Utilisation Issues?
 

I have had a utilisation issue in my area for the past two weeks and most of the time the speed I am getting is around 12MB and I should be getting about 60MB.

I spoke to Virgin and they said it could take months to fix as some people are downloading too much stuff and getting away with it resulting in it destroying the bandwidth.

Is it best to just move on now?

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

yes, its best to change your provider as soon as possible. I had the same problem as you, and it took them 13 months to fix my problem. The streaming sites buffering problem is still on-going after years...

There are other good providers out there, fibre broadband is your best bet, im currently with BT Infinity and can say the service is completely flawless. There is also Sky Fibre...

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Cheers mate. I thought that was the case, so I called BT and Sky today to see what they had to offer and BT seems to have the overall better package. I was thinking of getting 60MB/20MB. What package are you on mate?

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Im on the 40Mb package, I get 36Mb down and 6Mb up, as im quite far from my exchange.

I got a friend of mine to move from Virgin to BT a few months ago due to buffering issues and he gets full 20Mb up and around 70Mb down.

Even though I get slightly slower speeds i'd recommend infinity over cable as web page load times are snappier and streaming sites and overall performance is flawless. The BT home hub 3 also has a much better range and performance compared to Virgin.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I think I will be calling BT again soon to arrange an installation as they seem to offer everything I need and the installation is free. :)

Did you have to pay £6.95 extra for certain parts?

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Also i'd like to add don't get tempted by any retention deals you may offer, whether its a cheaper service or account credit. Just lay your hand firmly and say you wish to cancel.

Just my advice.

I think I was charged something like that for the delivery of the router, as they deliver it before the engineer arrives.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I have already told them that I am going leave them because of this issue and some one higher up said, you are entitled to do so because of this fault.

---------- Post added at 18:45 ---------- Previous post was at 18:44 ----------

Ok. The man I spoke to today said it could take two/three for an engineer to come round. Did it take that long for someone to come to you?

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

yes it took almost 1 month for someone to come out, I guess because they're getting a lot of connections, but its worth the wait. :)

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

That seems to be the only downside mate, but I think I will still go with them mate.

Also, do you game online (PS3/Xbox 360) and if so, have you ever had any issues while gaming?

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

No but my brother does on xbox, he said since having infinity installed, there is much less lag, just performance is awesome, he's never reported a problem since i switched from Virgin.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

* Cabinet. Exchange distance doesn't matter on fibre to the cabinet...

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

yeah cheers for that, I actually did mean cabinet! :D

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Ok mate. Thanks. BT seem to tick all my needs. :)

I think VM days are numbered. LOL!

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Consider Sky as well, if you are using p2p software, as sky is completely unmanaged

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

agree, although I use P2P a lot and have never been managed, any day or any time, so im guessing it doesn't work very well...

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

The BT protocol management works the same way as VM's in that it lowers the priority of p2p packets, so while infinity is still in its early days you may not notice it, but as usage picks up it will probably start to hit you harder

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I have mate. BT just seem to be the best overall package and they said it was unlimited.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

BT Infinity is completely unlimited, but there are traffic management policy's in place to try and limit P2P traffic, but let me confirm it doesn't work, ever!

Sky Fibre is completely unlimited just like Infinity but its totally unmanaged too, but that doesn't mean it wont change in the future.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Its unlimited in the respect of no STM, but there is still p2p protocol shaping with BT

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

it did used to hit me for a short period of time many months ago, and lasted only a few days, I don't know if it was some settings in utorrent I changed or something on their side but it hasn't hit me since.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Ok then guys, does BT P2P management actually work or not, as I have a engineer booked, but I can cancel if I want?

I want something that is the best overall as when I spoke to BT they didn't mention anything about the management protocol and now I am surprised that they have a similar system in place to VM. So technically, it isn't unlimited. :(

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Of course it does, they wouldn't have it otherwise. I did make this quite clear a couple of pages back

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

This topic is only 2 pages long, so I don't see you mentioning anything precise about BT until the top of this page, but Zee is a BT customer and it doesn't really affect him. Either way, I will have to phone BT up then and see how this management works as if it is the same or very similar to VM then I won't be impressed and might have to cancel my installation.

Also, VM have a traffic management protocol, but it doesn't seem to work properly where I am as that is the reason my connection is messed up in the first place.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

It does work, it's just rarely needed :) It doesn't affect me because I don't P2P, but it does occasionally affect my flatmate's seeding, which gets capped at ~3Mbps some days.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Ok thanks. What package are you on mate and is the Traffic Management similar to VM?

Thanks

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Ah sorry, I have pages set up a bit differently

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Another thing to consider. I regard BT as just as devious and snide a Company as VM. So I jumped at the chance of dumping my BT phoneline and taking a Sky package of Phone and fibre BB.

But if you are happy with BT as a provider then go ahead. The product is just the same and I think BT are doing some half price for 6 month promotions. But don't forget about 18 month rolling contracts and protocol shaping.

Good luck with whatever you choose. :)

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Thanks for the info mate. I am still unsure what to do as Sky don't include certain things BT does such as including 0845 numbers, the upload speed for the 40MB download is either 2MB or 9MB according to two different sales people and also on top of that, you have to pay £60 for installation, but nothing for BT.

Decisions, Decisions. :(

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

it used to be 2Mb upload, its now 10 (they might advertise it at 9)

I paid £50 set up fee, but it may be different for the 80Mb package, some people on sky user mentioned they haggled that to free set up cost

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I will have to see what to do as if I could haggle the installation fee things might be different as I think it should be free like BT to compete, but I will have to see what is best overall after I see what Sky say.

The main point for me though is to just get a fully working internet connection that is unlimited and exactly what I paid for, as VM are a joke at the moment and enough is enough.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

if you can get FTTC, I concur zee's advice. BT's FTTC pricing is also very competitive anyway not to mention calls etc. been cheaper than VM.

I just had a utilisation issue confirmed by VM yet again, this latest one has a fix date of the end of jan 2013. My service history with VM has been riddled with utilisation issues and the service history is now not far off 10 years.

---------- Post added at 23:53 ---------- Previous post was at 23:48 ----------

there is reports on TBB, that BT agressively throttle p2p upstream 24/7 even off peak is slow. But the download speeds on p2p seem much less throttled.

If its an issue for anyone just get sky FTTC instead. Sky have a public policy of zero traffic management.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I have had a utilisation issue in my area for over a month and the people at VM have no idea what is going on. Most of the time I get put through to call centres and they keep saying there is no issue and everything is sorted despite there clearly being a issue. I am still unsure what to do as I need to see what BT's Traffic Management is like as if it is the same as VM then, it is a pain as I want to get what I pay for regardless.

Which one would you recommend?

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I can only go on what user's opinions I have read on forums, although I do have past experience of the easynet network (now sky network).

Sky give out a poor hub device, thats a real put off for me, doesnt even have gigabit ports. No equivelent to modem mode on it, there is a wireshark method that can be used to get the user/pass which would then allow using a ddwrt router in its place. Other then that the sky service looks a decent bet. Also a min 12 month contract shorter than most isp's.

BT even tho it has p2p shaping seem much better at protocol shaping than VM, I havent read any stories of false positives or unclassified traffic been shaped, things like youtube all seem to work well on BT infinity according to reports.

I am not the best person to ask, but in general I believe pretty much all FTTC based isp's will be superior to VM unless the line itself is poor which is always a possibility.

The problem with VM they only sell based on peak downloading performance, they dont respect the importance of latency, jitter and consistency.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Thanks very much for your thought mate as I am still swaying between BT and Sky, but I will have to see over the weekend and try to decide by Monday as don't want to be stuck with something I don't want or like as it isn't what I wanted in the first place.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Infinity option 2.

The traffic management rarely hits non-P2P traffic, which VM's did quite often.

Since I don't P2P, it basically never affects me.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Thanks for your reply mate. I use P2P occasionally, but not all the time. VM's connection is just terrible as it takes ages for videos to load on Youtube and they actually load quicker on my Tivo (Tivo=10MB and my internet to suppose to be 60MB) and the worst thing for me at the moment is online gaming. I can't play online at all hardly as it is only playable between 12:30am to 2:00pm and during these times I am either sleeping or out and after that it is unplayable as there is so much lag.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Meh, that's why I left VM.

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Does anyone know how long it takes Virgin to disconnect your phone and Internet after you request it?

Thanks

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

Can be done straight away providing there is no cancellation period agreed in contract (i.e. 30 days)

Re: Utilisation Issues?
 

I thought so, but thanks for the confirmation. ;)