Internet Service Question

[Randy Tyndall 1087023]

Hi All,

 

This question goes out specifically to anyone in the cable internet business and anyone with who may not be, but still understands the process well enough to provide a definitive answer.

 

First, a general question. I have DSL Broadband Internet Service...I think... A single cable comes off the power pole behind my house and goes into a modem. From that modem a single cable goes to our router. There are five items working off that router, two hard-wire desktops, one wireless laptop, and two x-box 360s. I understand that if all five components are connected to the internet the "service" to each individual component suffers. However, my first question is this...on my desktop that I "fly" from I am typically connected to some type of ACARS, my flightsim, an addon weather program, and VATSIM as well as sometimes Teamspeak. Does the number of "connections" my individual computer is making also degrade "resources" to the other 4 components...I know it does to mine, but its the other 4 I am curious about?

 

Second, and please follow this closely. The neighbor behind my house and I have our internet service coming off the same "box" on the power pole that sits between our backyards. That same box also feeds the house to his right and the house to my left. The power pole sits in the "4-Corners" area of our adjoining backyards. A couple of years ago, a tree in the yard of the neighbor directly behind me lost a large branch in a windstorm. That branch took out his power, his phone service, and his internet service. Obviously he had power reconnected (quite a show of sparks when the branch fell I must say), as well as his phone service.

 

He did not have internet service reconnected, choosing to get a gizmo that goes through wi-fi I guess, although I don't understand that process very well, or maybe he just no longer has or needs internet service. All I know is that his internet cable is still, after all these months, laying exposed in his yard hanging down from the "box" on the pole. The "severed" end of the cable is in direct connect with the ground exposed to the elements and right now is covered with an inch of snow. Could that exposure also degrade my service? I have looked at other internet junction boxes up and down the street and when a cable is not being used it is coiled up and hanging directly below the box, but several feet above ground level.

 

Just wondering.

 

Randy

[Mark Wolpert]

I just switched from DSL to Cable because DSL was limited to 5 Mb/sec while my cable is now at 35. Vatsim and online flying is not the problem, its when everyone in the house is on yourtube and Netflix.

 

Second question. Usually DSL service is not shared between houses. Cable can be but not always from what I understand.

[Bradley Grafelman]

I have DSL Broadband Internet Service...I think...

Why the lack of certainty? If you're confused about "DSL" versus "cable" internet, easiest way to determine that is by the type of cable used to connect your modem: if it's a phone line, it's DSL; if it's a coaxial cable you'd use such as for an old TV, it's cable.

 

I understand that if all five components are connected to the internet the "service" to each individual component suffers.

Not really... it's mostly about usage. If you have a 10 Mb/sec connection and connect all five components, you've got 10Mb/sec to split up between all five. If the sum of all five is less than that, no one really suffers because you've got unused bandwidth.

 

However, my first question is this...on my desktop that I "fly" from I am typically connected to some type of ACARS, my flightsim, an addon weather program, and VATSIM as well as sometimes Teamspeak. Does the number of "connections" my individual computer is making also degrade "resources" to the other 4 components...I know it does to mine, but its the other 4 I am curious about?

Again, it's not about degrading service between any one component - it's your overall bandwidth utilization. If your computer is using 5 Mb/sec, your laptop is using 3 Mb/sec, and Xbox #1 is using 2 Mb/sec, then you've got 100% bandwidth utilization. Any component that attempts to consume additional bandwidth can only do so at the detriment to others.

 

Without QoS (Quality of Service, a feature many routers and operating systems offer that allow you to prioritize certain traffic/devices), every component generally has a fair chance.

 

Could that exposure also degrade my service?

Without being a field technician or even fully understanding the specifics, I'm going to hazard a guess and say no, probably not.

 

Are you actually experiencing issues with your internet service? While the results can range form somewhat helpful to completely and utterly useless, there are sites like speedtest.net and pingtest.net that will attempt to roughly quantify some aspects about your internet connection between you and their test servers.

 

Usually DSL service is not shared between houses. Cable can be but not always from what I understand.

This is generally what I've come to understand as well. In other words, scenario is 10 households along a given street. If everyone has DSL, your connection is generally limited closer to your ISP. If everyone has cable, you're all likely sharing a major trunk line back to the cable provider, and it's much cheaper for cable companies to sell all 10 of you "high speed" internet that the major trunk line could only handle if 3-5 of you actually fully utilized.

 

(Same concept goes for DSL, really - the bottleneck is just further up the chain.)

[Randy Tyndall 1087023]

Thanks for your replies. Turns out I have cable internet...obviously...since I described a cable coming from a junction box on a power pole. Gave up my landline phone service a few years ago to be cellular only. So that question is resolved.

 

The explanation about usage by different systems makes complete sense and I understand the process better.

 

What brought this all about was my nagging suspicion about the broken cable lying on the ground and never a straight answer from my provider, which has changed frequently in the past five years...Adelphia, sold to Time Warner, then farmed out to Roadrunner (essentially a subsidiary of TWC), sold to Windjammer Cable, and the latest sale of the century my provider is now Zito Media. Other cable companies in the area were offering 50MBps for $50.00 and up until about a year ago I was happy with 20MBps I was paying extra for. Slowly through company changes and available services I have gone from $49 per month to $66 per month, but that is the nature of the beast so I never questioned it.

 

Recently my son and granddaughter have gotten into World of Warcraft and as I quietly fly along in the other room I can hear them compaining about lag, getting kicked, etc, etc. Then a few days ago it seemed like my service was s-s-s-l-l-lo-o-o-w-w-w-i-n-n-n-g way down when I was flying. I got frequent disconnects and load times/download times were becoming atrocious. I contacted my internet provider and complained...more for my son and granddaughter than for me. The said the modem may have an issue and is constantly rebooting, just take it down to the local provider office and exchange it for a new one, so I did. Come to find out even though I had been paying for 20MBps all that time the modem I had was only capable of 10MBps. During one of the changes of ownership the fact that I was paying for more than they could provide got conveniently lost in the shuffle.

 

Then again it happened, I found out yesterday, when Zito took over from Windjammer. Windjammer offered 20, but I was only getting 10 because of my modem. Zito only offers 10MBps as their "high speed" so I was only getting 5 MBps. Yesterday I told them after all that (once I found out) I was tired of the service and would be looking to replace my internet provider. Magically I was handed a modem capable of 50MBps (how if Zito only offers 10MBps?) as long as I had an N-style router (I did) and a voucher for free service throught December 31st at which time my monthly charge will go "down" by $13.00 per month. Seems the charges I was under were the old schedule, not the new, more competitive, one. Something they also conveniently forgot to tell me when they took over.

 

After one day all of us in the household have noticed a significant improvement. It pays to question your provider, especially if your provider is not the one you started with. Loyal customers it seems get lost in the shuffle of company buyouts and changes of hand.

 

Randy

[Charan Kumar]

Happens frequently with Vonage and AT&T too, call them to ask them for specials, and when they say nothing, you tell them, but that guy has it, so if you have nothing, by which time they are ready to give you discount...in fact, one of my colleagues frequently threatens them to get some discount ... .

 

recently, some procedures have changed, it is like you have to tell them you are disconnecting, they ask for confirmation, then they will transfer you to a "retention dept" which can give you those discounts but not the actual tech support themselves. Kinda like, if you want the rwy you want to land coz your SOP says so, declare an emergency, remind you of anything like that??

[Bradley Grafelman]

Kinda like, if you want the rwy you want to land coz your SOP says so, declare an emergency, remind you of anything like that??

You mean they instantly tell you "unable emergency; discontinue the emergency or disconnect immediately" ?

[Luke Kolin]

Turns out I have cable internet...obviously...since I described a cable coming from a junction box on a power pole.

 

I guess we all have "cable" internet then.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[Randy Tyndall 1087023]

Ah Luke,

 

I never know when you are being funny and when you are being sarcastic.

 

You are cordially invited to my home for the holidays so you can inspect and evaluate my antiquated system and provide insight to my unenlightened self. The theoretical implications alone are staggering and much too deep for my shallow mind and way over my head anyway.

 

Randy

[Luke Kolin]

I never know when you are being funny and when you are being sarcastic.

 

Sometimes I confuse even myself.

 

You are cordially invited to my home for the holidays so you can inspect and evaluate my antiquated system and provide insight to my unenlightened self. The theoretical implications alone are staggering and much too deep for my shallow mind and way over my head anyway.

 

I appreciate the invite but your corner of the world is a little too chilly for my tender extremities and my thin blood. I am also unsure what insight I could provide. My point is that both cable/DOCSIS and DSL both come in over cables from the street; you would be hard-pressed in my neighborhood to tell which is which by the media alone.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[Randy Tyndall 1087023]

My point is that both cable/DOCSIS and DSL both come in over cables from the street

 

Everyday I learn something new...just enough to be a dangerous foe to my desktop... However, the day we stop learning is the day we begin our death spiral. Learn something, anything, everyday!

 

Randy

[Richard Gerrish]

how old is your modem and what make/model is it?

[Randy Tyndall 1087023]

Richard

 

I just got the modem from my Internet Provider 12-11-2013. It was not in a box, just handed to me over the counter at their place of business so I can't really say how old it actually is. It is a Motorola Surfboard SB6120. The new router was purchased the same day and is a Cisco/Linksys N750 EA3500.

 

Randy