Problem after problem, this is easily the worst ISP i ever have used

[danbottomburp]

Where to start?

On steam i am not getting anywhere close to my download speed (1GB) i get a quarter if i am lucky, not just on steam either its the same on EA and using the RIot client

Been looking at my BQM and it hasn't been exactly stable over the last three/four days that might be something to do with it

In FPS games i am a sitting duck, shooting at people who i should be killing only to be laughed at and killed myself instead

I am the highest rank possible in CsGo but i haven't played it at all since getting Virgin connection, simply do NOT trust it

Done some speed tests using various providers including Real Speed which tells me the Jitter and packet loss is there

Every single dungeon i do in ESO online completes and then i am immediately kicked formt he server and have to log in again, this happens every single time

I have reset the router recently, its definitely not my PC 

I would much rather have a stable, good quality connection than one that can sometimes hit over 1GB a second

My previous provider might have only been giving me 40Mbps but they were on another level in terms of connection quality

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/ac34fd4c9281748e838a5f353a78c05971b11487

[webBeAsTspider]

I've got no big complaints, the engineer visit did help a little, indeed I wish my ping was a bit lower and latency was more consistent / less jitter, it's not interferring with my gaming so it's good enough. In terms of stability since I moved to modem mode it's been rock solid, so no complaints there. I'm still keen to try a hub5, yet it seems impossible to get one unless you're randomly selected.

If BT ever install fibre to the home, I'll probably give that a try but I suspect that's years away.

Yes I agree speed isn't important for gaming but latency isn't ever really looked at when looking for alternative internet providers, I did a load of emails and phone calls a while ago, the bottom line is most / all ISPs have no clue what your base ping or jitter will be before you join up. I am still a little surprised my base ping is so high as I'm not far from nottingham but as mentioned that's probably due to the DOCSIS technology being used.

[Ashleigh_C]

Thank you @webBeAsTspider

I'm glad to hear there are no major complaints but I am sorry that your ping is still a little high! 

Can I just ask what the engineer recommended in regards to this? 

I'm sorry you have not yet been offered a Hub 5, they are currently invite only but we are offering them out more and more to people so please keep your eye peeled for an email invite in the future.

Thank you. 

[webBeAsTspider]

Hi Ash_C

The engineer was callled to get my DOCSIS power levels adjusted, for some reason my power levels seem to have quite a wide range unless that's normal. Anyhow the engineer got my power levels set the best he could, replaced my virgin socket etc which made a marginal improvement, I got the impression beyond what he did there wasn't much else that could be done.In terms of error counts,  they are all at zero so it's a clean signal, plus plenty of speed, basically maxed out 1Gb down and 50Gb up.

Looking at my BQM graphs it's very variable, some look fairly good, others not so good obviously without me changing any of my setup.

Here's a good graph, it's the level of the yellow trace I'm looking at - the jitter, the green trace - my base ping is on the high side considering I'm only 30 miles from the nottingham core network.

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/608171c541e9f59aa26951e79f22bde3ca...

Not so good graph, although this jitter is around peak time but looking at the level of the jitter it's very high, 100+ms

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/dc4e25afa1ae835d1ce28f3ab0cf6979f3...

[Natalie_L]

Hi webBeAsTspider, 

Thank you for getting back to us and providing your BQM, other than the spike between 6pm and 8pm, it looks to be quite stable. 

Could you please access your Hubs data and post the information on the thread for us to have a look? Information on how to do this can be found here.

Thank you, 

[webBeAsTspider]

My modem info below, all looks ok to me,

DOCSIS 3.1
Primary downstream channel
Locked

SC-QAM
Channel Overview Downstream Upstream
DOCSIS 3.0 channels
31

4
DOCSIS 3.1 channels
1

0

3.0 Downstream channels
Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) SNR (dB) Modulation Channel ID
2 147000000 1.000000 37.355988 QAM256 2
1 139000000 0.500000 36.609653 QAM256 1
3 155000000 1.299999 37.355988 QAM256 3
4 163000000 1.799999 37.636276 QAM256 4
5 171000000 2.200001 37.636276 QAM256 5
6 179000000 2.599998 38.605377 QAM256 6
7 187000000 2.900002 38.605377 QAM256 7
8 195000000 3.099998 38.605377 QAM256 8
9 203000000 3.299999 38.605377 QAM256 9
10 211000000 3.599998 38.605377 QAM256 10
11 219000000 3.700001 38.605377 QAM256 11
12 227000000 3.799999 38.605377 QAM256 12
13 235000000 3.900002 38.983261 QAM256 13
14 243000000 3.900002 38.605377 QAM256 14
15 251000000 3.799999 38.605377 QAM256 15
16 259000000 4.199997 38.605377 QAM256 16
17 267000000 4.300003 38.983261 QAM256 17
18 275000000 5.199997 38.983261 QAM256 18
19 283000000 5.300003 38.605377 QAM256 19
20 291000000 5.900002 38.983261 QAM256 20
21 299000000 5.500000 38.983261 QAM256 21
22 307000000 5.900002 38.983261 QAM256 22
23 315000000 6.199997 38.983261 QAM256 23
24 323000000 6.699997 38.605377 QAM256 24
25 331000000 7.199997 38.983261 QAM256 25
26 339000000 7.000000 38.983261 QAM256 26
27 347000000 7.599998 38.983261 QAM256 27
28 355000000 7.099998 38.983261 QAM256 28
29 363000000 7.599998 38.983261 QAM256 29
30 371000000 7.199997 38.605377 QAM256 30
31 379000000 7.400002 38.983261 QAM256 31

3.0 Downstream channels
Channel Lock Status RxMER (dB) Pre RS Errors Post RS Errors
2 Locked 37.355988 0 0
1 Locked 36.609653 0 0
3 Locked 37.355988 0 0
4 Locked 37.636276 0 0
5 Locked 37.636276 0 0
6 Locked 38.605377 0 0
7 Locked 38.605377 0 0
8 Locked 38.605377 0 0
9 Locked 38.605377 0 0
10 Locked 38.605377 0 0
11 Locked 38.605377 0 0
12 Locked 38.605377 0 0
13 Locked 38.983261 0 0
14 Locked 38.605377 0 0
15 Locked 38.605377 0 0
16 Locked 38.605377 0 0
17 Locked 38.983261 0 0
18 Locked 38.983261 0 0
19 Locked 38.605377 0 0
20 Locked 38.983261 0 0
21 Locked 38.983261 0 0
22 Locked 38.983261 0 0
23 Locked 38.983261 0 0
24 Locked 38.605377 0 0
25 Locked 38.983261 0 0
26 Locked 38.983261 0 0
27 Locked 38.983261 0 0
28 Locked 38.983261 0 0
29 Locked 38.983261 0 0
30 Locked 38.605377 0 0
31 Locked 38.983261 0 0

3.1 Downstream channels
Channel Channel Width (MHz) FFT Type Number of Active Subcarriers Modulation (Active Profile) First Active Subcarrier (Hz)
159 96 4K 1840 QAM4096 759

3.1 Downstream channels
Channel ID Lock Status RxMER Data (dB) PLC Power (dBmV) Correcteds (Active Profile) Uncorrectables (Active Profile)
159 Locked 41 8.0 1560992595 1412

3.0 Upstream channels
Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) Symbol Rate (ksps) Modulation Channel ID
1 46200000 38.520599 5120 KSym/sec 64QAM 3
2 39400000 38.270599 5120 KSym/sec 64QAM 4
3 53700000 39.520599 5120 KSym/sec 64QAM 2
4 60300000 40.520599 5120 KSym/sec 64QAM 1

3.0 Upstream channels
Channel Channel Type T1 Timeouts T2 Timeouts T3 Timeouts T4 Timeouts
1 US_TYPE_ATDMA 0 0 0 0
2 US_TYPE_ATDMA 0 0 0 0
3 US_TYPE_ATDMA 0 0 0 0
4 US_TYPE_ATDMA 0 0 0 0

General Configuration
Network access
true
Maximum Number of CPEs
1
Baseline Privacy
true
DOCSIS Mode
3.1
Config file
kfoA,.iyewrkldJKDHSUBsgvca698

Primary Downstream Service Flow
SFID
786
Max Traffic Rate
1200000450
Max Traffic Burst
42600
Min Traffic Rate
0

Primary Upstream Service Flow
SFID
963
Max Traffic Rate
55000270
Max Traffic Burst
42600
Min Traffic Rate
0
Max Concatenated Burst
16320
Scheduling Type
bestEffort

[jpeg1]

Ping spikes are common at busy times, although yours are a little worse than most.  Did you have other users on line at the time of those spikes?  If so they could have been contributing.

Although your downstream levels are all within spec, there is the tilt of 7dB from the highest frequency channel to the lowest which is rather unusual. It won't have caused the spikes but it does suggest that there is something not quite right, possibly with the cable.

[webBeAsTspider]

It's just 1 user on the network, myself, there's a analogue phone hooked up, no virgin TV, yes the engineer struggled to get my power levels balanced out, I don't know why there's such a large spread. I've looked at various BQM results for my connection, it does seem peak time is very varied, sometimes it's not so bad other times it's very spikey. I believe the engineer moved my connection to another port in the cabinet and disconnected the downstairs VM socket i.e. did his best to tidy up the wiring.

I don't see much else that can be done,as mentioned I'm ok with my connection, the speed is awesome, the latency not so good, that would be the reason I'd move to BT FTTP if it ever gets put down my street.

[Martin_N]

Hi webBeAsTspider,

Thank you for your post. I have taken a look on our system and I am unable to see anything could be affecting this. 

Can you please confirm if you are continuing to have issues with your service? 

^Martin

[webBeAsTspider]

As mentioned I'm ok with my service, the only issue I have is base ping level and jitter, I don't see how these can be resolved, I would assume the latency issues are due to the equipment / network design i.e. VM core or edge network lacking bandwidth duriing peak times.