Vodacom Problems: Slow Throughput, trying to Connect, DNS, High Latency

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Whilst I can connect, page downloads are erratic and frustrating. worst still, a speed test shows uploads are faster than downloads

Download Speed: 45 kbps (5.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 148 kbps (18.5 KB/sec transfer rate)

Any idea of what the issue could be?
 
vodacom3g said:
Have you PM'd me before? Don't see a PM from you in my inbox. Send all the details and I'll ask the local guys to give you a hand.
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No, never PM you before, what kind of details would you need?

Interestingly enough last night I had best connection in months, didn't run speedtests though ;( It's not speed I'm worried about, lower latencies is what I need and last night they where amazing. My setup hasn't changed so the problem must lie in Vodacoms side, hopefully something has been fixed ;)
 
How Do I Check Latency

:confused:I need to ask this one stupid question. Let me rather be stupid for 5 minutes than the rest of my life:)

What is latency and how is it measured? Also, how do I check/test it?

Hope someone can assist me.

Thx
 
morkhans said:
Getting disconnected almost every 5 min today.
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I've been online for two hours and forty five minutes now, no problems. PDDB, same as Morkhans.

EDIT 16:15 - Something has happened in the last hour or so though, browsing has become really slow. At first I though it might only be international traffic that is affected, but a visit to speedtest.net reveals 1516kbps, 234ms from JHB and 1068kbps, 644ms from London. Strangely though neither upload test completed.
 
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Been giving 3g a try for the last couple days to try it out and so far to be honest I'm not impressed.

Seems like when I try it, intermittently between 14:30 and 21:30, speeds are very slow, the earlier hours 14:30 to 18:30 it is pointless even trying because nearly every page, even local sites don't open. It says i'm connected at 460.8 but there is no throughput.

From 18:30 I can at least download emails at a bearable speed but anything beyond the odd browsing is a waste of time till, at earliest, 20:30. Thereafter speeds increase, latency decreases and I can actually use it relatively confidently for online games although pings still around the 900-1k mark.

I'm in Jhb south when online most of the time (close to Alberton), I make sure reception is always at max but that doesn't seem to help. Using Vista ultimate and a SE W880i.

Any suggestions or is it always like this?
 
Since no comment to my previous questions I thought I would post again.

As for previous notes nothing has changed yet tonight at this point in time (22:27) connection is pathetic. I am currently experiencing latency of 16-22k when able to get into WoW at all. I tried http://speed.vodacom.co.za/speedtest/ but got bored of waiting for "Preparing download test" to change or show signs of doing something after 10 minutes. Reception is very good according to SE PC suite and connected at 460.8 as usual. I am in Johannesburg south in Glenanda, close to the glen shopping centre, close to South Gate shopping centre, closish to Alberton .

Yesterday had my sim upgraded. Thought I might be having hassles due to it's age and possible damage (5-6 years) That had no impact on speed improvements.

Any other suggestions which might be able to lead me to believe that 3G is a viable broadband alternative?
 
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Valdahur said:
Since no comment to my previous questions I thought I would post again.

As for previous notes nothing has changed yet tonight at this point in time (22:27) connection is pathetic. I am currently experiencing latency of 16-22k when able to get into WoW at all. I tried http://speed.vodacom.co.za/speedtest/ but got bored of waiting for "Preparing download test" to change or show signs of doing something after 10 minutes. Reception is very good according to SE PC suite and connected at 460.8 as usual. I am in Johannesburg south in Glenanda, close to the glen shopping centre, close to South Gate shopping centre, closish to Alberton .

Yesterday had my sim upgraded. Thought I might be having hassles due to it's age and possible damage (5-6 years) That had no impact on speed improvements.

Any other suggestions which might be able to lead me to believe that 3G is a viable broadband alternative?
Click to expand...

Try a MTN connection I get green connection with it in wow...with Vodacom its unplayable, only in rare nights can u play wow on it.
 
Valdahur said:
Since no comment to my previous questions I thought I would post again.

As for previous notes nothing has changed yet tonight at this point in time (22:27) connection is pathetic. I am currently experiencing latency of 16-22k when able to get into WoW at all. I tried http://speed.vodacom.co.za/speedtest/ but got bored of waiting for "Preparing download test" to change or show signs of doing something after 10 minutes. Reception is very good according to SE PC suite and connected at 460.8 as usual. I am in Johannesburg south in Glenanda, close to the glen shopping centre, close to South Gate shopping centre, closish to Alberton .

Yesterday had my sim upgraded. Thought I might be having hassles due to it's age and possible damage (5-6 years) That had no impact on speed improvements.

Any other suggestions which might be able to lead me to believe that 3G is a viable broadband alternative?
Click to expand...

So a few questions then: What device are you using to connect?
What does the coverage map say about 3G coverage in your area?
Have you used ginggs's E620tool to do some signal strength tests?
Do you get better throughput at a different location (i.e work, airport etc)?
Have you gone outside and tried speed tests there?
 
Valdahur said:
Since no comment to my previous questions I thought I would post again.

As for previous notes nothing has changed yet tonight at this point in time (22:27) connection is pathetic. I am currently experiencing latency of 16-22k when able to get into WoW at all. I tried http://speed.vodacom.co.za/speedtest/ but got bored of waiting for "Preparing download test" to change or show signs of doing something after 10 minutes. Reception is very good according to SE PC suite and connected at 460.8 as usual. I am in Johannesburg south in Glenanda, close to the glen shopping centre, close to South Gate shopping centre, closish to Alberton .

Yesterday had my sim upgraded. Thought I might be having hassles due to it's age and possible damage (5-6 years) That had no impact on speed improvements.

Any other suggestions which might be able to lead me to believe that 3G is a viable broadband alternative?
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Hi Valdahur,

Without knowing how and what you're using to connect giving any advice is going to be difficult, but from my experience with vodacom 3g, it sounds like you're having some kind of signal/device problem.

I use a linsys wireless 3g router to connect along with a external antenna that i picked up from poynting.

The service is not perfect but nowhere near that bad (16-22k), most nights i can play eve/LOTRO with very little issues/lag. I also run a vent server from my home pc with very little lag.

However there seems to have been a issue or two with the vodacom network in my Area, North or Pretoria, for the last week or two because lag and disconnects have become more frequent but still nothing I’m going to complain to much about.

Last night was perfect so maybe the issues have been sorted out.

I've dealt with certain other wireless providers before and my experience with vodacom has been ten fold better.:)
 
I use Sony Ericsson W880i, have tried at various times and places in and around the south of Jhb. The place only seems to be an issue at the warehouse in Germiston where signal strength is 1-3 bars. Other than that high latency is only an issue at certain times (12:00 - 15:00 and again at 18:00 - 22:00) and occasionally, such as last night after 22:00.

For more info see previous post and the one above that.
 
Valdahur said:
I use Sony Ericsson W880i, have tried at various times and places in and around the south of Jhb. The place only seems to be an issue at the warehouse in Germiston where signal strength is 1-3 bars. Other than that high latency is only an issue at certain times (12:00 - 15:00 and again at 18:00 - 22:00) and occasionally, such as last night after 22:00.

For more info see previous post and the one above that.
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So that phone only does vanilla 3G (384k). I assume you are connecting using the USB cable? Can you run some speed test result using speed.vodacom.co.za and speedtest.net and post the results.
 
During the times when I have data throughput, as listed above, speeds are at the top limit of 3G (58Kb/s and 362Kb/s).
During the times when I have problems, as listed above, either, neither speed test runs at all, or occasionally I get the pages to load eventually but the test takes in excess of 10-15 mins to begin, if ever. The results range between 12 and 40Kb/s before 22:00 at night download and 11 - 13Kb/s upload.
 
Valdahur said:
During the times when I have data throughput, as listed above, speeds are at the top limit of 3G (58Kb/s and 362Kb/s).
During the times when I have problems, as listed above, either, neither speed test runs at all, or occasionally I get the pages to load eventually but the test takes in excess of 10-15 mins to begin, if ever. The results range between 12 and 40Kb/s before 22:00 at night download and 11 - 13Kb/s upload.
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Then I suggest you call 155 from your phone and log a fault so it can be investigated.
 
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