On VF VDSL.  Win 7 laptop, with Huwawei HG659 modem.

Noticed in last few weeks internet connectivity would 'pause' momentarily, maybe 5 - 10 seconds when loading web pages, or seeking any new information such as iTunes updates.  

This often resulted in the web browser (normally Chrome) returning a page not found or unable to connect error, a few seconds later this would either correct itself or a quick refresh would see things promptly up and running.  Frequent 'cannot connect to server' issues with iTunes as well which I assume was related.

Other devices on the network also seem to have the same 'pause' before doing anything on the net.

Looking online I ended up disabling IPV6 in the network settings, and presto all the issues are gone.  

Mixed information on disabling IPV6.  As yet haven't noticed a downside.  Does this affect anything in a simple home setup?  Has this fixed the problem or just worked around it?  Can IPV6 be disabled at the modem so all devices are effected?

Thanks.