| [Connectivity] Connection speed slow. My connection was always around 3.3MBps down and 0.76MBps up.
The last 2 weeks, it has dropped by half. Ping still good, but I am barely getting 1.5MBps down now and 0.45MBps up. This is driving me crazy, what's worse I tried calling verizon from my cell phone and wait time is over 60 minutes. --must be a joke.
Can somebody help? Brooklyn, NY |
| You are probably a victim of what Verizon euphemistically calls its "optimization" program. The way it works is that your speed is automatically adjusted down if there is a certain amount of noise on the line. If you look at your modem stats, a low SNR margin (indicating noise on the line) is a symptom of the problem. A high attenuation (indicating your distance from the CO or DSLAM) also increases the likelihood of getting "optimized".
A Verizon tech can have the local office reset your speed (no matter what they tell you) but if the noise persists, you'll be "optimized" again. From my experience, the overseas call center people do not have the authority to reset your speed. Supposedly the system will automatically up your speed if you can eliminate the noise.
The only way to stop this problem is to locate the source of the noise and eliminate it (if it is possible). I had this problem a number of years ago and the dsl technician incorrectly told me that I had a low-level short in the wiring in my house. Later, when I had trouble on my phone service, the phone technician discovered that the underground wiring up the street from me was exposed to water. As soon as the excess water was removed from the wiring (on Verizon's side of the demarcation line), my phone and dsl service worked normally.
If you have phone service with Verizon, you can check for noise by listening to the dial tone on your phone and then pressing any number. If you can hear static, then you have a noise problem and you can complain to the Verizon phone side to fix it. |
