Member Avatar for smartdetect

i've recently subscribed for a 64kbps cable net.they promised me that i would get 64 consistently at the min 40.but now that i've registered i'm finding it too slow.
the download speed i get is only 7-8 kbps.when contacted the customer care
they said 6-7 is good for a 64kbps connection...now hows this????

They said they block some of my ports for security..does this reduce the speed??

also does the length of the cable(its cat5) affect speed ...it is around 100-150 mts long.

I'm really getting frustrated ...please help on this.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Puckdropper

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A couple of quick clarifications and a short troubleshooting plan that builds on and without repeating what they already said.

Start by isolating local gear versus the ISP. Copy a reasonably large file between two machines on the same LAN (or from a USB drive) — if that transfer is fast, the wire/NIC/switch is fine and the bottleneck is the internet link. Temporarily plug one PC directly into the cable modem with a short Cat5 patch cable and retest a download; if speeds change, the router or in‑house wiring is the problem. Check the NIC link status in the OS (shows negotiated speed/duplex) or use ethtool on Linux to confirm it’s not falling back to 10 Mbps or half duplex.

Cable length and wiring: Category 5 UTP Ethernet is specified for up to 100 meters (see discussion of Ethernet over twisted pair). At ~150 m you can see attenuation, errors, and link negotiation problems. If the modem-to-PC cable really is that long, move the modem, use a switch to split the run, or replace the run with properly routed cable to bring each segment under 100 m.

On the modem/ISP side, look at the modem status page: locked downstream/upstream channels, SNR, receive/transmit levels, and error counters (uncorrectables, T3/T4). Poor signal or lots of errors points to coax/splitter problems or a noisy node and is something the ISP must fix. Also ask whether the ISP applies traffic shaping or caps during peak hours; that can reduce effective throughput without changing the modem link.

Collect data (LAN vs. WAN tests, modem stats, traceroutes at different times) before calling support — it gives the technician concrete things to check and speeds up resolution.

Relevant reading: DOCSIS and Ethernet over twisted pair.

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Member Avatar for bentkey

Sales people lie. 64 Kbps sounds like a pretty lousy cable connection speed in the first place. Considering that a so so dialup modem is 26 kbps have them explain how 6 or 7 can be good for a cable hookup? Do an extended ping to your default gateway with packets loaded to 1500 bytes. If packets are not being lost, then it is not affecting speed.

Cable hookups are a shared medium and this is the big difference between CABLE and DSL. This means that your actual useable bandwidth is largely determined by what other people on the network are doing. Hence DSL comes with a CIR (committed information rate) as far as I know, cable doesn't. You might try testing your download speed at odd times and see if it changes substantially. You've seen the commercials on TV where the parents are assigning computer time to the kids at 2-4 am and such (very funny), but this is what cable is all about. If you're lucky and no body else is using it you get great bandwidth, if you're not and lots of people are downloading music and video files, you're screwed.

Member Avatar for bentkey

Also, port blocking does not affect speed or bandwidth. Normally it limits your usability so you can't run web servers and such. Do they tell you what ports they block? I doubt that they are too worried about your security.

Member Avatar for Puckdropper

Network speeds are usually measured in BITS per second. If your 6 or 7 kbs is KiloBYTES per second, then it's right on. 6 * 8 = 48, 7 * 8 = 56.

That is slow for cable, considering I'd pull that in sometimes on dial-up! (The trick is to find an ISP where you're not in their main area. Fewer people will use them, and you'll get better speed. Only works well if they have a local number for you ;-))

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