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pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

[Speed] Comcast policy on speed guarantees?/Congestion for over a month

So over the past month I've been having some serious congestion issues.

Blast in my area is 25 Mbps and often i'm at 20-15 Mbps with dips to 10 Mbps.

I did have a tech come out. I have ZERO idea why but they forced it and he said he was unaware of any congestion issues and that the speeds are not guaranteed.

So what is comcast policy on speed guarantees? If you have 25 Mbps blast and only getting half of that is that acceptable to them? Seems not to be defined.

Netcool here has been very helpful and has confirmed that there is basically a congestion issue in my area but says there is no set time or date to when it will be resolved.

What can I do? I did send another compliant to we_can_help but it seems like all they are good at is blowing smoke up your bottom.

train_wreck
slow this bird down
join:2013-10-04
Antioch, TN
Cisco ASA 5506
Cisco DPC3939

train_wreck

Member

[Speed] Re: Comcast policy on speed guarantees?/Congestion for over a month

said by pclover:

So what is comcast policy on speed guarantees?

There is none. You pay Comcast for speeds "up to" a certain mbps. Certainly with node congestion, they drag their feet. If you can't get online at all, then they care a little bit.
ExoticFish
join:2008-08-31
Zebulon, NC

ExoticFish to pclover

Member

to pclover
What modem are you using ?

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

A 722g which should be fine for 25Mbps
ExoticFish
join:2008-08-31
Zebulon, NC

1 recommendation

ExoticFish

Member

One that offers more downstream channels may help. That's only a 4x4 modem.

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

Doubtful with the ongoing issue
ExoticFish
join:2008-08-31
Zebulon, NC

ExoticFish

Member

Not really but hey, they're your issues. If it were me that modem would be OUT.
sabretooth
join:2012-02-14
Marietta, GA

2 recommendations

sabretooth to pclover

Member

to pclover
If it is congestion, and 8x4 or even better a 16x4 (if your area supports it) would improve your numbers.

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

I could try if my local comcast service center has a better modem. They might not.

The tech only had another 722g at the time he came.
sabretooth
join:2012-02-14
Marietta, GA

sabretooth

Member

Well for what your have, Comcast phone, the Arris 822G would be an 8x4 telephony modem. You can buy one yourself and save the $10/month rental IF your area will allow you to purchase your own. You need to ask CC.
ExoticFish
join:2008-08-31
Zebulon, NC

ExoticFish to sabretooth

Member

to sabretooth
said by sabretooth:

If it is congestion, and 8x4 or even better a 16x4 (if your area supports it) would improve your numbers.

That's what I said.
saratoga66
join:2002-08-22
Saratoga, CA

saratoga66 to pclover

Member

to pclover
If Blast in the OP's area is only 25M there is a good chance there are only 3 or 4 downstream channels available. I have heard that parts of the Santa Cruz area have a very old plant and it needs a total rebuild. Not sure what is holding Comcast up with upgrades since they have been pretty good at upgrades in most of the bay area.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx to pclover

Premium Member

to pclover

Re: [Speed] Comcast policy on speed guarantees?/Congestion for over a month

8x4 or 16x4 aint gonna help with an old plant that can only do 25mbps best effort. Dont waste your time or money on a modem.

Its time to rip and replace plant.

If I were you pclover I would be asking the local management as to when they plan to bring the local plant up to a modern standard. Unfortunately Netcool is probably right - there is probably no timetable.

If I recall correctly you have had a very long saga with Comcast regarding poor service...
:/

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

1 recommendation

pclover

Member

From what i understand my node has 8 DS channels. I'm currently bonded to 4.

It might help if they have a 8x4 modem in stock.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA

2 edits

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

I wonder why your system is stuck at 25mbps when you have 8 DS channels?

What is the ratio of customers to node? Around here its 45 per node avg.
.

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

I'm unsure. Probably to many.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

I looked up your local Comcast system in FCC COALS. In 2012 it had avg. 451 people per node!

WOW! No wonder they cant push the speed higher, that is a lot of people per node 100 or so people is considered normal. 451 though?

They clearly have not been doing very many node splits...total rebuild is about right.

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

.... No comments there
pclover

pclover to Zenit_IIfx

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to Zenit_IIfx
Also being 2015 now it's probably far worse.
pclover

pclover

Member

So i went ahead and picked up a TG862G wireless gateway modem today which is 8x4.

We'll see if that helps the congestion a bit.

Right now it's bonded to 8 DS and 4 US channels.

SuperNet
Go Ninja,Go Ninja Go..
Premium Member
join:2002-10-08
Hoffman Estates, IL

SuperNet

Premium Member

said by pclover:

So i went ahead and picked up a TG862G wireless gateway modem today which is 8x4.

We'll see if that helps the congestion a bit.

Right now it's bonded to 8 DS and 4 US channels.

Keep us updated..

gar187er
I DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA

1 recommendation

gar187er to Zenit_IIfx

Member

to Zenit_IIfx
said by Zenit_IIfx:

100 or so people is considered normal.

WOW dude, you are wayyyyyy off.....average size is around 300-400 DEVICES...you dont start seeing issues till you get a node around 600+ devices with heavy residential neighborhoods.
vandergraff2
join:2005-10-17

4 edits

vandergraff2 to pclover

Member

to pclover

said by pclover See Profile

Blast in my area is 25 Mbps and often i'm at 20-15 Mbps with dips to 10 Mbps.

Have you tested the speed in the last few days.

Like you I have been on 25 Mbps Blast in Santa Cruz County.

I tested today for the hell of it - and surprise, surprise it seems I am getting much more - maybe quadrupled to 105 Mbps

(I am testing on a wireless connection which may explain 89 Mbps down vs 105 Mbps - but I'll take it versus the 25 Mbps I was seeing before).

I am in the Summit Road area

Edit - I haven't run a speed test for a week or so - it looks like my modem rebooted 9 days ago. Maybe that's when the speed upgrade happened

vandergraff2

vandergraff2

Member

Click for full size
Here are my modem stats (SB6121) - may be time for a new modem with 8 down channels...

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

said by vandergraff2:

Here are my modem stats (SB6121) - may be time for a new modem with 8 down channels...

While a 4x4 modem is capable of supporting a 105 Mbps downstream speed (as shown by your post in another thread »Re: [Speed] Comcast 2014 Side Discussion about Doubling Speeds ), there isn't much headroom left and it will be impacted more by node/time-of-day congestion issues than an 8x4 or 16x4 model.
telcodad

telcodad to vandergraff2

MVM

to vandergraff2
said by vandergraff2:

said by pclover See Profile

Blast in my area is 25 Mbps and often i'm at 20-15 Mbps with dips to 10 Mbps.

Have you tested the speed in the last few days.

Like you I have been on 25 Mbps Blast in Santa Cruz County.

I tested today for the hell of it - and surprise, surprise it seems I am getting much more - maybe quadrupled to 105 Mbps

You can report that speed increase for the Los Gatos market on this thread now: »[Speed] Report Performance 50/5, Blast 105/10 & Extreme 150/20 Here
vandergraff2
join:2005-10-17

vandergraff2

Member

said by telcodad:

You can report that speed increase for the Los Gatos market on this thread now: »[Speed] Report Performance 50/5, Blast 105/10 & Extreme 150/20 Here

Which is where it gets interesting - I am not really in the Los Gatos (Santa Clara county) market.

It seems DSLReports pulls the location from the ZIP code - in my case 95033. This ZIP code in the Santa Cruz mountains include areas in both Santa Clara & Santa Cruz counties.

I am in Santa Cruz county (which is why Blast has been 25 Mbps until now) - Los Gatos is in Santa Clara county (and Blast has certainly been 105 Mbps there for some time).

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

There was a reddit thread of people reporting speed upgrades.

Netcool said there was some work being done at the headend. Maybe it's coming for me?
vandergraff2
join:2005-10-17

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Click for full size
said by telcodad:

While a 4x4 modem is capable of supporting a 105 Mbps downstream speed (as shown by your post in another thread »Re: [Speed] Comcast 2014 Side Discussion about Doubling Speeds ), there isn't much headroom left and it will be impacted more by node/time-of-day congestion issues than an 8x4 or 16x4 model.

You were correct - as I posted in the other thread on 16 down channel bonding I bought a CM500 today and can see 16 down channels and speeds are now testing at ~ 115 Mbps down.

I am still pinching myself that at least some of Santa Cruz County is now getting 16 down channels and 105 Mbps Blast considering we were one of the few areas in California stuck on 25 Mbps max (for any tier) until a few days ago.

pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

pclover

Member

Somebody locally called me from comcast in regards to my issues.

They said speed upgrades are coming but no set date. Hopefully in a few months they said.

My congestion has been better of recent. For some reason i'm getting 30/5 now.

Also mentioned they were working to fee some some bandwidth. Perhaps for some more downstream channels.

I don't believe there is a 16x4 eMTA yet. I'm sure Arris will have one eventually.