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kclaycomb
join:2012-07-07

kclaycomb

Member

Internet Performance Questions, Newburgh IN

Hi All,

I am trying to help my parents decide if they should upgrade their service to the 30Mbps down. They currently have 15/1 and it is really slow in web surfing and large file downloads. My general observations are that it seems to have fairly inconsistent performance. It also seems to suffer from "disconnects" from time to time. A couple questions. ..

Is it normal for the WoW speed test to be totally out of line from other internet speed tests? I get 15 or 16 /1 when I run the wow speed test at »speed.nap.wideopenwest.com/, but when I run a speakeasy.net test I get a consistent 2-5 Mbps down, which is consistent with what I see in real world performance. One test I always use is a usenet download (from giganews for instance). It won't run much past 7 Mbps at peak, which makes me think something is not right. I know on my FIOS connection in MD I can consistently get a maxed out number pulling from Giganews.

Do these signal levels look right? It seems from looking elsewhere on the forum that they are ok.

Downstream
Freq/Power: 651.000 MHz 3 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio: 35 dB
Modulation: QAM256
Upstream
Freq/Power: 33.600 MHz 32 dBmV
Channel Type: DOCSIS 2.0 (ATDMA)
Symbol Rate: 2560 kSym/sec
Modulation: QAM64

Here is the cable modem info...

ARRIS DOCSIS 2.0 / PacketCable 1.0 Touchstone Telephony Modem HW_REV: 04
VENDOR: Arris Interactive, L.L.C.
BOOTR: 6.24
SW_REV: 6.1.120
MODEL: TM602G
Product Type: 00000108 010a3be2
Product Release: 00000004
Flash Part: AM29LV320MB
Download Revision: 2
Firmware Revision: 6.1.120
Serial Number: B1EBNS68B497044
Battery Charger FW Rev: 07.30

Anyway, is this just typical of performance of WOW in IN and I am just spoiled with my fiber connection in MD? It seems like (from this forum) most people are happy with WoW and that the service lives up to advertised data rates. I don't want to tell them to pay more for a service that is already maxed out.

Thanks for any insights WoW or community members can provide
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

You have something horribly wrong. Changing to a more expensive and useless-to-them tier will do nothing to change this.

Stop agonizing, and call WOW (not WoW, that's World of Warcraft--we're talking WOW Cable, formerly Wide Open West). Make them work this, and step back and observe and don't let the situation get out of control.

My experience is that yes, WOW has problems like this from time to time, and yes, it may take awhile or some special attention to discover and fix the root cause, but you can't do anything here or from where you are. If speeds are fine inside WOW but not fine outside, then let WOW do their testing and help them realize that conclusion--and firmly dump it in their laps to solve.

I have never, *ever* had a problem on the downstream side. Even when my upload speeds were 0.2Mbps (yes, you read that right) because they kept bringing me cable modems that needed flashed from the head end, my download speed never faltered.

I have used WOW's cable modem, I've used my own. While WOW's current cable modem cannot achieve beyond 1.79Mbps upload speed regardless (see discussion elsewhere here), download speed is rock solid 15.75Mbps. (Non-WOW cable modems have no problem with upload speeds.)

In short, LET THE SYSTEM WORK. Step 1 is for your parents to call WOW and start a repair ticket, and let WOW dictate from there how they'd like to handle it.
kclaycomb
join:2012-07-07

kclaycomb

Member

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestion. I know they have had WOW (apologize for the "WoW") out before, but had been told the signal was "ok" and that was that. Now that I am here, I will get involved and be more persistent with a tech call.

I assume from your post that the answers to my questions are that it is NOT normal for the speed tests to look that way, the signals levels look ok, but something is definitely wrong.

I am just hoping that local node is not oversold and there is something that can be done outside of network investment to get the speed up to advertised data rates.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

Yes, something's wrong. My experience says that WOW manages their network well, and that the node isn't oversold (although anything's possible). It's far more likely to be some obscure technical issue that they may or may not grasp right away. I say that as the voice of experience here.

troubleagain
@wideopenwest.com

troubleagain

Anon

said by adam1991:

I say that as the voice of experience here.

Really, after three weeks? Tell us more.

How many people have posted about how WOW has said the problem is on their end (me included), have been told to rewire their house, or get a new piece of equipment or whatever when the problem is really WOWs (infrastructure or similar)?

If you have been able to get a complex problem resolved good for you but for most it is extremely difficult to convince WOW it is their issue. If it wasn't for WOW_Dan most of the problems posted here would not have been resolved so easily (of course his help is appreciated!). And the people posting here are a minute fraction of WOW's total customer base.

The OP already said how WOW has basically told his parents that everything is fine when of course it isn't. It's a good thing the OP understands he will have to be "more persistent" (I might use the term tenacious). But in most cases even that is not enough if going through normal channels. If he's lucky WOW_Dan will figure it out.

*typing this as I'm watching the SD NBC station being broadcast with the wrong aspect ratio.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

said by troubleagain :

said by adam1991:

I say that as the voice of experience here.

Really, after three weeks? Tell us more.

After 10 years of being a WOW customer, and having been through two or three of these types of situations.

That I've been *here* only three weeks, says nothing about me.

That you would think otherwise, speaks volumes about YOU.
said by troubleagain :

How many people have posted about how WOW has said the problem is on their end (me included), have been told to rewire their house, or get a new piece of equipment or whatever when the problem is really WOWs (infrastructure or similar)?

Ummm.....me, for one. Or haven't you paid ANY attention to any of my posts over the last three weeks here?

I know this is how WOW works--roll a truck and start at the cable modem and move backwards through the house wiring, out to the pole, and down the block.

I've been there, done that. I am on my *second* episode of that behavior. The first time, as I said in previous posts, it was a three week situation that ended up with WOW simply flashing the cable modem with a new? refreshed? configuration. Please note that by the time they got to that, it was the THIRD cable modem they had put into place, AND they had already re-wired all the way out to the pole and all the way down the block. It was chance that finally, a tech who came here to look at it AGAIN *happened* to get hold of someone at the NOC who had seen this before and who knew what to do.

I've been over this time and again.

I came here three weeks ago when I was poking around to try to resolve yet another, different network problem. I'm glad I did, because I'm sure WOW Dan helped me shortcut another three to four weeks of going through the process with the local folks. It saved WOW money and all of us time.

WOW does manage their network well--but as we all know, when obscure things happen, sometimes you don't get resolution quickly. So be it.
said by troubleagain :

If you have been able to get a complex problem resolved good for you but for most it is extremely difficult to convince WOW it is their issue. If it wasn't for WOW_Dan most of the problems posted here would not have been resolved so easily (of course his help is appreciated!). And the people posting here are a minute fraction of WOW's total customer base.

I get that--but that doesn't mean that they don't run their network well.

What I was referring to *specifically* was the download speeds. WOW *doesn't* oversell their capacity. They have always had the bandwidth promised, even at 9pm on a Thursday in January (for example) when pretty much everyone is on the net and many are streaming Netflix.

So here's a guy trying to resolve a problem remotely, and wondering if WOW is just some idiotic little ISP who talks a big talk but never backs it up. Nothing could be further from the truth, so it's my opinion that he is not wasting his time pursuing this problem.
said by troubleagain :

The OP already said how WOW has basically told his parents that everything is fine when of course it isn't. It's a good thing the OP understands he will have to be "more persistent" (I might use the term tenacious). But in most cases even that is not enough if going through normal channels. If he's lucky WOW_Dan will figure it out.

*typing this as I'm watching the SD NBC station being broadcast with the wrong aspect ratio.

Again, now he knows not to sit back and accept that. That's what we're here to acknowledge, and I repeat: WOW manages their network well, so he shouldn't think that what his parents are getting is just what happens with WOW.

I will continue to separate out what WOW provides when there's no technical malfunction, which is good stuff, from what happens when there *is* a technical malfunction.

What I will *not* do is see that WOW has issues resolving technical malfunctions and simply dismiss them as not knowing what they're doing overall.

mix
join:2002-03-19
Romeo, MI

mix to kclaycomb

Member

to kclaycomb
I believe the TM602G has known problems if you are using it but do not use WOW for telephone service. Also, your upstream power level looks too low. WOW_Dan should be able to help you.

Just_Dan
Premium Member
join:2011-03-24
Denver, CO

Just_Dan to kclaycomb

Premium Member

to kclaycomb
Can you provide me with the account number or the phone number that's on the account so I can take a closer look at this? Thanks.
kclaycomb
join:2012-07-07

kclaycomb

Member

Thanks WOW_Dan, you should have got a private IM with the information.

Kevin