Forums > Specific Focus > Technical Mexico

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margojean

Jan 7, 2007, 9:42 AM

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prodigy

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Our internet connection has slowed down drastically in the last couple of days. Is it us, or is prodigy having a slowdown?
margojean

bbeitz

Jan 7, 2007, 10:08 AM

Post #2 of 28 (5865 views)

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Re: [margojean] prodigy

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Mine is 1736/209. It was about the same yesterday.

bbeitz
It is better to be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt.

bournemouth

Jan 7, 2007, 10:44 AM

Post #3 of 28 (5857 views)

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Re: [bbeitz] prodigy

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Bob - you must be paying for more than the standard connection, right?

johanson / Moderator

Jan 7, 2007, 12:01 PM

Post #4 of 28 (5850 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] prodigy

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bournemouth: He has the 2 meg service see below
Shown below is an excerpt from: http://www.telmex.com/...InfinitumInicio.html
Velocidad:: Hasta 1024 kbps ::Hasta 2048 kbps ::Hasta 4096 kbps Renta
mensual________ $401.35 _________$688.85 _____$5,288.85
----------Incluye $52.35 IVA Incluye $89.85IVA ______$689.85 de IVA

Just to add a little, the Hasta or "UP TO" download 1024 Kb/sec connection has an "UP TO" upload speed of 128 kb/sec
and the Hasta 2048 kbps connection has a upload speed of up to 256 kb/sec

Here in Seattle I have an up to 6144 kbps down by up to 384 kb/sec down connection for $36.84 US or $398 pesos per month with Comcast. And yes, occasionally when doing speed tests I get even faster download speeds. I did it just now on www.dslreports.com and got Speed Test Result
dslreports.com speed test 2007-01-07 14:40:46 EST:
4078 / 352 (Kbps)
(497.8 / 43 KB/sec)
Compared to the average of 3911 tests from comcast.net:
* download is 42% worse, upload is 15% worse

There are other times just like in Mexico when I can't even get to the webpage to sign in or when I do I get upload speeds slower than I do with dialup. Yes the rates are cheaper here for higher speeds, but just like Mexico, there are many many times when I get much slower speeds than advertised. Well not really, they do say Hasta or "up to".

I just did the test again on my 6 meg connection and only got

dslreports.com speed test 2007-01-07 14:46:52 EST:
1762 / 350 (Kbps)
(215.1 / 42.7 KB/sec)
Compared to the average of 3907 tests from comcast.net:
* download is 75% worse, upload is 15% worse

MY POINT? I seldom get even close to the "up to" speed

(This post was edited by johanson on Jan 7, 2007, 12:02 PM)

Ron Pickering W3FJW

Jan 7, 2007, 1:06 PM

Post #5 of 28 (5843 views)

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Re: [johanson] prodigy

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Your Download & Upload speeds will vary from whats advertised because it's a WAN, wide area network, and it depends upon how many users are on the particular network at the same time. More users = lower speeds & vice versa. Comcast limits the # of users on a network so that at lo useage times you'll have about what's advertised.
In Mexico they probably have a higher % of users on each WAN which of course, lowers every ones speeds.
Run some speed tests around midnight & you'll find the speeds will be higher vs 4, 5, or 6pm when useage is higher & speed lower.

Ron
Getting older and still not down here.

johanson / Moderator

Jan 7, 2007, 8:48 PM

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Re: [Ron Pickering W3FJW] prodigy

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I'm in Seattle for a few more days and reported earlier that my speeds were all over the place on my 6 meg over 384 kbps connection, sometimes 1/3 of that. I figured that this was normal as I am used to Mexico. Oh by the way that 6 meg connection, the slowest available in my building costs me $33.95 US per month plus 8.5% tax or about $398 pesos per month or just a little less than one would pay Carlos Slim for their 1 meg over 128 kbps connection.

You may remember my earlier post about bad speeds. I am in SHOCK. When I phoned Comcast, the tape recorded message stated that the wait would be in more than 30 minutes, but they gave me the option to not loose my place and to receive a call back, when it was my turn, More than an hour later I got a callback. And while we were speaking apparently they tried to communicate with my cable modem and discovered that the upload speed was way too slow and the dB or signal level sucked as well. LISTEN TO THIS. I said I was going back to Mexico in 10 days and hoped that someone could come soon. They said how about tomorrow between noon and 2 PM . I was in shock and said sure, Then they pointed out that if the techy was late that my bill would be credited by $20. REALLY they pay me if they are late. I would make a fortune in Ajijic. Well anyway I did find a loose connection, tightened same and redid my tests. Shown below are my results

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
Seattle to Dallas server average of three times download 6195 kbps upload 352 kbps
Seattle to Seattle server average of three times download 7082 kbps upload 353 kbps

OOPS I spoke too soon. I did some more tests and the speed were again 1/3rd of the above. Oh well the tech will be here tomorrow.
Now they don't work. Oh well, I have a dialup account. I will post this that way

(This post was edited by johanson on Jan 7, 2007, 11:09 PM)

Ron Pickering W3FJW

Jan 7, 2007, 9:06 PM

Post #7 of 28 (5808 views)

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Re: [johanson] prodigy

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Well, good luck Pete. Comcast is trying it seems. They sure didn't pay me $20 to wait. BTW, are your up and downloads reversed in your post?? Seems it should be the other way around...
Getting older and still not down here.

johanson / Moderator

Jan 7, 2007, 11:13 PM

Post #8 of 28 (5802 views)

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Re: [Ron Pickering W3FJW] prodigy

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You are so right. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I should pay more attention. I went back in and changed my entry so no one will know I made the error. Smile

Pete
KD7ION

rodc

Jan 8, 2007, 5:22 AM

Post #9 of 28 (5793 views)

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Re: [johanson] prodigy

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Prodigy only guarantees their minimum connection speed on their contracts this in a sense is good for the ISP because it does not have to fend off customer complaints on throughput etc.

Prodigy's 1 meg is from 64k up to 1 meg

their 2 meg they offer from 256k up to 2 meg

on their 4 meg they do offer from 2048 up to 4 meg but the cost on that is almost $500.00 dollars a month.

The other thing many of you must note that most people don't take in to consideration is that many ISP's use burst technology, so when you do a short download such as a speed test your test results will be high but only for a couple of minutes, on a lengthy download you will see the speed crank up and then slowly die down thus many folks ask why ISP's offer such fast connections like all things these are tricks of the trade making you think you have higher speed than you actually do.

so as long as you are getting the 64 k 256 k or 2048 respectively you are getting what you are paying for anything above that is Icing on the cake.

http://www.telmex.com/mx/hogar/ai_pdgyInfinitumTerminosycondic.html

More important to overall speed is Latency that is how many hops or servers the ISP goes trough to get to a fixed destination if you have ever heard for example the expression its only 2 hops to Texas for example it means there are only 2 routers say from Mexico to Texas. So even if you had a slower speed connection
the turnaround time is much faster than say if your server had 18 hops to Texas even if you have a fast connection.

Most ISP's offer at least 80 % of their advertised download speed , at Lagunanet we are currently in the process of upgrading to offer 1 meg and 2 meg connections difference being ours is synchronous versus Asynchronous so your upload speed should be close or equal to your download.

johanson / Moderator

Jan 8, 2007, 7:52 PM

Post #10 of 28 (5751 views)

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Re: [rodc] prodigy

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Boy, Comcast is sure different than Prodigy. I posted yesterday that my Comcast Internet was acting up and that when I phoned yesterday, Sunday, to asked for help, the support person at the other end of the line said that the repair person would be there the next day, Monday, between 12 noon and 2 PM, and that if he came late that my account would receive a $20 credit. Well after living in Mexico so long, I knew that this technician here in Seattle would not show up on time and that I would be getting this $20 credit. Well I was right, he didn't show up between Noon and 2 PM, but they are not going to pay me. Why? Because he came early. He even called me to see if I would be there, if he came early. And while he was there, his dispatcher called him on one of those Nextel two way radio and cell phone combos and I heard them talking about how he would get to the other folks needing help on time this afternoon. He worked for 45 minutes replacing connectors, did so more tests and got me up and running. Guess what my speeds are now on my cable connection that is rated at 6144 kbps down by 384 kbps up. Even faster. Remember Rod mention burst technology in the above post. Using the http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ URL and choosing San Francisco, for example, I ran three speed tests that all came up about the same but averaged 13,261 kbps down by 353 kbps up. unbelievable and all for a cost of $33.99 per month + 8.8% sales tax or about $399 pesos per month or just less than what Prodigy offers for their up to and I mean up 1024 over 128 kbps connection. Now guess what? (you already know, you just read it above) Lagunanet a local ISP along the shores of Lake Chapala, is in the, process of doubling their broadband connection speeds. And remember that Lagunanet offers synchronous versus Asynchronous speeds. That means that their upload speeds are the same as their download speeds. That means that Lagunanet's 1 meg connection will not be giving you 128 kbps up like the competition but 1024 kbps up which is 8 times as fast, yes that means their upload speeds will be 8 times as fast as Prodigy's 1 meg connection. The same thing goes for their 2 meg connections. I sure would rather be using an ISP with an upload speed of 1 meg than one rated at not less than 64 nor more than 128 kbps when making a VoIP (you know Vonage, etc) phone call to the states or Canada. And by the way, my VoIP phone works just fine with my wireless connection. Well let's be honest, there have been occasions specially during periods of high internet use near Christmas, when there were communications problems. But the frequency of same should be greatly reduced after this latest upgrade

bbeitz

Jan 8, 2007, 9:54 PM

Post #11 of 28 (5744 views)

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Re: [johanson] prodigy

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I consistently get 1700+/ 200+ with my 2 meg prodigy. Why don't you taut what you do and not what they don't do because I haven't experienced the lowest figures you quote in the 2.5 years I have subscribed to Prodigy.

If you can't compete without knocking your competition then you can't compete.

bbeitz
It is better to be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt.

johanson / Moderator

Jan 8, 2007, 11:33 PM

Post #12 of 28 (5739 views)

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Re: [bbeitz] prodigy

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What on earth are you talking about, BBleitz? I thought you would have done your homework before making such a negative and false attack. I am back in the US where I live part time, and I am very excited about my Comcast connection. A 13 meg download speed is super fast. I also posted that Lagunanet will be increasing their upload speeds to 8 times what Prodigy advertises and that excites the heck out of me and you write

" I consistently get 1700+/ 200+ with my 2 meg prodigy. Why don't you taut what you do and not what they don't do because I haven't experienced the lowest figures you quote in the 2.5 years I have subscribed to Prodigy.

If you can't compete without knocking your competition then you can't compete. "

First I do not consistently get 1700 over 200 with my 2 meg connection. Mine bounces all over the place. In fact I had to upgrade my Prodigy 1 meg connection from 1 meg to 2 meg just to get a fast enough upload speed to make my VoIP phone to work. You are the only person I know who states that he consistently gets the same speed from either Lagunanet or Prodigy. If you don't believe me check with the folks at the local computer club at the LCS

Second I am very excited about the speed I get from Comcast. So I wrote about the great speeds, and thirdly I am also excited that when I get back to Ajijic that my Lagunanet speeds will be doubled, thereby increasing their download speeds to be the same as Prodigy's and that their advertised upload speeds to 8 times as fast as Prodigy's advertised upload speeds. And you attack me for writing about this

I am guessing here, but when you wrote, "If you can't compete without knocking your competition then you can't compete." I bet that you think I am a part owner of Lagunanet. I have heard other folks spread this rather stupid rumor about me. No I do not have any financial interest in any ISP, be it Lagunanet, Prodigy, or Comcast. I take that back, I own stock in Microsoft. Yes the Lagunanet owners are my good friends and yes I average 2 to 3 days per week going to Lagunanet giving free tech support for 2 to 3 hours per day when I am there. Why do I do so? Because I had to do something with my free time and it's fun. And yes they give me free internet. Heck I even help by answering 2 to 4 Lagunanet support emails per week. But NO, I do not own or have any ownership in any Mexican ISP or business. I also volunteered to help the folks at Prodigy. They told me that their help desk is in Mexico City, so that was a none issue

I also write a weekly article for the Guadalajara Reporter. No, I do not have any ownership interests therein nor do I receive a salary. I write for the paper because I enjoy doing it. I help out at Lagunanet, because I enjoy doing it. Maybe you could explain to me and the others who post here what you mean by the following post. "If you can't compete without knocking your competition then you can't compete."

(This post was edited by johanson on Jan 8, 2007, 11:46 PM)

margojean

Jan 14, 2007, 6:34 AM

Post #13 of 28 (5683 views)

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Re: [margojean] prodigy

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Well, I started the usual froofra, but no one has answered my question. However, I gather from the responses that Prodigy is behaving normally. My internet connection is not. It is painfully slow - at least 10 times longer to open some things, and others, like my online financial accounts, I cannot access at all. The speed is always reported as 100.0 Mbps, no matter what the performance.

Do I go to Prodigy for help - ie the Telmex office - or do I call a computer expert for a house call? If the problem is related to the fact that we recently moved the wires around on our roof, do I call someone else? and the next question is, who do you recommend for either of these forms of assistance?
margojean

Rolly

Jan 14, 2007, 8:22 AM

Post #14 of 28 (5674 views)

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Re: [margojean] prodigy

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i guess we do not need to tell you that something is wrong. All you can do on your own is to check your connections, perhaps plug your modem into anther telephone outlet, perhaps exchange the noice filter, perhaps check the cable ends as they plug into the RJ45 jacks. Or if you are connecting wirelessly to your modem/wireless router, try connecting using a cable instead. Should all of that fail, I guess it's time to talk to techy.

Good luck.

PS. I just configured a new wireless linskys router allowing me to take my laptop to another room and into the sunny area of the house. I am now sitting in the sun. The trouble is I have to have a double glazed window unit between me and the outside because it is below freezing here in Seattle. Oh well, I will be back in Ajijic midweek

RickS

Jan 15, 2007, 3:40 PM

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Re: [johanson] prodigy

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..." it's below freezing here in Seattle."

Quitcha whining, Pete. Here at my home in Colorado (and not up in the mountains either!) we have not seen 10 degrees (until today) for over a week. Nights are below zero and last night it was -11. They say we will break 32 Wednesday. Whopee!

We BOTH should be in Ajijic!

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