How much does Telecom's 'Traffic Management' influence your speeds?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › How much does Telecom's 'Traffic Management' influence your speeds?

urza4315

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#151260 19-Aug-2014 17:16

I'm currently on an ADSL plan and considering switching to VDSL Unlimited.

Concerns about VDSL aside I'm also worried about the Traffic management applied to all Unlimited plans. Currently while torrenting I can usually expect ~1 megabyte per second speeds on a well seeded torrent. Just wanted to hear some of your experiences. Have you seen drastic drops in your download speeds? What about other applications like online gaming?

PeterReader

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#1111433 19-Aug-2014 17:16

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

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Jase2985

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#1111451 19-Aug-2014 17:25

there is no traffic management currently applied to any spark service

my Spark VDSL connection will sit happily at about 6MB/s down, stream HD videos off youtube and hold a skype call at the same time with no buffering

they have more than likely added it to their t&cs to cover their a$$ down the line in case demand is ever greater than supply. then they can limilt some things.

this is currently not the case

jeffnz

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#1111462 19-Aug-2014 17:37

Op if you use the search function you will find a lot of threads asking the same questions and getting the same answers

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#1111475 19-Aug-2014 17:50

Does the search function work? I must be a bad searcher but I can never find anything that is within the last 12 months. Links are always between 1 and 11 years old!

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#1111476 19-Aug-2014 17:52

Ps I'm "contributing" because I see the op is new. Welcome.

Inphinity

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#1111521 19-Aug-2014 19:35

I have thus far encountered no shaping, on either VDSL or Fibre unlimited plans.

urza4315

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#1111544 19-Aug-2014 19:44

joker97: Ps I'm "contributing" because I see the op is new. Welcome.

Thank you.

Jase2985: there is no traffic management currently applied to any spark service

my Spark VDSL connection will sit happily at about 6MB/s down, stream HD videos off youtube and hold a skype call at the same time with no buffering

they have more than likely added it to their t&cs to cover their a$$ down the line in case demand is ever greater than supply. then they can limilt some things.

this is currently not the case

But are you on their unlimited plan?

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Jase2985

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#1111547 19-Aug-2014 19:46

SPARK IS NOT TRAFFIC MANAGING PLANS AT THE MOMENT

freitasm

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#1111550 19-Aug-2014 19:50

joker97: Does the search function work? I must be a bad searcher but I can never find anything that is within the last 12 months. Links are always between 1 and 11 years old!

Works for me. Your Google Fu must be weak. Back on topic.