US Telco Support → Frontier Communications > [Internet] For anyone seeing speed issues...

Re: [Internet] For anyone seeing speed issues...

Smith6612: Thanks for all that info and stats. I have never seen any latency below 50 let alone anywhere close to yours. A friend of mine who lives over the Mtn. and who recently got VZ 3MB/768 DSL
out of an "upgraded" RT gets "37" at a distance of less than 1 mile down 10 year old copper. It's taking a month to get any local Phone Repr. Guy to show up out here because of staffing issues "post Frontier M&A" so I am going to "grin and bear it" for now.

Well if posting the test thing would somehow magically fix my connection that would be fine and dandy!

It has once again been disconnecting and so here I am once again in these forums looking for solutions.

Hmm, I still have not called, been busy of late. Will call them on a Monday perhaps so they will have plenty of days to show up. The phone lines have even started going out again or full of clicks/interference and on it the receiver's volume is low, but i believe my voice carries through to others clearly on it at least.

The sound being low seems to be sort've random, but the clicks are constant and especially audible when i'm having disconnects.

See about getting the noise on the phone line solved. DSL should improve once that is fixed up. The phone going out may or may not be related or pointing to a circuit trouble at all.

Appreciate your thoroughness at investigating these matters, Smith!

I am a former Verizon DSL customer moved over to Frontier (and a newbie member of DSLreports, although I've used the tests for over a year).
System: WinXP on a Dell XPS.
Wired connection: Westell 6100G bridged to Linksys Wireless-G Router WRT54GSV4
Plan: 7MB downloand/700K upload.
Usual average download speed prior to switchover: 6-6.5MB.

Began noticing significant spotty speed Aug. 30, 2010. Have not called Frontier as yet.
Aug. 30 Speed test downloads of 1MB or lower at 6pm, increasing to 6MB by midnight. Uploads consistently 600-700K.
Small improvement on early evening speed tests as week wore on, but Netflix movie streaming on XBox 360 inconsistent: bumped from HD to SD to occasional loss of signal (last checked Thursday Sept. 2.)
This evening (9-3-2010) speed test downloads ranging from 6MB to 2MB 6-7:30pm. Uploads consistently 600-700K.

Speed test prior to tracert (7:40pm):
2694 download
824 upload
Speed test immediately after tracert:
2152
718

Speed test again at 8pm (prior to posting this report):
6366
762
Now to the actual tracert:
tracert log begun at about 7:41pm. Tracert below is typical of results I received during trial runs yesterday. Note timeouts and inconsistant ping results. No idea why.

Begin log:

C:\Documents and Settings\Steve>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [74.125.95.106]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 * * * Request timed out.
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 * * * Request timed out.
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 * * * Request timed out.
8 * * * Request timed out.
9 * * * Request timed out.
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 * 42 ms * iw-in-f106.1e100.net [74.125.95.106]
13 * * 42 ms iw-in-f106.1e100.net [74.125.95.106]

Trace complete.

C:\Documents and Settings\Steve>ping 74.125.95.106

Pinging 74.125.95.106 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 74.125.95.106: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=52
Reply from 74.125.95.106: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=52
Reply from 74.125.95.106: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 74.125.95.106:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 3, Lost = 1 (25% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 42ms, Maximum = 43ms, Average = 42ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Steve>ping 74.125.95.106

Pinging 74.125.95.106 with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 74.125.95.106: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Ping statistics for 74.125.95.106:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 1, Lost = 3 (75% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 42ms, Maximum = 42ms, Average = 42ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Steve>

End log

Forgot to add:
Location: Chesterton, Indiana (near Chicago, Ill,)

Smith,

I am a former Verizon Customer in the Eastern Panhandle of WV. I LOVED my Verizon DSL. I always had a great connection, got around 2.8 down and 780 up on Speedtest.net and always was able to game online with low latency. I almost always connected to games with less than 50ms of latency.

Not the case since I was hijacked to Frontier. It took them over a week to even get me online following the switch over. All of my internal networking has stayed the same but now I normally connect to games with at least 70 to 80ms and sometimes 100ms of latency no matter what I do. My normal internet surfing seems ok, downloads are good too, but streaming video stutters a bit and gaming is almost impossible (compared to the old service). I hope you can offer some advice. Below are my test results.

Thanks,
Dave

Looks like you are suffering from congestion, as indicative of the packet loss in your pings. I don't know what is up with the trace route, as normally when I see traces such as that it's generally a firewall messing things up. If you have time, give Frontier a call and let them know you are seeing congestion on their end of the network. Don't let them bump your speeds down of course .

@dbs179: Looks like you're seeing some some occasional congestion as well, despite your speeds being good as the trace route is showing some latency spikes at times, along with your pings. The pingtest.net test showing jitter (which is caused by congestion for the most part) is showing what is going on with your games as well. You are however on FastPath which is good. You were on Ethernet while running those tests I am assuming, correct?

Smith,

I was on a hardwired ethernet connection. I try to stay away from wireless unless I absolutely have too. Thanks for the insight. I'll just live with it for now I guess. I hope to get rid of Frontier as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Dave

Thanks for the confirmation about congestion. I'd already ruled out line noise and modem problems, so I can confidently inform Frontier that it's their problem. In talking with friends and others on Verizon/Frontier here in the Chesterton and Valparaiso, Indiana area, the story has been about the same: inconsistent speeds and occasional loss of connection and all after the switch from Verizon to Frontier. In my case, for example: I watched an entire 13 part TV series on Netflix streaming on XBox 360 in June with only rare losses of HD quality (only once or twice). Watching one episode of the same series on Sept. 2, HD cut down to SD 3 or 4 times and signal was lost completely at least twice. I hope its just an unfortunate aspect of the Verizon/Frontier changeover that will eventually be taken care of in a week or three ...
Anyway, thanks again. Now back to re-bridging my Westell to the Linksys router.

Not a problem to both of you guys. dbs179, it's interesting to note that your address is now an NC Network address instead of a Verizon address. Looks like they are changing things slowly for many people with the DSL side.

I did report the congestion issue in Northwest Indiana to a tech. support person at Frontier (to get help upgrading from a Westell 6100G to a GT704WGB 4 port rmodem/router so I don't have to mess with "bridging" anymore). She suggested that they may be installing new hardware and that the process could be contributing to the slowness. Not the most definite answer, but at least I'm on record about the congestion. BTW, if I could rate tech. support people, this pleasant Southern-accented lady would get an A from me. Very helpful, calm, and pleasant (as opposed to the person I talked to on Sept. 4: C or C-)

Glad to hear it's been acknowledged, even if of course it wasn't what you may have hoped. None the less, let's see how long it takes to clear up for you.

One last followup (in case any other northwest Indiana subscribers are following this): tonight I called Frontier's DSL repair dispatch (presumably based here in Indiana) to cancel a service call made for me by tech. support on Saturday (long story I won't bore you with). I told the dispatcher about the congestion and slow speed and he confirmed that Indiana is having a rough time of it at present (which he claimed was likely inherited from Verizon), but that Frontier is working on the problem. So I'll hope for the best and stay optimistic: after all, turning a pot-holed 4-lane highway into a smooth 8-lane highway often involves months of jammed traffic on a 1-lane highway.

I'm an Ex-Verizon (Now Frontier) customer paying for a 7mb package that is also seeing consistent slowdowns in the evening. Mornings are at the correct speed. I am in Goshen, Indiana, east of Chicago about 2 hours. I called last night, they couldn't find anything wrong, but are running a 24 test that should conclude tonight. Frontier did fess up that at least one other person in my area has complained about the speed issue. I end up watching Netflix on my iPhone because 3g from aT&T is twice (or more) as fast as my DSL at night. This is very frustrating, and I feel like I'm over a barrel due to no DSL competition in this area.

THANKS FOR THE UPDATE! I'm looking for a call back after my 24 line test Frontier is running right now. Stupid slow at night.
Previous post of mine:
"I'm an Ex-Verizon (Now Frontier) customer paying for a 7mb package that is also seeing consistent slowdowns in the evening. Mornings are at the correct speed. I am in Goshen, Indiana, east of Chicago about 2 hours. I called last night, they couldn't find anything wrong, but are running a 24 test that should conclude tonight. Frontier did fess up that at least one other person in my area has complained about the speed issue. I end up watching Netflix on my iPhone because 3g from aT&T is twice (or more) as fast as my DSL at night. This is very frustrating, and I feel like I'm over a barrel due to no DSL competition in this area."

Mine's always been consistent. I am on FiOS

Speed has been bad for a week or two here (Charleston, WV). Called and tech support wouldn't even attempt by phone. Sent service tech today (despite me saying I couldn't be here, he caught me home for lunch). Tech said I was probably set "too fast" and if I was set for 3.0 but really running 1.5, I would not even get 1.5. He said he probably needed to set it slower. No!!

Asked him to suggest a speed test website. PC came in at 2.87 download and .77 upload. He acknowledged that this was good. And yet tonight, I still can't watch NetFlix (spending as much time loading as watching).

I hope I've collected all the right data. The ping report covers before, during, and briefly after the file download. I've tried to bold the download portion, but I think it is obvious even without that.

What can I do to fix this? It did not used to be like this. Had Verizon until recent change to Frontier.

Trace route (the * = "less than," because the "less than" symbol messed up text that followed it)

Tracing route to dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 *1 ms *1 ms *1 ms dslrouter [192.168.1.1]
2 6 ms 6 ms 6 ms 10.2.11.1
3 6 ms 6 ms 6 ms 184.19.254.18
4 25 ms 23 ms 24 ms 184.13.127.161
5 24 ms 24 ms 24 ms xe-0-2-0--0-cor01.asbn.va.frontiernet.net [74.40.2.213]
6 24 ms 24 ms 24 ms ae1---0.cbr01.asbn.va.frontiernet.net [74.40.2.174]
7 25 ms 24 ms 24 ms eqix.ge-0-0-0.gbr1.ash.nac.net [206.223.115.69]
8 31 ms 31 ms 31 ms 0.e2-19.tbr1.ewr.nac.net [209.123.11.17]
9 32 ms 31 ms 31 ms 0.e1-4.tbr1.oct.nac.net [209.123.10.122]
10 31 ms 31 ms 31 ms vlan804.esd1.oct.nac.net [209.123.10.2]
11 31 ms 32 ms 32 ms www.dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]

Trace complete.

Ping report

Pinging 10.2.11.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=18ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=84ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=59ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=82ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=94ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=114ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=122ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=137ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=70ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=94ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=106ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=122ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=129ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=72ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=88ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=108ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=119ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=131ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=139ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255
Reply from 10.2.11.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=255

Please help!

I'm still reading all the information in this thread. In case it is any help, I also did the connection analysis. Results are here:

»174.34.146.20/myspeed/db/report?id=256578

On the capacity test, on the upload graph on the bottom half of the page, there are instances of 100% loss. These correspond to the times I scrolled the test window to see the text during the test (my fault, but pretty severe, isn't it?).

Thank you again for any help you can offer!

Editing . . . I did IP address lookups on the trace route addresses in lines 2-7. All returned almost immediately except line 4, which took some time. That's also where my slowing seems to be occurring. Just wondering . . .

Your connection seems to be running fine. Mind providing the Trace Route if possible?

Is the bold text below the trace route?

Connection seems to be working from PCs now, with adjustments I made to router before running the results shown. But I might as well cancel NetFlix. It is impossible to watch, stopping every 3-6 minutes for a lengthy retrieval.

Trace route (the * = "less than," because the "less than" symbol messed up text that followed it)

Tracing route to dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 *1 ms *1 ms *1 ms dslrouter [192.168.1.1]
2 6 ms 6 ms 6 ms 10.2.11.1
3 6 ms 6 ms 6 ms 184.19.254.18
4 25 ms 23 ms 24 ms 184.13.127.161
5 24 ms 24 ms 24 ms xe-0-2-0--0-cor01.asbn.va.frontiernet.net [74.40.2.213]
6 24 ms 24 ms 24 ms ae1---0.cbr01.asbn.va.frontiernet.net [74.40.2.174]
7 25 ms 24 ms 24 ms eqix.ge-0-0-0.gbr1.ash.nac.net [206.223.115.69]
8 31 ms 31 ms 31 ms 0.e2-19.tbr1.ewr.nac.net [209.123.11.17]
9 32 ms 31 ms 31 ms 0.e1-4.tbr1.oct.nac.net [209.123.10.122]
10 31 ms 31 ms 31 ms vlan804.esd1.oct.nac.net [209.123.10.2]
11 31 ms 32 ms 32 ms www.dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]

Trace complete.

Just got off the phone with NetFlix. They say I had 1.5 bandwidth until November 2, then it dropped to .24 up to .44. I need 1.4 minimum to stream NetFlix. Earlier data was from wired connection. Running NetFlix from wireless, wii. Will do 2 things . . . try speakeasy.net speed test from a wireless PC, and try running NetFlix off a wired connection.

Don't know why bandwidth crashed on November 2, but at least I know it is not my imagination!

Modem/router is Westell 327W. Router firewall is off. MAC address list and WEP security are in use. Don't recall any router changes on November 2. Curiously, NetFlix reported 1.5, but I am subscribed for 3.0 broadband, and wired connection shows d/l rate of 2.8 or so.

I would definitely try doing both of what you've suggested. I don't see anything wrong with your connection that would really stand out based on the two tests you posted up.

Lesson learned . . . never change more than one thing at a time.

Don't know what triggered the original drop in speed, which it appears that I did correct by resetting modem (the results I posted here were all AFTER modem reset/reconfig). Continuing problem was inability to stream NetFlix.

Tried running NetFlix through wired xBox connection, instead of wireless to wii. Didn't work, but there were possible setup issues (using an PlayOn as alternative to xBox Gold, as I don't subscribe). Found that I could stream other content, just not NetFlix.

Tried sending it wirelessly to laptop. Embarrassed to share the final issue discovered. In the course of all my other "tweaking," I'd turned on parental controls in NetFlix. The old sci-fi TV shows son wanted to watch were NR/unrated. NetFlix was killing the transmission because NR won't go through unless parental controls are off.

Thank you for patiently walking me through this. Lesson learned. . . . blushing . . .

It isn't a problem. Glad to hear the problem is solved

I've been having serious slow downs during the evening hours for the past couple of weeks. During the day they are fine. What is happening?

I'm in Indianapolis and have a 7/768k package. My modem is synced fine, never loses sync.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\mlapaglia>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [209.85.225.147]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 27 ms 62 ms 40 ms 71.98.113.1
3 59 ms 46 ms 37 ms at-1-1-0-1715.CHI01-CORE-RTR2.verizon-gni.net [1
08.57.128.42]
4 68 ms 38 ms 54 ms as0-0.CHI01-BB-RTR2.verizon-gni.net [130.81.20.5
8]
5 68 ms 63 ms 109 ms 0.so-7-2-0.XL4.CHI13.ALTER.NET [152.63.64.177]
6 66 ms 58 ms 83 ms TenGigE0-5-2-0.GW2.CHI13.ALTER.NET [152.63.67.10
6]
7 44 ms 53 ms 65 ms google-gw.customer.alter.net [65.195.243.218]
8 63 ms 69 ms 87 ms 209.85.254.130
9 73 ms 52 ms 83 ms 72.14.232.141
10 51 ms 111 ms 51 ms 209.85.241.37
11 91 ms 87 ms 53 ms 209.85.248.102
12 52 ms 73 ms 221 ms iy-in-f147.1e100.net [209.85.225.147]

Trace complete.

C:\Users\mlapaglia>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [209.85.225.147]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 8 ms 2 ms 9 ms 192.168.1.1
2 195 ms 202 ms 162 ms 71.98.113.1
3 71 ms 67 ms 37 ms at-1-1-0-1715.CHI01-CORE-RTR2.verizon-gni.net [1
08.57.128.42]
4 289 ms 431 ms 462 ms as0-0.CHI01-BB-RTR2.verizon-gni.net [130.81.20.5
8]
5 308 ms 242 ms 323 ms 0.so-7-2-0.XL4.CHI13.ALTER.NET [152.63.64.177]
6 397 ms * 524 ms TenGigE0-7-0-0.GW2.CHI13.ALTER.NET [152.63.65.13
]
7 281 ms 365 ms 309 ms google-gw.customer.alter.net [65.195.243.218]
8 257 ms 325 ms 334 ms 209.85.254.130
9 265 ms 292 ms 243 ms 72.14.232.141
10 357 ms 396 ms 332 ms 209.85.241.35
11 * 244 ms 202 ms 209.85.248.102
12 244 ms 291 ms 287 ms iy-in-f147.1e100.net [209.85.225.147]

Trace complete.

C:\Users\mlapaglia>

Are you tracing from a Wireless connection by any chance? Your first hop latency doesn't look too good in the second trace. Also, if you do have Wireless is it secured with WPA-TKIP or preferably WPA2-AES Encryption?

No, it's a hardwired connection. I do have wireless (not with the computer i'm tracing from), and it is WPA2 with AES encryption. The slow down only occurs at night, which makes me think the CO is out of bandwidth. But it happened rather suddenly, over the course of a week the speed degraded to where it is now. Around 2 AM the speeds go back to normal.

Does obviously sound like CO congestion itself, despite the abnormal latency I noticed in the trace. Anyways, you're not the first to have noticed such an issue propping up in the last few weeks.

Is it worth calling them and voicing my concern?

It never hurts