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A bit of a rant and a talk.
We have Internet via Spectrum (used to be Time-Warner).
We are getting 1.2MBPS (and less) direct to cable modem.
Communication Breakdown
I've had this happen while under Time-Warner and we never got to a resolution.
They would even send someone out. In the 10 minutes while the technician would be there we'd get 50MBPS.
It takes hours to explain that there really is a problem. All I want is a reasonable amount of the bandwidth I pay for.
It always feels like a throttling algorithm that has gone haywire.
SLA - Service Level Agreement
At what point are you paying for a service that is nothing close to what they market (commercials say 100MBPS but we consistently get about 10MBPS tops).
Has anyone ever successfully seen a resolution to this and they actually fixed the issue?
I'm about 0 for 33.
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In the UK we have Virgin Media which used to be NTL providing Cable Internet access.
The same thing happened to us a couple of years back around Christmas time, speeds dropped to between 500bps to 0bps  .
They couldn't fix the issue despite sending three different engineers at 1 week intervals. The problem wasn't with the modem or the local cable I suspect but in some central switching location somewhere.
In the end we canceled it an went to a different provider.
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Great story, thanks for sharing.
KennethKennedy wrote: In the end we canceled it an went to a different provider.
That is the exact solution I figured is probably employed 99.9% of the time.
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I had Virgin Mobil for cell service (once upon a time). Arguably the most incompetent tech support, ever. Incredibly bad service; never fixed problems; no mechanism to get a message to anyplace by the India call center.
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| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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What I had ALWAYS found to be the problem when TWC did that was they ahd lowered the signal levels. The tech would call back to the office (or I would be on the phone with them and they'd do it on my say-so) and have the level raised. Fixed it right up, every time.
I have no idea why they would have lowered it earlier, or if it was a case of the number of subscribers attached to the line coming out to me.
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GenJerDan wrote: The tech would call back to the office (or I would be on the phone with them and they'd do it on my say-so) and have the level raised.
Yep. Last place we lived the signal levels would get out of whack. Tech would come out. Get them leveled and then about 1 week later back to the issues again.
Is this stuff rocket science? Brain surgery?
Also, the very difficult problem is convincing them that there is a problem outside of your system and in something in their system. 
All that time wasted -- I've literally spent hours to get to the right level where someone finally takes action. And even then the solution doesn't last.
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If you actually read the SLA, the threshold is much lower than the advertised amount (and the label on the plan that you have). Found that on a contract review when I was considering a lawyer at one point...
"Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity."
- Hanlon's Razor
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Nathan Minier wrote: read the SLA, the threshold is much lower than the advertised amount
Yeah, I figured it would have to be that way in the SLA because they would get sued constantly.
I understand that they can't guarantee me 100MBPS. If I could get 10-20MBPS I'd be fine.
It's more about the inability to get it resolved too. You have to spend so much time to get it fixed.
Proving over and over to various support levels that it is not actually your system (wifi and/or cable modem) causing the issues.
Also, interesting that so many of us have had problems that we are driven to a desire to sue and/or read the SLA. 
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Ultimately, they know the choices you have are limited. Typically the only competitor they have in most markets is Verizon, and they suck a monkey's "thing" on a good day. It's the same old song when a company gets too big and his few or no competitors:
"They Don't Give a Damn - They Don't Have To"
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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I do not know how it is over there, but here all you need is a report in the newspapers... They afraid that even have a monopoly (except if it includes newspapers too)...
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018
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What you get is a shared line, where the levels are balance according to the use... If you had a time off you will get lower levels and the spare goes to the active lines... When you complain the levels are fixed manually...
There is no much you can do - pay more or move to others (if any)...
At office we have a 20Mbps parallel that cost five time a simple 100Mbps non-parallel, but always at the right speed...
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018
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Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote: What you get is a shared line, where the levels are balance according to the use
Yeah, I understand that. The problem is how many people share the same "trunk". I mean they still have to keep it reasonable.
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote: There is no much you can do - pay more
This is the one thing that bothers me though because they will tell you they can upgrade you and I would pay for the upgrade. but we did that before when we were at 10MBPS and they promised 100MBPS.
But it never materializes. And as I said I understand that is only a portion of the 100MBPS.
I mean to get 10MBPS I guess I have to buy 1GBPS or maybe 1TBPS. 
It's such a marketing fiasco. I was thinking of moving to small business class because supposedly they have more "uptimes" and faster connection but it's not that much more $$. But who knows what _really_ works??
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raddevus wrote: how many people share the same "trunk"
Totally depends on the infrastructure, that may be very old and cheap and too small for the number of customers, but they will never tell you the numbers...
raddevus wrote: business class
If you need stability, always go for the businesses option. Most suppliers play with the option that private customer will not go for the court easily, but a business is an other thing altogether, so they pay more atttention...
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018
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Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote: they will never tell you the numbers
Exactly and that is really the root of the problem because you can just never know what the problem is.
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote: Most suppliers play with the option that private customer will not go for the court easily,
These are the things I was thinking and wanted to know if others might feel/know about also. I figured it was this way. Too bad because there is just no way to know.
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Just get the upgrade and it will actually cost less than what you are paying now. I did and my throughput on average when from 50mbs to 100mbs and costs me $30 less a month.
I'm sure you know this, but the more people on the line, the less throughput for you. So, I had to upgrade because 50mbs was not enough for the family anymore. gaming, videos, movies, music. multiple devices, yikes!!!
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Slacker007 wrote: I'm sure you know this, but the more people on the line, the less throughput for you.
And that's why I laugh at people who say (movie) disks can go away because everyone can stream their entertainment.
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I've had TWC and now Spectrum for many years. I did cut the cord a couple of years back and only kept the internet. We've been upgraded to the highest level and we rarely have any problems. It drops once in a blue moon but usually recovers pretty quickly (mostly before I have a chance to walk to and check the modem!). I do see a drop in throughput at certain times of the day but, for the most part, it's been fine.
Keep your friends close. Keep Kill your enemies closer.
The End
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Thanks for the info. It seems to be related to _location_ and the on-the-ground hardware.
Years ago we lived in a newer neighborhood where TWC had just installed equipment and we never had a problem.
Then we moved and we suffered all kinds of problems. They literally changed all wires into home all wires to street. Then changed the drop hardware at the street and more. Finally it worked after about 2 years of them altering things. Then we moved.
Now, again we are in a mature neighborhood and it's deja vu all over again.
Also, I did learn that where I am (Dayton, OH) is literally at the top of the list for Spectrum problems right now.
http://downdetector.com/status/spectrum/map/
Since Sunday there have apparently been problems -- even worse than normal.
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I have Centurylink and noticed that after a rain my bandwidth went down.
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We had a guy here who had that problem. He ended up discovering that one of his outside cables had a worn spot in the outer insulator and water would leak in at times. Replaced the cable and he was all good.
Of course, he was lucky enough to be able to find that cable. 
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Forum Guidelines
I honestly thought someone would get this.
This space for rent
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Pro sounds hesitant = Forum. Treading dangerously close to dad joke territory there.
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I just did (as a guess) - but didn't notice this was here.
Got the "forum" easily but the rest I'm not sure of.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
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I was so tempted to award you this even though you did post after the solution.
This space for rent
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