UPC offering 30Mbps broadband and problems with upgrade

CS Hasuki · 02-02-2010 02:18PM

knucklesnoonan wrote: »

Just checked my Broadband

Very nice indeed.

trev44 · 02-02-2010 02:36PM

CS Hasuki wrote: »

For good gaming you are looking for a sub 20 ping.

i switched to UPC (10mb) from imagine (3mb) and i reckon UPC is slower. its the response time (ie ping) that lets it down in my opinion. is that the consensus of people out there? (i live in churchtown in dublin)

BostonB · 02-02-2010 02:57PM

I think its very dependent on your specific location, the contention and also if you've good connections and cable along your line. Mine has never been very consistent.

Leiva · 02-02-2010 04:49PM

trev44 wrote: »

i switched to UPC (10mb) from imagine (3mb) and i reckon UPC is slower. its the response time (ie ping) that lets it down in my opinion. is that the consensus of people out there? (i live in churchtown in dublin)

Im sorry at this stage Im gonna call a Spade a Spade ............

Its an inconsistant Crock Of Sh*T ...I wouldnt mind if at contention times (5pm 11pm) I seen a consistant drop in levels , but its all over the camp .
Pings and latency go out the window , upload speeds would make you cry and download speeds go up and down like a Yo Yo .
All the worst things you can imagine for on line gaming .
And the cherry on top is the lack of support , knowledge or communication from UPISSY !

Fat_Fingers · 02-02-2010 05:56PM

i have to agree. There is no consistancy to it. Come 6PM all the bets are off. On my 15Mb BB it could be be anything between 5Mb to as low as 1Mb...

dangerousdavid · 02-02-2010 06:04PM

Got upgraded today, 10Mb to 15Mb...

Before i switched off router:

After:

Cant complain

John2009 · 02-02-2010 07:58PM

This is so bloody frustrating....

I will be expecting a credit for this months so called fiber-power broadband :mad:

Our line or node is due for a segment upgrade around week 7 that would be from the 14th february or so, would that make much of a difference?

bonoman66 · 02-02-2010 10:35PM

Totally agree - its a disgrace that its been consistently poor with regularity between approx 5pm - 1am every day almost..

Celbridge Area - 30Mbps Connection

This morning before heading to work..

&..most recently tonight...

I also managed to get my modem transmit power down to the level that the UPC Engineer told me that would resolve this issue.

It had been at a transmit power level of +58dBmV, but by moving the modem to an alternative UPC point inside the house, the transmit power level is now +51dBmV - so my transmit power level was not the issue as far as I can see.

I reckon its still contention or over subscription to a node or some network config / bandwidth issues on UPC side. Never had a blasted problem in 17 months of having their 20Meg BB Ultra Service & its been dire in the evening during the last 3 weeks since the upgrade!!

rolion · 02-02-2010 10:57PM

Hi to all...

Anyone here can help me to figure out why is these results coming up when i do the speed test,PLEASE ! ! !
I'm running Win7,no antivirus/malware or any speed download managers at all on the PC ! !

thanks in advance...

and Magnet:

Last Result:
Download Speed: 93623 kbps (11702.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 1609 kbps (201.1 KB/sec transfer rate)

the_law · 02-02-2010 11:07PM

I reported this issue to UPC a week ago - and since then I've called every day and received neither remedial action nor a timeframe for such work.

UPC have repeatedly failed to call me back when promised and I am left with no information I didn't have a week ago, except for the following:

- An admission that the signal levels at my modem are fine (+6dBmV receive, 40dBmV xmit)

- An admission that the node is contended

- Numerous anecdotal admissions that there are many problems with the 30Mb product

- Acceptance that a refund will be due when the issue is resolved

In fairness to the people in Customer Service and even Tech Support I've spoken to on the phone, they've been both courteous and as helpful as they can be with the facilities available to them. With that said, even when I get through to Customer Service on the phone even they are unable to reach Tech Support most of the time.

However,

is simply unacceptable given what I am paying for, and tomorrow morning I shall be on to them quoting the following figures:

30... megabits download I'm paying for
5... megabits download on my last speedtest
14... average download in megabits between 6pm and 7pm (15 readings over a week)
8... days since I reported the issue
6... days since I was first told it'd be resolved
5... call backs promised but never received
63... minutes on hold so far
8... different people in UPC spoken to

Zero... information or resolution.

I will tomorrow formally request an escalation to the highest level in UPC, and give them notice that failing any progress within 48 hours I shall refer the matter to Comreg, for whatever it's worth.

Will keep you all posted, and recommend that everyone keep hassling UPC... it'll never get sorted otherwise. Keep records so you can substantiate your claim if so required.

At this point, I'm surprised this issue hasn't gained wider publicity... it's a product being sold nationwide and from what we can see here, largely not delivered. I suspect many consumers simply don't know how to test the speed of their broadband, and are unaware that their product does not meet specifications.

Anyone in IrelandOffline monitoring this thread, or anyone have any contacts there? They seem to be concerned mostly with rural broadband provision these days (which I freely admit is a much greater issue than this) but this rather sets a precedent for failure to provide the advertised service.

John2009 · 02-02-2010 11:29PM

It really is crazy the lack of information coming from UPC about this issue, i hope they have some sort of ace card up their sleeve here because come march when they auto upgrade all of their customers and if its not fixed then you'll have alot of angry customers cancelling their subscription.

A marginal improvement

the_law · 02-02-2010 11:36PM

John2009 wrote: »

It really is crazy the lack of information coming from UPC about this issue, i hope they have some sort of ace card up their sleeve here because come march when they auto upgrade all of their customers and if its not fixed then you'll have alot of angry customers

They don't have an ace card. In my opinion, they gambled that nobody would notice, and overcontended their access network.

They need to add more upstream capacity (from their end, what we as consumers would call downstream capacity) by adding extra frequencies to their UBRs. Alternatively, they could segment the network, but that'd require extra fibre capacity to their HFC nodes that they may or may not have, and more UBRs.

I can't see them spending money on UBRs or line cards if they are planning to go DOCSIS 3 this year... unless they're forward compatible.

Here's hoping they've properly dimensioned the DOCSIS 3 network.

Personally, I'm really surprised this hasn't become a PR disaster for UPC yet.

John2009 · 02-02-2010 11:53PM

As i said in a post a few days ago its the ordinary joe soap that are the majority on UPC's network and they probably hav'nt a clue or are oblivious to what they should be getting for what they are paying for and once they have a connection their happy, and UPC can get away with this massively.

I promised myself anyway that i'll hang tough until their proposed segmentation of our line or node and if that was just a red herring then i'll have to cancel until as such time as they go to Docsis 3 and then it might be more reliable in my area.

dub45 · 03-02-2010 01:56AM

the_law wrote: »

.................................

At this point, I'm surprised this issue hasn't gained wider publicity... it's a product being sold nationwide and from what we can see here, largely not delivered. I suspect many consumers simply don't know how to test the speed of their broadband, and are unaware that their product does not meet specifications.

...............................

I dont think it would matter a damn. UPC don't appear to give two hoots about bad publicity - they have such a dominance now they know that it will all pass and they will be unaffected.

Remember all the bad publicity when 'UPC' was first set up and they tried to impose direct debits on everyone and shut down customer service units? Did they change their behaviour in any way as a result of the bad publicity?

They seem to have introduced a 'prestige' product without the proper degree of testing. They know its not working properly and will possible worsen the speeds of customers who sign up for it and yet they go on selling it.

That says it all about UPC and consumer protection in Ireland.

As I have said before but more fibre in your (bb) diet and what do you get?:rolleyes:

the_law · 03-02-2010 02:16AM

dub45 wrote: »

They seem to have introduced a 'prestige' product without the proper degree of testing.

I don't think it really requires that much expertise to know that you should probably have enough capacity in your access network to handle a few people downloading simultaneously. No amount of testing would really help... it was never going to work. And I'm pretty sure most UPC engineers (by engineer I mean the guys who have degrees and design the network, not the fellas who plug in your set top box) would agree.

In my node of at least 200 dwellings, possibly 400/500 depending how it's segmented, an average of 24% will be broadband subscribers that gives 48 - 120 people on the same 76Mbit bandwidth.

Divide that by channel (there are two 38Mbit channels) so you have 24-60 people sharing one channel. Even on DSL you have at least 100Mbits uplink for 24 subscribers. On UPC's network, if more than one person out of those 24-60 is on 30Mb and downloading simultaneously, they get only 19Mbit.

Engineers are nothing if not conservative. The company is clearly being run by marketeers, not engineers. Hence the absolutely crazy decisions.

IrishTonyO · 03-02-2010 05:02AM

the_law wrote: »

No amount of testing would really help... it was never going to work.

well if you knew this, why did you upgrade? and why stay with UPC?

Tony · 03-02-2010 09:08AM

IrishTonyO wrote: »

and why stay with UPC?

If there was an alternative I'm sure a lot of people would change, UPC are simply the best of a bad lot IMO

CS Hasuki · 03-02-2010 09:54AM

Tony wrote: »

If there was an alternative I'm sure a lot of people would change, UPC are simply the best of a bad lot IMO

Yea I would have to agree with that. Magnet are great but limited availability. Their DSL packages are very good also, but generally limited to the performance of the individual's line.

I think it was voted we had the joint worst telecoms infrastructure in Europe.
UK is much better and they are lagging behind the rest also.

Irishpimpdude · 03-02-2010 10:28AM

I was getting crappy speeds for the past while, but these past few days it doesnt seem to have even dropped under around 24mb even at peak, have to say im happy i waited for them to sort it

Magnet speedtest
Last Result:
Download Speed: 29548 kbps (3693.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 2780 kbps (347.5 KB/sec transfer rate)

And speedtest.net

the_law · 03-02-2010 12:05PM

IrishTonyO wrote: »

well if you knew this, why did you upgrade? and why stay with UPC?

I don't work for UPC... I asked to upgrade because I assumed someone in UPC had realised that higher speeds meant more capacity was required, and that UPC would be providing that either by segmentation or provision of extra frequencies in my area.

Wishful thinking, it seems.

BostonB · 03-02-2010 12:06PM

CS Hasuki wrote: »

Yea I would have to agree with that. Magnet are great but limited availability. Their DSL packages are very good also, but generally limited to the performance of the individual's line.

I think it was voted we had the joint worst telecoms infrastructure in Europe.
UK is much better and they are lagging behind the rest also.

I've no wired alternative. Phone line fails test. So its either UPC or a wireless alternative. I'm considering going with a mobile one tbh. I hardly download anything anymore.

IrishTonyO · 03-02-2010 03:35PM

Here's a link to UPC's customer charter. In it they say

Resolution Timeframes:
Where possible we will resolve your complaint at first point of contact.
In all other instances we will acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and aim to resolve these within 20 working days.
In the event we cannot meet our targeted service level we will pro-actively communicate this to you and agree a mutually
acceptable way forward.

My initial complaint was made 10th January, so 20 working days, means they should be in touch with me by Friday (I won't hold my breath)

But it might useful for people to quote their charter when calling them or emailing them.

http://www.upc.ie/pdf/InternalCharterV3.pdf

Jesus Wept · 03-02-2010 05:38PM

Aim low ntl, aim low.

thefishone · 03-02-2010 06:42PM

No phone,no BB working,UPC will call me back soon,won't be holding
my breath.:mad:

Better check the Tv

John Dough · 03-02-2010 06:55PM

IrishTonyO wrote: »

Here's a link to UPC's customer charter. In it they say

Resolution Timeframes:
Where possible we will resolve your complaint at first point of contact.
In all other instances we will acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and aim to resolve these within 20 working days.
In the event we cannot meet our targeted service level we will pro-actively communicate this to you and agree a mutually
acceptable way forward.

My initial complaint was made 10th January, so 20 working days, means they should be in touch with me by Friday (I won't hold my breath)

But it might useful for people to quote their charter when calling them or emailing them.

http://www.upc.ie/pdf/InternalCharterV3.pdf

And if they don't live up to it report them to the regulator.

knucklesnoonan · 03-02-2010 08:29PM

Can anyone advise on the difference between the various speed tests available on the net. They all show different speed results. Irish ISP Test seems to be very low. Which one is accurate?

Test 1: http://www.speedtest.net/result/704783033.png

Test 2: Irishisptest.com

Download speed

4970 KbpsUpload speed

2812 KbpsQOS

94 %RTT

33 msMax Delay

62 msAvg Delay

4 msMax Bandwidth

25600 KbpsRoute Speed

15887 KbpsForced Idle

41 %Route Conc

5.1 Download test

s Upload test

s

Test 3:

Magnet = Download 15.8mb Upload 2.7mb

Test 4:Eircom

broadband speed test

16791kbps (16.4Mb/s)

soeren · 03-02-2010 09:57PM

hi, i live in kilnamanagh/d24 and this is what i got around 30mins ago:

i also have the 30mbit ..i mean i should have it, had 22mbit on sunday afternoon but every time i tested it thereafter speed was below 20 all the time.

server dublin - down 18.25 / up 1.88
server frankfurt - down 6.76 / up 1.70
server amsterdam - down 13.59 / up 1.78
server london - down 12.30 / up 1.88
server galway - down 13.54 / up 1.81
server limerick - down 8.64 / up 1.83

...as most interesting stuff is NOT on irish servers...this really sucks

bardcom · 03-02-2010 11:24PM

I've just upgraded to the 30MB line. I live in Dundrum. Packet loss is 86% using the Dublin exchange

Still 58% using Galway

What is causing this?

Daithi07 · 03-02-2010 11:25PM

I am so pissed off. This service is a phucking sham. Watching any sort of video like rte player or 4od is totally out. What can i do??? This is Magnet test:

Download Speed: 797 kbps (99.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 1104 kbps (138 KB/sec transfer rate)

Supposed to be on 15mb. Getting worse everyday :mad: Was told nothing wrong at my end but they have line work to carry out that should be done is 4 weeks. Should i grin and bear it or tell them to phuck right off?

IrishTonyO · 03-02-2010 11:26PM

disable the firewall in the router

UPC offering 30Mbps broadband and problems with upgrade

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