Topic 'Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?' in forum 'Charter Internet/TV' - dslreports.com

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:25:39 EDT

anon posted : »www.cc.gatech.edu/~partha/diffpr···obe.html

This is a nice little application for testing your bandwidth.... That said..

Btw, I subscribe to 30 Mbps service.. This is my result..

Upstream: 4327 Kbps.
Downstream: 24051 Kbps.

And I don't care. I remember paying $25/m for 56Kbps... So $50 for 24Mbps is not something I care to make a big deal about considering everything I can do/get/experiencing with the internet. It is worth the cost.

And if your wondering... Yes, I steam movies, music, download large files. Even at this speed I have never had any issues. And worrying about websites loading slower without speed boost? Are you insane?! Most web servers are not going to provide you with a full 30Mbps of upload (your download) due to load balancing. Speed boost does nothing to help websites load faster... at least not normal websites. Maybe you favor website filled with small video files...?

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:14:55 EDT

horseathalt7 posted : I actually agree with BF69 about dumping the analog services. I would bet there is still rampant theft of those services and hopefully removing that free to thieves service would put much needed money back in the coffers for Charter. Since most everybody has digital TVs (even little old ladies!) with QAM reception they wouldn't even have to spend on the set top boxes. Just help the little old ladies have their fancy digital TVs scan for the QAMs.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:33:02 EDT

zed260 posted : »twitter.com/CharterE/status/2224···90744576

»twitter.com/CharterE/status/2224···87505665

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:45:32 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by SHoTTa35 :

Still though the issue is on the return which they don't have bandwidth to provide. Can't just remove anolog just because as there still is a mandate by the FCC till December 21, 2012. It was in June but got extended.

Well they can remove everything but basic analog. Comcast did this 2 years ago. They'd also have to provide free DTAs to those that have expanded basic. Why not wait 6 months and not have to deal with all that?

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:43:15 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by TheTechGuru:

No, as a tech guru I know that 1 upload channel can support up to around 30mbps. I think the problem is more that Charter is still using QAM16 for the upload instead of upgrading it to QAM256.

You should also know there is a huge difference between theoretical and actual not matter which QAM Charter is using.

I really don't understand why Charter has not dumped analog yet, the simple digital to SD analog QAM tuners they would have to give out are pretty cheap. Suddenlink has already done this in some areas. It also cuts down on cable theft in the process as there is nothing analog on the line to steal, but I don't believe the simple qam to SD analog converter boxes support any kind of encryption.

You'd be shocked at how much of an uproar just suggesting that they kill analog causes. Personally I say screw the laggards. I believe they still constitute 20% of Charter TV subscribers but I'll check on that.

If Charter were smart they could free up some bandwidth by dumping the 100mbps plan that no one really needs and offer a 50/25 plan, I'd take 50/25 over 100/5 any day.

How would that make uploads faster? Uploads and downloads use separate channels.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:29:38 EDT

anon posted : Still though the issue is on the return which they don't have bandwidth to provide. Can't just remove anolog just because as there still is a mandate by the FCC till December 21, 2012. It was in June but got extended.

They can surely upgrade QAMs and all that to get higher speeds but then again it's the return on investment that matters most to them. That is basically the reason Verizon stopped their FIOS rollout now. Expanding more will cost tons but only a few extra subs they might get is not worth it (or so they assumed based on their calculations). Charter does the same planning as well and can do what they can based on demand. If people were leaving them by the bucket full, they would be dropping stuff to make room for faster speeds for sure. Obviously you are in the minority as most people don't need fast upload speeds. I have 50/8 and don't need any more than that as I never upload video anywhere. My friends however connect to my server and i'm sure they'd appreciate the faster speeds but I don't need it :)

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:41:26 EDT

TheTechGuru posted : No, as a tech guru I know that 1 upload channel can support up to around 30mbps. I think the problem is more that Charter is still using QAM16 for the upload instead of upgrading it to QAM256.

I really don't understand why Charter has not dumped analog yet, the simple digital to SD analog QAM tuners they would have to give out are pretty cheap. Suddenlink has already done this in some areas. It also cuts down on cable theft in the process as there is nothing analog on the line to steal, but I don't believe the simple qam to SD analog converter boxes support any kind of encryption.

I know in one Suddenlink area, they have removed all analog except the minimum basic 2-13 and have all their SD cable channels on clear open QAM and yet their internet speed offerings are oddly still slower than UVerse.

If Charter were smart they could free up some bandwidth by dumping the 100mbps plan that no one really needs and offer a 50/25 plan, I'd take 50/25 over 100/5 any day.
--
CompTIA Network+ Certified

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:30:13 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by compuguybna:

Too bad we're not in Japan (dreamhost.com)

Yeah blow through your 250 GB cap in 37 minutes. Seriously though what good is that speed as of now?

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:26:43 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by TheTechGuru:

I know our download to upload ratio is just horrid. A friend with Verizon FIOS has 50/25 which I think is fair.

I think ours needs to be 30/15 and 100/50 or 30/15 and 100/25.

I don't understand what the big deal is.

It would be nice to someday be able to do a 720P or 1080P Cisco HD teleconference on a home internet connection.

Need about 15/15 or higher for good quality.

We'll as a "tech guru" you should know that Charter only uses 1 channel on uploads which prevent them for offering more than 5 Mbps.

You should also know that to offer higher uploads they need more channels and as a "tech guru" you should know that cable has limited spectrum. 860 MHz at best in some areas. Less in others.

The problem is Charter still has loads of bandwidth eating analog channels. They just got rid of some but they used that extra bandwidth for more HD which is a much more pressing issue as DirecTv and DishNetwork offer a lot more HD. They still have a ways to go on the HD front( still no MLB Extra Inning or NHL Center Ice in HD". So it will probably won't be until Charter goes 100% digital that you'll see higher uploads.

Of course if Charter gets rid of analog en masse old ladies everywhere will revolt and complain to the nearest politician on how Charter is being evil to them by forcing them to use a cable box.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:00:31 EDT

TheTechGuru posted : I know our download to upload ratio is just horrid. A friend with Verizon FIOS has 50/25 which I think is fair.

I think ours needs to be 30/15 and 100/50 or 30/15 and 100/25.

I don't understand what the big deal is.

It would be nice to someday be able to do a 720P or 1080P Cisco HD teleconference on a home internet connection.

Need about 15/15 or higher for good quality.
--
CompTIA Network+ Certified

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:40:05 EDT

compuguybna posted : Too bad we're not in Japan (dreamhost.com)

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:21:21 EDT

BF69 posted : Still have it here

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:00:40 EDT

compuguybna posted : Those are the exact two things I said turn OFF with the Realtek Gigabit lan chip. (before the video was even posted)...good video though!

"I turned off the power management, green ethernet...."

said by lineofsight:

Realtek Gigabit seems to have a need to be tweaked:

(youtube clip)

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 12:01:59 EDT

lineofsight posted : Realtek Gigabit seems to have a need to be tweaked:

»www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G8X34bud4o

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:18:04 EDT

compuguybna posted : Anyone ever thought looking about the properties of their NIC on the computer end????

LOTS of properties there that could potentially slow down traffic....

words like "prioritization", "green ethernet", "QOS", "jumbo frame", "flow control", "priority offload", "power management".

Anyone of those things could affect speeds.

I turned off the power management, green ethernet....I don't want my NIC going to sleep at all.

Of course, be careful what you enable/disable......but the router isn't always the culprit I don't believe!!

I have the REALTEK PICe Gigabit Integrated Network Interface.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 07:17:05 EDT

cork1958 posted :

said by BF69:

said by compuguybna:

QOS is not generally enabled by default in routers (at least in NETGEAR is isn't). You'd have to manually click it on, usually for a specific purpose.

And yet so many had speed issues with Charter and blamed Charter because they somehow forgot they had QoS turned on. Weird.

Yes,
QoS could be an issue, but how many people restrict the download speed through that? That is just about always used to manage the upload speed, as is mine. I should almost never get above 2.80 Mbps on upload.

»speedtest.ookla.com/result/1716319761.png
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»www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:53:59 EDT

TheTechGuru posted : Yep, not enabled.

--
CompTIA Network+ Certified

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:44:23 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by compuguybna:

QOS is not generally enabled by default in routers (at least in NETGEAR is isn't). You'd have to manually click it on, usually for a specific purpose.

And yet so many had speed issues with Charter and blamed Charter because they somehow forgot they had QoS turned on. Weird.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:35:01 EDT

DrDrew posted : Have you verified thoughput on either modem or router WAN port? Often LAN traffic on a router just passes through the internal switch and doesn't get processed by the router engine. A problem with the WAN port, router engine, or router config may not show on LAN to LAN traffic.

For all we know a power surge may have damaged the WAN link between the modem and router in some way. �ny other number of things can have affected the WAN link, modem, or router throughput.
Without testing it's just an assumption that everything is good, undamaged, and properly configured.

You know what they say about assuming... It'd better to test and be sure.

Use your laptop, walk over to the modem, plug in and reset the modem. Then test.
--
If it's important, back it up... twice. Even 99.999% availability isn't enough sometimes.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:14:05 EDT

compuguybna posted : has anyone ever wondered how much bandwidth is wasted doing speedtests?

I "generally" don't go speedtest crazy unless my webpages are crawling or my downloads are slowed than i'm used to....The I begin troubleshooting......

I think sometimes people obsess about what their bandwidth speed is, even though what ever it currently is....is more than enough to accomplish the task......

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:11:18 EDT

compuguybna posted : QOS is not generally enabled by default in routers (at least in NETGEAR is isn't). You'd have to manually click it on, usually for a specific purpose.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:28:25 EDT

TheTechGuru posted :

said by DrDrew:

said by TheTechGuru:

That does not make one bit of difference when you're on a gigabit LAN like I am.

For a whole host of reasons (QoS, traffic filtering, congestion, etc.), yes it can. The EASIEST way to make sure something on your LAN isn't affecting your speed results is to directly connect to the modem and test.

Is it really that difficult or time consuming to try? For a "certified" network guru like yourself I'm surprised you haven't tried it, it should be easy...

Nothing has changed with the router that would affect it and I do not have QOS enabled.

It's not so simple to go connect directly when it's in a network closet.

I do get 640mbps (80MB/sec) from a server on my LAN.
--
CompTIA Network+ Certified

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:20:06 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by bshelly:

It certainly could if you have QoS enabled.

I have read umpteenth complaint threads on many boards about how Charter sucks and speeds aren't advertised only for these same people to come back latter and admit that this was their issue and after turning off QoS their speed issues were fixed. I also don't ever recall anyone apologizing to Charter either.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:17:31 EDT

DrDrew posted :

said by TheTechGuru:

That does not make one bit of difference when you're on a gigabit LAN like I am.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:25:40 EDT

bshelly posted :

said by TheTechGuru:

said by DrDrew:

Just curious, I may have missed you mentioning this in the thread... Have you or are you speed testing with a direct hookup to your modem?

That does not make one bit of difference when you're on a gigabit LAN like I am.

It certainly could if you have QoS enabled. If you do, try disabling it. If that doesn't work, try what has already been suggested... bypass the router to test and see if it's screwing with PB.

You might already be aware of this, but if you change the device your modem is connected to, I believe you first need to power cycle the modem, then connect your PC and let it get an address via DHCP. Just try it and see what happens. It's worth a shot!

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:46:13 EDT

TheTechGuru posted :

said by DrDrew:

Just curious, I may have missed you mentioning this in the thread... Have you or are you speed testing with a direct hookup to your modem?

That does not make one bit of difference when you're on a gigabit LAN like I am.
--
CompTIA Network+ Certified

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:02:11 EDT

DrDrew posted : Just curious, I may have missed you mentioning this in the thread... Have you or are you speed testing with a direct hookup to your modem?

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:05:23 EDT

bshelly posted : Still working in NC on 30/4 tier...
[att=1]
Peak Download speed was 62.32Mbps - Upload is usually 4.20 Mbps, however some upload activity was occurring causing a slight slowdown.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 07:43:16 EDT

mworks posted : working here 30meg plan.
[att=1]

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:14:08 EDT

zed260 posted :

said by compuguybna:

What's a "bussnuss"?

meant business sorry

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:13:08 EDT

compuguybna posted : What's a "bussnuss"?

said by zed260:

said by Chubbysumo:

said by BlakePaulson:

Just got a 24 meg down / 4.96 meg up speedtest on a 15 meg plan.

Its been scrubbed from their residential site, so they likely will not be offering it anymore. Its still on their business site, but i think that will be getting scrubbed soon too.

been told by bussnuss rep that they will keep it on bussnuss side since bussnuss customers already pay more

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:10:08 EDT

zed260 posted :

said by Chubbysumo:

said by BlakePaulson:

Just got a 24 meg down / 4.96 meg up speedtest on a 15 meg plan.

Its been scrubbed from their residential site, so they likely will not be offering it anymore. Its still on their business site, but i think that will be getting scrubbed soon too.

been told by bussnuss rep that they will keep it on bussnuss side since bussnuss customers already pay more

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:25:55 EDT

ChrtrFanBoy6 posted : If they remove it oh well, its for the better of the charter community.

luv you Charter

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:17:56 EDT

compuguybna posted :

ACTIVE HERE!!!

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:17:20 EDT

Chubbysumo posted :

said by BlakePaulson:

Just got a 24 meg down / 4.96 meg up speedtest on a 15 meg plan.

Its been scrubbed from their residential site, so they likely will not be offering it anymore. Its still on their business site, but i think that will be getting scrubbed soon too.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:13:55 EDT

BlakePaulson posted : Just got a 24 meg down / 4.96 meg up speedtest on a 15 meg plan.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:27:40 EDT

tiger72 posted :

said by BF69:

said by Balplanman:

Powerboost works when browsing -- most websites load in under 4 seconds so they load at full speed, no throttling. So yes, PowerBoost is helpful to most people.

If your website loads that fast powerboost won't matter. Sure you can travel 1/4 of a mile faster in car going 75 MPH than one going 25 MPH but how much time did you actually save? Not much.

indeed.

Most websites are under 2MB. On 30mbps service without speed boost, a normal website can load in about 600ms. On connections above 5mbps, latency is the bigger factor in how quickly we perceive websites to load.
--
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-United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara

powerboost workin for me..

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 09:47:39 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by Balplanman:

Powerboost works when browsing -- most websites load in under 4 seconds so they load at full speed, no throttling. So yes, PowerBoost is helpful to most people.

If your website loads that fast powerboost won't matter. Sure you can travel 1/4 of a mile faster in car going 75 MPH than one going 25 MPH but how much time did you actually save? Not much.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 08:31:41 EDT

Balplanman posted :

said by BF69:

...
So you don't have powerboost. It didn't do much anyways other than to overinflate a speed test results. Was 3-10 seconds of powerboost really going to do anything?

Powerboost works when browsing -- most websites load in under 4 seconds so they load at full speed, no throttling.
So yes, PowerBoost is helpful to most people.

On Charter's end, they put you into a 4 second queue so they don't incur any throttling overhead until that expires. If you're still downloading after 4 seconds you go into a much faster throttling queue which means more overhead processing on their end. So, it's probably a good thing from Charter's point of view also.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 05:32:36 EDT

fibrepunk posted : Ubee DS3.0 - from Charter with 30/4 plan.

[att=1]

or

[att=2]

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 05:03:41 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by calc1:

http://speedtest.ookla.com/result/1712741980.png

Getting some wild readings tonight. :o

We'll see how this plays out, but these new plans aren't looking so hot.

Please. Sure the 100 meg tier is going up $22 and that sucks. 100 meg NEVER had powerboost so that's no loss. 30 meg got a huge price DECREASE. So how is that bad? So you don't have powerboost. It didn't do much anyways other than to overinflate a speed test results. Was 3-10 seconds of powerboost really going to do anything?

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 04:54:35 EDT

calc1 posted : »speedtest.ookla.com/result/1712741980.png

Getting some wild readings tonight. :o

We'll see how this plays out, but these new plans aren't looking so hot.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:58:34 EDT

zed260 posted :

said by TheTechGuru:

This page is still available:

»www.myaccount.charter.com/custom···eID=2338

But this page is gone!!! »www.charter.com/internet/features/powerboost

I GUESS CHARTER REALLY IS DOING AWAY WITH POWERBOOST!

Looks like PowerBoost is still go for Business Accounts:

»www.charterbusiness.com/faq/powerboost.aspx

Anyone that posted that they still have it on a business account?

powerboost is still on business its moving to a business only feature according to a phone rep

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:10:19 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by calc1:

I'm 101% certain. I just upgraded to the 30mbps tier in April. I was on the 15mbps tier before, and one of the reasons for upgrading was to get EPIX....so, yeah I'm sure. :)

I swear about 6 months or so ago I tried to get on Epix online just for the hell of it and it wouldn't let me because I didn't subscribe to the cable version. Maybe I caught the site on a bad day. I do know I never received any notice that we got it.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:33:39 EDT

calc1 posted : I'm 101% certain. I just upgraded to the 30mbps tier in April. I was on the 15mbps tier before, and one of the reasons for upgrading was to get EPIX....so, yeah I'm sure. :)

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:31:19 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by calc1:

said by BF69:

Nobody picked up on this

EPIX� online movies included at no additional cost – more than 1,500 choices!

This used to cost $10.

EPIX has always been included with the 30mbps and 100mbps tier.... this is nothing new.

It was available to customers for $10 extra if you were on the 3 or 15 tiers.

Are you sure because I've never been able to use it before.

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:29:39 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by Ox3g3n:

I actually live in the U.P :) .. 100 miles north of GB.

I have some uncles( dad's brothers ) that live in Baraga. I'll be going up there for a few days next month with my dad. We don't go through Iron Mountain. My father likes to take some side route to avoid going through there for some reason. So I've never seen Iron Mountain. I think Crystal Falls is the first town in the UP we hit. You guys got good pasties in Iron Mountain?

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:27:32 EDT

calc1 posted :

said by BF69:

Nobody picked up on this

EPIX� online movies included at no additional cost – more than 1,500 choices!

This used to cost $10.

EPIX has always been included with the 30mbps and 100mbps tier.... this is nothing new.

It was available to customers for $10 extra if you were on the 3 or 15 tiers.

Re: Charter is Getting Rid of PowerBoost (SpeedBoost)

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:39:30 EDT

tstolze posted : Residential 30/4 plan with the following results:

[att=1]
--
Ofallon, Mo Weather
St. Peters, Mo Weather

Re: [Speed Issues] PowerBoost (SpeedBoost) Outage?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:29:17 EDT

Ox3g3n posted : I actually live in the U.P :) .. 100 miles north of GB.

Yeah. What made it worse was a buddy of mine just a few blocks away on residential was only down <1hr.. I was out for like 4.