Metrocast Internet Connection Speeds

[sky_nh]

I am wondering if anyone else is having a problem with Metrocast connection speeds when they try video streaming (e.g. Netflix) or other services?

This problem has been going on for me for over a month where the connection does not take place at all or it is so slow the programming will not download.

I am paying for "up to" 6000 kbps but only get 800 or slower during prime time. I realize that during peak times it should slow down but not that much. When I do a speed test to another server, it shows around a slow 2700 kbps or about half of what it should be.

If you have had any problems could you post here so that I know -- it would help if I knew this was only happening in parts of Gilford or in other places where Metrocast serves.

BTW, you can check your connection speed at Speedtest.net I use the Portland, ME server to test my speeds. It takes about two minutes to do. If you can test around 8 - 9 pm that would help. The service peaks around then. Early in the day and late at night the connections are much faster.

Thanks for any help or feedback.

Sky

PS I have reported this to Metrocast and, of course, they deny that there are any problems at their end.

[DRH]

I tested our Metrocast speed here in West Alton a bit after 10pm this evening and got a download speed of 4,394 kb/s and an upload speed of 361 kb/s using the Portland, ME test site. Interestingly, when I changed to the Bangor, ME test site, the download speed increased to 5,659 kb/s while the upload speed is essentially the same at 360 kb/s.

[sky_nh]

Thank you for the info!

Just retested mine about 10 minutes ago (about 10:30) and it's up to 3,900 now. It should be over 5,000.

If you think of it and have a moment, try again around 8:30 pm. It would be interesting to see if you experience the same reduction in speed that I do around that time.

Thanks again.

-- Sky

[webmaster]

For anyone who wants to test their speed without leaving the forum here's a widget:

[GWC...]

Here's the results from this evening's test at 10:40 pm:



I'll try to test tpomorrow around 8:30 pm.

[sky_nh]

That's fantastic! Thank you so much.

At 11:30 pm it is showing my download speed at 5,300 kbps, which is awesome. It appears that we can select the server to test. Is Portland the default server?

-- Sky

[SteveA]

Don,

Thank You! That speed test is very cool. 5086 here in Gilford, (metrocast)

Some users might like to test security on their computers. I've gotten in the habit of using this site to attempt to break into my machine. It test all fire walls and ports. It's called ShieldsUP.

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

[DRH]

Not sure why, but just a few minutes ago I tested Metrocast's speed through the widget Don provided above and got a download speed of 275 and an upload speed of 356. I then went directly to the Speedtest.net site and got the following results:



I just ran the test through the widget again (using the Portland site again) and got a download speed of 297 and an upload speed of 351. Could the load on Don's server be affecting the test results I wonder?

Also, the Speedtest.net site indicates that my average upload speed through Metrocast over a dozen or so tests is 364 kb/s, versus a New Hampshire overall ISP average of 1,273 kb/s. Interestingly, GWC's upload speed was 1,969 kb/s through Comcast. Why is Metrocast's upload speed so dismal?

[sky_nh]

I feel like I am becoming addicting to these speed tests!

In any case, about five minutes ago I used both the widget here and the direct Speedtest site and come up with approx the same results of 2700 kbps -- which is about half of the speed I am paying for with Metrocast.

I can understand that during prime time periods that there would be a heavy load on their servers and the speeds slower, but at 9:30 in the morning? I hope a few more people here will try the speed tests during that prime time period of 8-9 to see what happens.

I have tried discussing this with their tech support people but they are not of any help at all -- actually, a little rude if you suggest they have a problem. Does anyone know how to get their attention there, or at least an explanation why they are only delivering half the speed we are paying for?

-- Sky

[wifi]

This site never seems to suffer congestion:

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

I have Time/Warner with speed boost, and I'm getting:

Last Result:
Download Speed: 25778 kbps (3222.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 977 kbps (122.1 KB/sec transfer rate)

I frequently get over 31M download on this test. Upload speeds are choked back so the ISP doesn't have to deal with customers with a virus or bots blasting others with slower connections out of the water. You can always go business class and pay A LOT MORE if you want higher upload speeds.

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by DRH

Could the load on Don's server be affecting the test results I wonder?

Hi Don, Once this page loads the widget runs on your computer and connects directly to the speedtest site, my server is not in the loop at that point.

[kjbathe]

Do you have anything else competing for bandwidth with Netflix -- other PC's on your home network, an old 10 MB hub trying to manage congestion, firewall or router settings with excess packet filtering, voice over IP (VoIP) / digital phone that is prioritizing voice traffic over data, Tivo or ReplayTV pulling down updates?

I don't know about Metrocast, but I know Comcast doesn't guarantee either a full time connection or the speed of the connection. Sometimes it flies, other times it can be a dog. The joy of consumer broadband...

[GWC...]

Here's the results from today's test at 11:51 am:

[GWC...]

Here's the results from today's test at 12:23 pm:




Also, tried using the Webmaster's link just prior to this direct test and the results were slower. It would have been nice if I copied the results; because I do not remember the results - old timers...

Just tried the Webmaster's twice and the results are:

Download: test #1: 4420 kbps and test #2: 4283 kbps
Upload: test #1: 993 kbps and test #2: 1232 kbps

Interestingly, the second test yielded a higher upload result.

[rander7823]

I think there should be a speed limit here so none of you get WEB-Lash

Get it .....whiplash...web-lash

Okay my wife doesn't think I am funny either

[gtxrider]

Ok first we get speed limits on the LAKE now we are worried about Internet Speed!

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by gtxrider

Ok first we get speed limits on the LAKE now we are worried about Internet Speed!

My guess is, high internet speeds is something we all can support.

If so, here's to ya!

R2B

[DRH]

This is mysterious. Using the widget, I just got a download speed of 274 kb/s and an upload speed of 358 kb/s.

Going directly to the speedtest.net sites and running the tests there, I get the following results:

From the Portland test site:



And from the Bangor test site:



For me, the Bangor test site consistently returns far better download speed results than the Portland site. Also, I wonder why there is such a discrepancy in download speeds between using the widget and going directly to the test sites? No other programs or downloads were running on my PC during any of the above tests.

[sky_nh]

I've found a difference, too, between the two tests. The test using the gadget runs from 500 to 1,000 kbps higher.

[sky_nh]

Originally Posted by kjbathe

Do you have anything else competing for bandwidth with Netflix -- other PC's on your home network, an old 10 MB hub trying to manage congestion, firewall or router settings with excess packet filtering, voice over IP (VoIP) / digital phone that is prioritizing voice traffic over data, Tivo or ReplayTV pulling down updates?

I don't know about Metrocast, but I know Comcast doesn't guarantee either a full time connection or the speed of the connection. Sometimes it flies, other times it can be a dog. The joy of consumer broadband...

Yes, I do run Skype and have a router and firewall but don't know enough about "packet filtering" to answer that question. When I have a chance tomorrow I will connect the cable directly to the PC and bypass the router and make sure Skype is off. I hope it makes a difference!

Thanks for your ideas about possible reasons for the slowdown.

-- Sky

PS I realize they do not guarantee a certain speed, but they certainly hype the heck out of the advantages of broadband in their advertising.

[GWC...]

Here are the results from today's test at 8:45 pm (Portland, Me.):



Here are the results from today's test at 8:48 pm (Bangor, Me.):

[SteveA]

Looks like I'm having problems with Metrocast again.



Wonder if it's just me.

[EricP]

I have been noticing a drop in performance lately. We can't see you numbers in the post above but mine were ~5mB down and 480k up when I ran the speedtest Friday. I was too busy to deal with calling them this weekend but I plan to at some point when I am bored and in the mood to argue

[SteveA]

I did a "livechat" with metrocast and they seem to think there is no problem.

[EricP]

of course not! Does the cable to your modem run straight to it from a single splitter after it entgers the house? Multiple splitters will degrade the signal. I've seen that before. But if it was running well before then there has to be something wrong.

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by EricP

of course not! Does the cable to your modem run straight to it from a single splitter after it entgers the house? Multiple splitters will degrade the signal. I've seen that before. But if it was running well before then there has to be something wrong.

but... I tested it direct from the Metrocast modem and thru the router. Same results. I also shut down my firewall (ZoneAlarm) and tested it. Same results. No other processes running.

Total mystery, I"m sick of screwing around with it. I'll look at it again in the AM.

[EricP]

Originally Posted by SteveA

but... I tested it direct from the Metrocast modem and thru the router. Same results. I also shut down my firewall (ZoneAlarm) and tested it. Same results. No other processes running.

Total mystery, I"m sick of screwing around with it. I'll look at it again in the AM.

The cable coming in from the street should only split once before it goes to the modem to decrease potential issues. I don't expect there should be any difference plugging straight to the modem or throuigh the router, but good test to confirm the router is not the problem. You're right it can be frustrating.

[upthesaukee]

Here is my results this evening:

[DRH]

Here are the results I got at 5:10 PM today (almost the same as upthesaukee got last night):

[EricP]

These are numbers we should expect to see. I can check mine on Thursday night when I get home. Both of you are in Alton and SteveA is in Gilford so his section may have an issue. I am in Meredith so we'll see what I get Thursday. If my numbers look good then maybe SteveA should have them send a tech out to examine his situation.

[RLW]

Is anyone in the Alton area having problems logging onto the internet this evening. I have been trying for over 2 hours and am unable to make a connection. I can log onto any other part of the Metrocast connections but not internet. Any response would be greatly appreciated.

[DRH]

Originally Posted by RLW

Is anyone in the Alton area having problems logging onto the internet this evening. I have been trying for over 2 hours and am unable to make a connection. I can log onto any other part of the Metrocast connections but not internet. Any response would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not having any problem with Metrocast here in West Alton, RLW.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by DRH

I'm not having any problem with Metrocast here in West Alton, RLW.

Thanks muchly for the real quick response. I'm not sure what the heck is going on with it. I will wait a little longer and if I can't get on I will give a call in the AM.
Again thanks for the answer.
RLW

[RLW]

Respnse from my question sent this morning.

Thank you for contacting Metrocast Internet Technical Support,

I do apologize for the inconvenience. We are still working on this issue and at this present time have no estimated time of resolution. But you can access your e-mail at the following website:

http://metromail.metrocast.net

Hope this helps.


Regards,
Chris M
Internet Technical Support
support@metrocast.com
800-608-6480

If you have any comments, compliments or complaints, please email my Manager cbubacz@metrocastcablevision.com
Click here to visit our Self-Help page http://metrocast.com/support.cfm

[Merrymeeting]

RLW,

A few suggestions,

• You may want to edit your posts to remove the email addresses. While you may not be pleased with Metrocast right now, it's not fair to the employees who's emails are now posted. The slimey trolls who harvest emails from public forums will overwhelm them with spam email now.
• While I'm not retired yet, I'm getting close. Can you change your font to one that is more readable to those of us who are increasingly reading-glass-challenged ;-)

Thanks

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

RLW,

A few suggestions,

• You may want to edit your posts to remove the email addresses. While you may not be pleased with Metrocast right now, it's not fair to the employees who's emails are now posted. The slimey trolls who harvest emails from public forums will overwhelm them with spam email now.
• While I'm not retired yet, I'm getting close. Can you change your font to one that is more readable to those of us who are increasingly reading-glass-challenged ;-)

Thanks

Thank you for all your suggestion and thoughts to my posts. This old geezer with glasses will take them with a positive outlook and will try and change things. I know what you are saying regarding the e-mail address, but I felt that all that info is open to all that may make a request like I did and was not publishing anything that you or anyone else would receive. Oh, I never said that I was upset, as I am not. It was a question if others had, had a problem.

[SteveA]

Has anyone else that has Metrocast Internet tried out the new modems they are providing. Amazing Speeds.

We got a notice that with a swap out of your old modem (no charge, you just have to go to Metrocast in Belmont and pick it up)

Just hooked it up and here is the result.. and this is on my wireless here at the house.

[BroadHopper]

I called Belmont and they say the old modems are fine?????

I have had problems with Metrocast from day one. I had pixeling on digital channels and at times the TV will display no or low signal. As for internet I should be able to stream video. Some nights my blu ray will say I need more bandwidth and some nights it works perfect.

On most phone calls the help desk usually tries to solve the problem over the phone or tells you to swap the router at the Belmont location. What does the router have to do with the TV signal?

One time a technician came to the house and determine the signal was too weak. He replace the cable from the box on the house to the splitter in the house. The test was positive and there was plenty of signal. Not long after he left I started to have the same problems. After numerous phone calls trying to solve the problems on the phone, they sent another technician to the house. The technician notice a weak signal at the outside box. He says the underground cable needs to be upgraded from the box to the pole. They are not responsible for that and suggested the association replace it. Of course the association says nada.

Anyway, I will bring the router in and request a new one.

[Winnisquamguy]

My modem is 4 years old, well that's if it was brand new when I started service and this was my speed. Anyone have any ideas? Should I get a new modem?

[Slickcraft]

Link to the tiered structure:
http://www.metrocast.com/internet_packages.cfm

[SteveA]

Slickcraft is right. It is linked to the Ultra package.


Here is the notice I received in the mail.
All I had to do was bring my old Metrocast modem to the office and they handed me the new one. They would come to the house and do it for you, but it's really just unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one.
I did have to get on the phone with their tech support for them to push some buttons on there end to finalize the install.

I have to tell you it's like lightning on the download side.

IMG.pdf

[Slickcraft]

Metrocast says that it is

great for frequent gaming and video streaming

[bclaker]

I have High Speed Internet which is supposed to have 15 mbps downloads and 1 mbps uploads. I ran the test and got results of 5.78 mbps and 1.47 mbps. I called Metrocast Support and he had me disconnect the power to the modem and replug it. Not much change. He would have had me run the modem directly to the computer rather than through router, I have a real rat's nest behind the monitor, so I'll try that tomorrow. I have a tentative appointment for a technician to come Tuesday to check out the modem. Now I'm wondering if maybe I could just exchange the modem.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by bclaker

I have High Speed Internet which is supposed to have 15 mbps downloads and 1 mbps uploads. I ran the test and got results of 5.78 mbps and 1.47 mbps. I called Metrocast Support and he had me disconnect the power to the modem and replug it. Not much change. He would have had me run the modem directly to the computer rather than through router, I have a real rat's nest behind the monitor, so I'll try that tomorrow. I have a tentative appointment for a technician to come Tuesday to check out the modem. Now I'm wondering if maybe I could just exchange the modem.

I have the "high speed internet" plan on Mertocast and my speed test result on Speedtest.net was 16.6/1.5 and on speakeasy.net was 14.33/1.48.
While results will vary with overall internet loading and your location, your 5.78 download speed should be much better if you have the same plan.

Note that Metrocast also has a "high speed basic" plan that is rated at 4/.256 vs the "high speed internet" plan rated at 15/1. Now that is a real play on words.

[upthesaukee]

When we decided to get somewhere near this century as far as tv's were concerned, and got a flat screen HD tv, Metrocast came out to hook up the digital box. He put a meter on,and discovered the signal was way too low to get a good picture. We were last call on a Fri, and I am sure he was not a happy camper.

He investigated, and found that at the Metrocast modem that was installed by them when we went to the VIP package a few years ago, there were not one, but two splitters attached to the cables that came to the back of modem. He disconnected both as they were not splitting off anything, and connected the cable directly to the modem. He said each splitter has a negative effect on quality due to impedence, I guess.

We went into the crawl space, and found the splitter that takes the outside signal, and splits off to our two tv's. He was going to check the signal there, but had to get the meter. As he was coming back, I pointed out the "outside cable box" where the wire came to the house from the pole. On a hunch, he opened it and found yes another spiltter being used to connect two cables, rather than a union,or what ever it is called in electronics to connect two together. He removed it, and replaced with a union.

Back inside, and the signal had come up dramatically...He finished the hookup and got us up and running. He did say our internet speed should improve as well. I had run speed test a few days before because the other half was complaining, and after he left, we had gained over 1 MB speed.

Bottom line, you may have a tech who will correct the ills of other not so conscientious techs.

Good luck.

[Merrymeeting]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

The technician notice a weak signal at the outside box. He says the underground cable needs to be upgraded from the box to the pole. They are not responsible for that and suggested the association replace it. Of course the association says nada.

Anyway, I will bring the router in and request a new one.

While it won't hurt to try another modem/router, I doubt that is your problem. The last technician most likely called it. I had the same issue at my last house. Once we replaced the underground cable, the signal problems went away. Luckily our underground lines were in conduit and it was relatively easy to pull a new line through.

How old are the lines in your association? If 20 years or so, they are most likely RG59 or similar, which was the standard at the time. Most modern systems now need RG6 or better to function well.

Also, on the comments about splitters, yes, every split degrades the signal. If you split too many times, you can degrade the signal enough that you need an amplifier. But all this requires testing tools that are beyond the cost reach of most consumers.

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

While it won't hurt to try another modem/router, I doubt that is your problem. The last technician most likely called it. I had the same issue at my last house. Once we replaced the underground cable, the signal problems went away. Luckily our underground lines were in conduit and it was relatively easy to pull a new line through.

How old are the lines in your association? If 20 years or so, they are most likely RG59 or similar, which was the standard at the time. Most modern systems now need RG6 or better to function well.

Also, on the comments about splitters, yes, every split degrades the signal. If you split too many times, you can degrade the signal enough that you need an amplifier. But all this requires testing tools that are beyond the cost reach of most consumers.

The association and unit was built in the late 70's. Most of the units have disc because of the quality. We are waiting for Fairpoint fibre optics to come up here. I was told there was an agreement with PUC that there will be. I was also told otherwise. I don't have disc because of location. You would think Metrocast can make money by replacing the cables?

The units were originally wired with cable in the BRs, LRs, and kitchen. Because of the analog cable and the serial wiring, the technician disconnected the original cable and ran a digital cable from the outside box to the garage. In the garage he put a 'union' and told me to have an electrican route all the outlets in the house to the union. Big bucks!

I took a look at what I got. The cable ran from the union to the LR where there is a splitter into two cables, one for the TV and one for the router. Shouldn't there be two cables from the union to avoid the splitter?

I notice there are two outside boxes where the cable come out of the ground. One for each unit. I notice there is a splitter between the ground wire and the two boxes. I don't know the difference between a splitter and a union other than the union in the garage allow up to six cables to be attached. Can I get away from all the splitters?

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

.
Bottom line, you may have a tech who will correct the ills of other not so conscientious techs. Good luck.

With all of the complaints I might have with Metrocast, one of them is NOT the tech guys. Almost every time I have called Internet Tech support they have been VERY good. They have put up with a lot of very stupid questions from me over the years and got my problems fixed. I always call the front desk and compliment them after they fix my problem.

[Slickcraft]

The splitters are passive devices with the common 2 way split sending ideally 50% power down each of the two branches. As they are not ideal and have some internal loss you get about 40% power down each branch.

Having three two way splitters between the entry and the tv brings the signal power down to about 0.4 X 0.4 x 0.4 = .064 or only 6.4% of the original power.

Four way and higher order splitters again just divide the available signal power in addition to suffering some internal loss (AKA insertion loss). Any unused port on a splitter should be terminated with a 75 ohm resistor otherwise some of the inbound power will be reflected back.

Our VIP installer checked the power level at all points of use in the house and made sure that any unused taps were properly terminated. I don't recall if he just did that or if I had to ask.

[Merrymeeting]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

The units were originally wired with cable in the BRs, LRs, and kitchen. Because of the analog cable and the serial wiring, the technician disconnected the original cable and ran a digital cable from the outside box to the garage. In the garage he put a 'union' and told me to have an electrican route all the outlets in the house to the union. Big bucks!

As I suspected, it sounds like you have all old wiring. There really is no such thing as analog and digital cable. The difference is in the type of signal sent over the cable. Without getting too technical, what is really the issue is the quality of the cable to carry a reliable signal, and more specifically, it's shielding (the ability to exclude interference from other sources). You are most likely picking up noise on your old wiring (TV signals, radio, wireless, electric, etc) that is interfering with your signal.

New wiring would have better shielding, hence the recommendation that you upgrade all your internal wiring. (As you note, for an existing house, usually big bucks)

You also need to consider the weakest link problem. Namely, if you upgrade all your internal wiring, but the wire from outside is still bad, your signal will still be bad. Conversely, if you upgrade underground but don't do the internal, you may still have a problem. Though the closer you can get the good signal to the end, the better your chances of overcoming signal problems.

Hard to tell without seeing things, but it sounds as if what you are describing as a "union" is just a big, more specialized splitter. It may have some amplification capabilities from the small amount of power on the cable. But unless it has a plug and it's own power source, it's probably not an amp.

Sounds like he upgraded your line from where it comes out of the ground into your garage, and set things up so IF you rewired the house, you could run all the lines back to this 6-output splitter in the garage.

Still leaves you with the problem of the bad line from the pole to your garage.

I took a look at what I got. The cable ran from the union to the LR where there is a splitter into two cables, one for the TV and one for the router. Shouldn't there be two cables from the union to avoid the splitter?

I notice there are two outside boxes where the cable come out of the ground. One for each unit. I notice there is a splitter between the ground wire and the two boxes. I don't know the difference between a splitter and a union other than the union in the garage allow up to six cables to be attached. Can I get away from all the splitters?

I'm also assuming that what you are calling a router is actually your cable modem. I.e. the device where the cable attaches on the back, and coming out from it is your network/computer cable.

Whether he split the cable in the LR or in the garage really doesn't matter. Assuming both your TV and computer needs are in the LR, it was easier to split the signal there to save running two lines the whole way. In the end, he needed to get a signal to your TV and to your cable modem, which I assume is also located in your LR.

Getting a bit deep for this forum at this point, and probably more than you or everyone else wanted to know. If you want to learn more, I suggest trying one of many audio/video/cable forums out there, perhaps starting with the Metrocast one.

[bclaker]

Originally Posted by bclaker

I have High Speed Internet which is supposed to have 15 mbps downloads and 1 mbps uploads. I ran the test and got results of 5.78 mbps and 1.47 mbps. I called Metrocast Support and he had me disconnect the power to the modem and replug it. Not much change. He would have had me run the modem directly to the computer rather than through router, I have a real rat's nest behind the monitor, so I'll try that tomorrow. I have a tentative appointment for a technician to come Tuesday to check out the modem. Now I'm wondering if maybe I could just exchange the modem.

Is there any reason why the change to all digital at the beginning of this year would have an effect ? That's when it became a real problem.

[Rusty]

Something to think about:


Half-a-billion internet-connected devices and counting.

The average US household now has 5.7 internet-connected devices, and more and more of these are smartphones and tablets. Will there be enough internet to go-around?

http://www.zdnet.com/half-a-billion-...ng-7000012958/

[bclaker]

The MetroCast technician came today and checked the box across the street, the box at our house, the output of the modem and the wired output from the router. Got no changes in the download speed. It stayed at about 5.8 mbps per the webmasters speedtest.net. Then he downloaded the test from speedtest.net as follows and got 16.25 mbps. He couldn't explain the difference. He did download Foxfire for me which seems to be a lot faster than Internet Explorer.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/2634712488.png