dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
1137
rob79
join:2014-07-01

rob79

Member

[Aliant] Can anyone explain a "downstream rate cap" to me?

Click for full size
Click for full size
Click for full size
I already made a post in the Bell Direct forum even though I'm not ever sure they can help with Aliant stuff. I thought while I was waiting I'd copy/paste the discussion here in case some other customers have some knowledge of this black art that is the "downstream rate cap" and can fill me in. Please bear with me, here we go:

------------copy/paste------------

Long story short I pay for 7Mbps DSL (High Speed Ultra) but I live about 4km away from the exchange. I understand that I will never be able to achieve 7Mbps.

When I look at the training history in my modem (screenshots attached) it looks like I should at least be able to get 3Mbps. There is a line on the diagnostics page that says "Downstream rate cap: 1600kbps" which leads me to believe that my connection has been limited to 1.5Mbps due to banding or something similar

My attenuation is really high, usually about 60db, but when I looked around a bunch of guides online said I should still be able to get ~3Mbps even with it that high.

I'm really at a loss here - I've called several times but no one has been able to help me out. They always want to send a technician to my house but one was here a while ago and said there were no line problems it was just that I'm far from the exchange. That said, now that I have my own modem and can see this diagnostic information I want to know why there is a "downstream rate cap" on my account. Is my account provisioned correctly? Can someone reset the rate cap so it can re-train to 3000 instead of 1600 (since usually my "max connection" is closer to 4000, you can see that in the screenshots).

------------ end copy/paste------------

So yeah, anyone have any ideas that might help me out? Thanks in advance!
Riplin
join:2002-05-13
canada

Riplin

Member

It's capped cause if it's set beyond what you can handle you may lose sync way more often. If you had an inside connection with a bell tech it would be nice if they could test it with you over a couple days. Someone in the direct forum would be my only guess that could help.

edit: actually i bypassed the aliant thing. Your prob out of luck in these forums for direct support

Good luck
rob79
join:2014-07-01

rob79

Member

Yeah, that's what figured. I did a bunch of research and the practice is known as "banding" as far as I can tell. They test the connection every so often and then lock it at the highest reliable speed. It's an automatic thing.

The thing is I'm sure that it got locked so low because the modem/router combo they provided to me was so terrible. It would randomly restart, overheat, constantly lost connection (DSL light would go out, blink as it tried to reestablish connection, go out, I'd have to unplug it for 10 minutes and plug it back in). After going through 3 of their modems (all ancient refurbished ones) I got fed up and got my own modem to take the faulty modem out of the equation.

When I first got service here it was much faster - I'd get about 300kbps downloading a large file or whatever, it was after I started having all those modem problems that I noticed the speed drop by half. I always blamed it on the modem - I didn't know they would reduce the connection speed on their end in order to help with stability.

The modem I have now is MUCH more stable - it hasn't restarted once or lost connection since I got it (that I've noticed - if it did it reestablished it on it's own rather quickly). That's why I think they need to reevaluate this "downstream rate cap" business but trying to explain the situation to tech support is like talking to a wall.

Sorry for the long winded response, I'm just determined to get this figured out this time. I hope someone in the direct forums can help me out.

Thanks!

EDIT: I just saw your edit, that sucks. I knew it was a long shot since it just said "Bell direct" with no mention of aliant anywhere. Maybe someone over there will be able to at least offer me some advice on how I can work with tech support to make them understand the problem.
Riplin
join:2002-05-13
canada

Riplin to rob79

Member

to rob79
I dunno how it is with aliant tech support but with Bell here I remember insisting on speaking with 2nd level tech support and bypassing the 1st level script readers. You kinda have to get hooked up with someone that can make the changes while on the phone and get someone that will call you back and follow up with you.

I'm not sure how much tech support has changed but thats how I did it when I used to have troubles. It's been quite a while now since I've called tech support

file
join:2011-03-29
Riverview, NB

file to rob79

Member

to rob79
Nevermind, saw you said what plan you were on. Hit up the Bell_Aliant account on Twitter and they'll see what they can do!
rob79
join:2014-07-01

rob79

Member

UPDATE: Issue resolved. I complained on twitter. I'll just copy/paste the rant I just posted on FB below to let everyone know exactly how frustrating this was. My speed is now 2x faster than it was before I complained BTW - that's pretty much what I expected being so far away from the exchange.

---------------copy/paste---------------

Once again I'm staggered by the recent paradigm shift regarding customer service. 18 months, more than a dozen calls, and endless frustrating hours on the phone with #BellAliant trying to express that there is something wrong with my internet service.

They always passed the buck and said it was an issue with my house wiring (for which they are not responsible and I would have to pay someone to come and inspect it). Seeing as I've worked in CS and know how to use Google I was able to see that my account wasn't set up properly - they had my maximum speed limited to 1/2th of what it should have been.

Finally got frustrated on Monday, complained about it on twitter, they asked me to DM them my account number. Today the issue is fixed.

So that's about 10 hours of my life wasted on the phone with their customer service, and more than a year where I was basically paying double what I should have been, that I'll never get back. It's sad that you have to publicly shame these companies before they will take action and actually help.

I would hope they use this as an example of how things go wrong and look into their customer services practices, but I'm pretty sure they'll just wash their hands of me and move on to screwing someone else over. /end-rant

---------------end copy/paste---------------