Connect problems

[Adam_Knott]

Hi All,

Some great threads on here, so I thought I would signup and try to share my experiences - and hopefulyl get some advice.

I joined just over a month ago - and have had nothing but problems during the evenings while tyring to play online games. I started with e-mail support and got the response that my high ping was

"Your High Ping/Latency is due to the method that Sky provides your broadband. We use an interleaving service which, even though it provides high speeds on a stable connection, can cause you latency to increase. Other ISPs often provide what is called a fast path service. This fast path service will lower your ping/latency, at the cost of your speed and stability. Sky does not implement fast path, and it is policy that all customers must be set to Interleave. At this time, there is nothing that we can do to lower your latency, and there are no current plans to introduce Fast path onto the Sky service in the near or distant future. "


So I asked for my MAC code over the phone. After two weeks and no code, I ring sky and get told maybe I should try th phone support since its a better service? Ok I think, but I still want my MAC (they claim its on its way)

I get a nice chap ring me today and he says it looks like some physical setup issues - so I am happy for him to get BT to look into this, however, doing speedtests, my connection is awfoul during the evening!

Today 19:02 821 kbps (103kB/s) 157 kbps (19.6kB/s) Share
Today 18:26 1852 kbps (232kB/s) 174 kbps (21.8kB/s) Share
Today 13:14 2571 kbps (321kB/s) 186 kbps (23.3kB/s) Share
Today 12:30 2812 kbps (352kB/s) 212 kbps (26.5kB/s) Share
Today 09:47 3904 kbps (488kB/s) 124 kbps (15.5kB/s) Share
Yesterday 10:40 3895 kbps (487kB/s) 214 kbps (26.8kB/s) Share
Tuesday 21:44 1401 kbps (175kB/s) 187 kbps (23.4kB/s) Share
Tuesday 21:27 1280 kbps (160kB/s) 183 kbps (22.9kB/s) Share
Tuesday 20:38 1081 kbps (135kB/s) 186 kbps (23.3kB/s) Share
Tuesday 18:19 3787 kbps (473kB/s) 188 kbps (23.5kB/s) Share
May 11, 23:26 3886 kbps (486kB/s) 177 kbps (22.1kB/s) Share
May 11, 23:05 3889 kbps (486kB/s) 218 kbps (27.3kB/s) Share
May 11, 23:00 3061 kbps (383kB/s) 161 kbps (20.1kB/s) Share
May 11, 22:42 2164 kbps (271kB/s) 212 kbps (26.5kB/s) Share
May 11, 20:40 1069 kbps (134kB/s) 214 kbps (26.8kB/s) Share
May 11, 20:18 1057 kbps (132kB/s) 214 kbps (26.8kB/s) Share


So what is it? traffic shaping or maybe there is a setup issue. I am hardwired with all the equipment sky provided me with, I changed the filter and network cable just in case. I am now plugged straight into the engineers test socket on my master socket also.

Here are some router stats...

ADSL Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 3744 kbps 224 kbps
Line Attenuation 40 db 24 db
Noise Margin 9 db 6 db


Any help will be appreciated!

Adam

[IWasNotTheEnemy]

Sky traffic shape between 5PM-midnight 7 days a week, so this will lower your speeds/raise latency but they also enfore the FUP a lot more than they used to...it is, however, having issues and some people are getting hit for not doing a lot (awaits Steve's inevitable links to his blog/Connect thread)...

There's not a lot Sky can do other than buy more capacity from BT - which costs an absolute fortune and is something that's not going to happen for a while yet...

[steve16751]

Adam_Knott
Hi Adam sadly IANTE is right have a look at (Unofficial) FAQ - Sky Connect Users and thank you IANTE dont really need to anything you covered it

(awaits Steve's inevitable links to his blog/Connect thread)

The other thing Connect is no good for gamers

[Smithy99]

If you want to game then your first responce was correct, get a MAC and go, Connect is not good enough for gamers.

Try, Plusnet, Zen, IdNet to name a few.

[Adam_Knott]

This is what I feared - so now I am 1 month into a contract, cancelling is going to be expensive!

[steve16751]

Adam_Knott
Hi Adam when did you first complain was it before the 30 days have a look at this plus there is plenty of advice on connect plus terms and conditions I know it is a bit of a read Sky.com - Sky Products>Broadband>Terms and Conditions

How we can change Sky Broadband
(a) Sky Broadband is variable. We can change, replace or withdraw Products at any time. For example, we can vary the maximum speeds or capacity of your chosen Product.
(b) We will give you at least one month's notice if we make any change to Sky Broadband which affects your Sky Broadband Payment or which is likely to materially disadvantage you, or if we withdraw your chosen Product.
(c) If we reduce the level of service provided by your chosen Product and you reasonably consider that you have been materially disadvantaged by this you may move to another Product accessible by you within one month of receiving our notification, or end this Contract under Condition 11 (c), even if you are within your Minimum Term.
(d) If we withdraw your chosen Product, we will move you onto the nearest equivalent Product accessible by you unless you notify us that you wish to move to another available Product within one month of receiving our notification. If this happens during your Minimum Term, your Sky Broadband Payment will not increase before the end of your Minimum Term (other than where Conditions 6(b) and 6(c) apply).
(e) If after your Sky Broadband is activated, you are receiving a line speed which is significantly below the speed estimate we gave you when you placed your order and we are unable to resolve any technical issues you may be having on your line you may select an alternative lower speed Product (if one is available to you). If you do this, we may charge you the difference between what you paid to activate your current Product and the amount you would have paid to activate the lower speed Product if you had signed up to it in the first place.

Did the Sky agent tell you about the traffic shaping on connect just a thought I hope you get sorted

[Gazz380]

Quick note that under skys T&C you can break your contract with no cost if you provide that you have tried to resolve the issue (all be it knowing its impossible) (Unofficial) FAQ - Sky Connect Users