MBps solid..think it might be time to have the RB750 removed as its then slowing down my connection as i never burst over 5MBps
I see where you are coming from Armizael, BUT this was done during the day (The testing) I am paying less overall for my Wibre account over Webafrica and ADSL overall (Including line rental and blah blah) and I am much more happier on their service. I am on the 4Mbps home account as well with them. And I get much more speed than their advertised 15:1 ratios.
Fair enough - I don't have first hand experience with the 4mbps home service.
Both willsotaku and I have the 10mbps home service, so it might be different.
Just fyi - my testing above was also done in the day
Speeds have stayed the same as in my last post, so I'm content.