AT&T U-verse → 45mbps isn't...well...45mbps

Ok, let me explain how this went or me:

I upgraded to bonded pair 45mbps and the first installer came out and basically ran a fresh wire from my mpoe on the side of my house and through the wall to the gateway. To "test" the speed I just initiated a transfer of a very large video game download on Steam with basically nothing happening on my IPTV (I have the DVR hooked up to my HDTV and a wireless receiver on an old low-definition TV upstairs).

The download speed maxed out at something like 4.1mbps which is basically the advertised speed.

However, due to an ordering error, I didn't get the two remote controls I requested, so tech support had a technician stop by to drop them off.

Well, when he was at my place (I wasn't home so my fiance worked with him) he somehow decided that I needed a new wire from the pedestal in my backyard up to my mpoe. He hooked it up, and they came out and buried it a few days later (24 hours after somebody showed up to mark the existing buried stuff).

Now, lately, I can't get anything north of 1.2mbps on downloads on the Steam client. Speed tests don't even appear to last long enough to get an accurate speed rating.

I am aware that any number of things completely unrelated to my actual service could be causing this, but when it goes on for months, it seems a little bizarre. Both DSL lights on the gateway are green, but I haven't run the actual diagnostic in my browser.

Furthermore, after I got the service, the little USB wireless card I was using for my desktop crapped out. I switched to a PCI-E wireless card that actually gets a better signal (100mbps). Having said that, despite going from 3 or 4 bars to a regular full strength signal (per the meter on my Windows 7 tray), I don't appear to be getting good transfer rates?

Two smartphones running YouTube HD videos will buffer. One smartphone running YouTube HD video will cause all PC games to experience serious latency problems. I have no idea if that's just the nature of YouTube even up at 45mbps or if I have a problem?

I have tweaked nothing about the connection, and the wireless card came with software which I did install and it does start itself up immediately upon starting up windows. Not sure if that's related? I would think not since the smartphones are buffering when the PC is shut off.

Any tips? Should I get the line tools? I'm not entirely interested in having tech support tell me to restart my gateway and so-forth and I can just use employee escalation if I want to deal with them. Would rather try to fix it myself (if possible) if there's a config problem somewhere.

It has occurred to me that it is possible that when they buried the cable between the pedestal and the side of the house, they mashed it and caused a problem.

I assume you mean 4.1MBps or MegaBytes per second. 45Mbps or Megabits per second works out to about 5.49MBps of total throughput not taking into account protocol overhead. So, if you meant 4.1MBps then you were doing okay but not getting full line rate then either.

Has the new outside line to the pedestal been re-buried? You can get interference while that line is above ground.

Do not compare throughput or speeds with YouTube. YouTube is highly variable and not a good choice for measurement. Additionally do not speed test over wireless. Local wireless RF signal can be highly variable due to local congestion with other neighboring access points as well as all of the other types of interference you can be susceptible to which can ruin performance. The NVG589 has a mediocre wireless antenna configuration at best. If your wireless performance is poor and you are using the NVG589, get your own higher quality access point and disable the feature in the 589.

What causes a line laying on the ground to get more interference then an aerial drop? I would think it would be much less... At any rate he did say they buried it a few days later.

You shouldn't need any "line tools;" if you're talking about UVRT it doesn't work with the NVG589 anyway (I'm assuming that's what you have as your gateway as you didn't mention it). We would need to see the stats from the web interface to offer any suggestions however.

AM ground interference, especially if there is an AM transmitter nearby. When the cable is laying on the surface and not buried, the wire can and usually is directly exposed to AM radio noise. The interference is actually considerably less in the air. I have first hand experience with this problem from my install in Ohio.

Do you mean from viewing the gateway settings in my browser?

Yes. Something like »NVG589 - Issues, errors (remember to remove your IP address) i.e.:

It looks like your on a single pair 32/5 Meg profile instead of the 45/6 profile that your account should be provisioned for. From what your showing it does not look like a bonded pair profile.

What you were/are reading isn't a reply from the op.... That's just an example of what should be copied and pasted here from the ops web browser opened to 192.168.1.254.

Ugh misinformation, because aerial drops in most locations are not shielded and bonded, they will typically pick up for more interference, though that doesn't mean it is service affecting. Anything in the ground, assuming it is the proper cable, is shielded and assuming connected properly, will be bonded/grounded at both ends, thus no, or very minimal interference picked up as compared to aerial. Shielded aerial drops are available but rarely used unless absolutely needed (heavier cable, more PITA to install, and typically not really needed).

Areas with more AM transmitting stations may use shielded grounded Aerial Drops. Otherwise properly shielded, grounded and bonded buried drops will perform better than a standard aerial all day long.

Alright will get it this evening and remove the sensitive info