Qwest → Any way to avoid qwest internet?

I did a tracert on my current dailup connection I still have from a local internet provider, to a gaming server, and here is the result:

Tracing route to www.gladiatorarenas.net [69.31.7.76]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 94 ms 93 ms 108 ms lt-usr.cybermesa.com [65.19.13.4]
2 133 ms 93 ms 90 ms sf-router.cybermesa.com [65.19.16.1]
3 92 ms 102 ms 91 ms sfcolo-ser.cybermesa.com [65.19.0.90]
4 93 ms 95 ms 93 ms 65.19.0.5
5 164 ms 98 ms 103 ms alb-router.cybermesa.com [65.19.1.2]
6 95 ms 117 ms 118 ms 65.19.0.110
7 97 ms 96 ms 114 ms abq-edge-02.inet.qwest.net [65.123.146.205]
8 147 ms 147 ms 142 ms alb-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.151.21]
9 106 ms 103 ms 104 ms dia-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.205.126]
10 130 ms 132 ms 157 ms kcm-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.8.138]
11 129 ms 129 ms 128 ms kcm-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.29.126]
12 125 ms 151 ms 127 ms dal-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.8.141]
13 125 ms 127 ms 126 ms dal-brdr-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.25.50]
14 127 ms 129 ms 125 ms p4-1-0-0.r00.dllstx09.us.bb.verio.net [129.250.9
.81]
15 158 ms 136 ms 139 ms p16-1-1-2.r21.dllstx09.us.bb.verio.net [129.250.
3.28]
16 166 ms 166 ms 169 ms p16-0-3-0.r20.asbnva01.us.bb.verio.net [129.250.
5.35]
17 158 ms 159 ms 153 ms p16-7-0-0.r02.asbnva01.us.bb.verio.net [129.250.
2.83]
18 159 ms 156 ms 156 ms ge-1-1.a00.asbnva01.us.ra.verio.net [129.250.26.
97]
19 158 ms 157 ms 156 ms ge-3-1.a00.asbnva01.us.ce.verio.net [168.143.97.
14]
20 197 ms 229 ms 205 ms 66.117.34.91
21 157 ms 156 ms 158 ms blue1.ash.dvlabs.com [69.31.4.1]
22 162 ms 162 ms 173 ms www.gladiatorarenas.net [69.31.7.76]

So... inet.qwest.net?!!! I'm not on it, I'm on dailup through cybermesa.com!!!! What's the deal? I am thinking to get DSL through cybermesa, but how can I be sure I won't be having EXACTLY the same ping as if I had a connection through qwest.net, which is about half as expensive. I want the min pings cuz I am a gamer, and after reading the posts on this forum I see qwest.net gives about 80 ping normally for gaming. I want a consistent 60 ping or 40 ping if that is possible on 1.5mbit/896kbit connection.

said by NetTechie:

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So... inet.qwest.net?!!! I'm not on it, I'm on dailup through cybermesa.com!!!! What's the deal?

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You could just as easily see AT&T routers in your path, this just means your ISP connects to Qwest's routers for transit across the internet.

said by NetTechie:

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I am thinking to get DSL through cybermesa, but how can I be sure I won't be having EXACTLY the same ping as if I had a connection through qwest.net, which is about half as expensive.

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You could have the same routing once your traffic hits the internet from Qwest.net.

said by NetTechie:

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I want the min pings cuz I am a gamer, and after reading the posts on this forum I see qwest.net gives about 80 ping normally for gaming. I want a consistent 60 ping or 40 ping if that is possible on 1.5mbit/896kbit connection.

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What you will want is an ISP with multiple backbone connections so your traffic can be routed across the least congested backbone. As I understand it Speakeasy does that, though you could call all of your prospective ISPs and ask them which backbones they connect to and where. (Our ISP here at the office gave us that information when asked)

But you are unlikely to get a 40-60ms ping to an out of state game server on Qwest DSL though. In state it would be quite doable.

It looks like your going to be on a qwest dslam if your isp is cybermesa. Qwest has interleaving on max so your first hop is going to be around 40 ms no matter which isp you choose. My first hop is between 32-40 but I'm close to the C.O. It looks like cybermesa get's it's internet connection from qwest so you'll be going through their network no matter what. 55ms is about the lowest ping I get on gaming servers, but they have to be close. Cybermesa maybe has better support than qwest, but I'd say that that pings should be about the same with either. If you really want a lower ping, then look for a dsl provider that doesn't go through qwest's dslam, like covad or new edge networks, not sure what's available in your area. It does look like cybermesa offers adsl and sdsl through another provider but they cost more. Look for adsl that has fastpath enabled, it gives you lower pings for gaming.

Now that's some in-depth information! Thanks!!!! Now I realize though, that I should have said that the ONLY DSL line provider in my area is Qwest, in other words, I pay Qwest $28 a month for a 1.5mbit line, and then I use whatever "internet" provider I want on that line. Would this mean the interleaving is going to be on my line, no matter the provider? Is there anything I can do to maximize under this condition? Will an ISP with multiple backbone connections help?

I have every internet service listed under the New Mexico heading available in my area, as listed on the Qwest ISP page here:
»www.qwest.com/internet/i ··· #NMexico

Considering I am on a qwest line from my house to the ISP, would there be an advantage to any of these ISP's, or would the pings be the same?

PS. Where do I find information on what Fastpath is?

The interleaving is a little bit less on the 1.5/1 service than on any other Qwest DSL offering. The first hop pings in our office went from 40-50 (640/256 plan) to 30-40 (1.5/1 plan).

If Qwest provisions the line there will be interleaving. (The ISP has no control over it at all)

Fastpath = no interleaving at all, Qwest does not offer fastpath on it's DSL offerings.

I looked through that list of ISPs and didn't see any that I've heard anything about. (aside from Qwest and AOL which are not exactly stellar entries)

You might want to check the reviews of ISPs here on dslreports to see if you can find any information about them.

The routing in this case seems reasonable (Santa Fe, Alburquerque, Dallas, Asburn VA), but your first hop latency seems very high, greater than 90ms. What's up with that?

said by bigjoesmith:

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The routing in this case seems reasonable (Santa Fe, Alburquerque, Dallas, Asburn VA), but your first hop latency seems very high, greater than 90ms. What's up with that?

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He's on dialup?

said by bigjoesmith:

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The routing in this case seems reasonable (Santa Fe, Alburquerque, Dallas, Asburn VA), but your first hop latency seems very high, greater than 90ms. What's up with that?

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From my first post:

said by NetTechie:

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I did a tracert on my current DIALUP CONNECTION I still have from a local internet provider.

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*edit* LOL! you posted that as I was posting mine. hahaha

said by AthlGrond:

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said by bigjoesmith:

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The routing in this case seems reasonable (Santa Fe, Alburquerque, Dallas, Asburn VA), but your first hop latency seems very high, greater than 90ms. What's up with that?

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He's on dialup?

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Right. I didn't see that...skipping too fast. Thanks.

I also missed what appears to be a Denver and Kansas City hope before getting to Dallas.

said by NetTechie:

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From my first post:

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Speaking first posts:

Welcome to DSLR!

I looked and I can't find those many ISP's. I think they are all kind of no-name companies, probly small town operations. I called one of them and the lady could hardly speak english, and asked for a callback number (not happening). Anyway, looks like my only option is the interleaved line, and the only thing I might be able to optimize on is if I could find an ISP that connected to the backbone in several places. I am assuming Qwest does, so I'm probly well off with them then?

Only last thing I see that might be an advantage is to find an ISP that doesn't use the Qwest routing? As I understand the routing is really bad, and can route you all over the country just to connect to a server in your own city. Problem is... I think all the ISP's are going to be using Qwest to connect to the internet, and that would mean they all have that routing problem.

Above info gleaned from:
»Why is my DSL getting poor pings??
Read bigjoesmith's post about being routed to CA and back

said by AthlGrond:

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said by NetTechie:

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From my first post:

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Speaking first posts:

Welcome to DSLR!

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Thanks

Anyway... think I should just order qwest, since I see no get around at this moment? It seems Qwest provides most all the internet lines in New Mexico. I can't really optimize, guess I'm stuck with 80 ping.

Yep 80 ping seems to be the normal for my 1.5/896 line in Montana. Really sucks for online game like BF1942 when everyone else is in the 30-50 range. Thanks alot Qwest, you continue to screw me over.

Ok, here's an update, I am on qwest DSL now, and here is what I am getting on tracert of the same ip as before.

Tracing route to www.gladiatorarenas.net [69.31.7.76]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 45 ms 45 ms 45 ms 67-41-2-254.albq.qwest.net [67.41.2.254]
3 46 ms 45 ms 45 ms 67.41.3.29
4 58 ms 46 ms 45 ms alb-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.151.33]
5 49 ms 46 ms 45 ms alb-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.151.14]
6 53 ms 54 ms 54 ms dia-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.205.126]
7 65 ms 71 ms 65 ms kcm-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.8.138]
8 74 ms 65 ms 67 ms kcm-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.29.126]
9 76 ms 75 ms 75 ms dal-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.8.141]
10 79 ms 75 ms 75 ms dal-brdr-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.25.50]
11 75 ms 75 ms 75 ms pos15-0.ar.la1daltx.aleron.net [205.198.7.1]
12 116 ms 106 ms 106 ms ge2-5.as.eqxashva.aleron.net [205.198.0.70]
13 105 ms 106 ms 107 ms defender.as.eqxashva.aleron.net [205.198.0.130]
14 106 ms 107 ms 107 ms blue1.ash.dvlabs.com [69.31.4.1]
15 108 ms 107 ms 106 ms www.gladiatorarenas.net [69.31.7.76]

Trace complete.

Someone at qwest said that he had heard it is possible to effect the level of interleaving by a setting in the modem, anybody know about this?

This ping, it jumps all over the place when I am playing, seems to skyrocket at the least opportune moments, such as a close battle my ip will jump to 110, then be at 80 or 90 when nothing is happening. I can game on dialup, but with this erratic behavior, I am sorta at a loss trying to game on DSL.

It's normal for the ping to go up when there is more information to be sent to you (like when you are in close combat). It stinks, but that's the way it works.

Be sure to do a tweak test to make sure you aren't still using settings more appropriate to dialup.

Tweak test? Where do I do that?

From the main navigation menu on the left (of dslreports) select "Tests+Tools".

Then select "Tweak Test" from the displayed tests and tools.

Or just click here:
»/tweaks

»ttester.broadbandreports ··· ia=pppoA

that's the result. anything worth changing?

Nope, settings look good.

Go ahead and do a line quality check too though.

NetTechie,

I am also looking at getting Qwest DSL Internet service. I also live in New Mexico. My current ISP is Zianet. I am also concerned about ping times. Do you have any information on Zianet/DSL/Ping times? Thanks.

-Rich

As I understand it, and I have done a bit of research on this, nobody is going to give you any better ping times than qwest, because all of them are using qwest to go on the backbone, are using qwest lines from you to their isp, and qwest is supplying the equipment for this in most cases. Qwest charges 6.99 for internet on a DSL line, either $15 for 256/256, or $28 for 1536/896 (1024 actually). Combined cost is either $21.99, or $34.99 using qwest and their basic internet plan (no email, nothing, just internet). ZiaNet ($25 for internet + $28 for line = $53 for what qwest charges only 34.99) and others are I'm sure ok, but qwest probably has the most connections into the backbone of anybody, making them the best choice. Above are my ping results with qwest... I have a friend with CyberMesa who gets 180 pings average (compared with my 90)... could be his lines in his apartment, or other reasons. However, I feel after all my research there is NO benefit to going with someone besides qwest, since they are all basically qwest resellers when it gets down to it. And you may pay a price if they are overloading their lines to the backbone.