Sky and Virgin

shadowcreaper · 27 Jan 2012 at 20:29

So been with Sky for a while and as of recently their broadband been getting a lot worse than normal.

Im on their "unlimited service" but doesnt feel very unlimited given they estimate my speeds to be 10Mg+ but currently around 6-7 at best.

Biggest issue isnt speed but quality of the broadband, as i keep getting disruptions during peak times which is becoming very fustrating given this the only time i can useally get online.

Playing a game online is now impossible as it disconnects nearly 100% of time, and even websites i have noticed hang on "connecting" for rather long periods compared to what normal broadband internet is deemed acceptable.

I hear a lot about how great Virgin is, but the price seems very off putting as some quote £50 per month for it....... :eek:

In reality what sort of price would i expect to pay if i was to swtich to Virgin media broadband+phone with a simular package to unlimited from sky??

KIA · 27 Jan 2012 at 21:05

Post router stats.

Tried different DNS servers?

shadowcreaper · 27 Jan 2012 at 22:41

here the latest router info. Becoming very fustrating given i cant go online at home during off peak due to work and stuff so like to make the most of it when i can and this just does my head in, given its 22:42 gmt and still rubbish when i tested on SWTOR

System Up Time 00:07:32
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 1558 1994 0 429 3647 00:06:03
LAN 10M/100M 2385 2150 0 3437 580 00:07:29
WLAN 11M/54M 269 0 0 98 0 00:07:21

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 7993 kbps 614 kbps
Line Attenuation 39.5 db 23.2 db
Noise Margin 6.7 db 13.0 db

Tealc · 27 Jan 2012 at 23:18

Must be something peculiar as sky unlimited is really quite well regarded on here. I've always recommended it, although I don't use their DNS. I also use their gaming profile which shaves 24ms off my ping. Sky could be full at your exchange I suppose.

MissChief · 28 Jan 2012 at 02:39

Have you actually checked your setup, made sure all sockets in use are filtered and replaced your filters? Might be worth doing. Once you've done that and tried the test socket, leave it in the test socket and run the gauntlet of Sky. As you've pretty much done everything they'll ask of you before phoning them and there's no improvement they should refer you to 'CST' to check for any faults on the line or in the exchange.

3dcandy · 28 Jan 2012 at 13:28

possibly is just exchange is overloaded and you have a very high utilisation in your area. just beware as if that is the case, then Virgin could be just as problematic. I have friends who are for and against both services, do you have Sky tv aswell as currently the best value is in taking a HD subscription with the unlimited broadband and then you get anytime+ as well...
Also, are you connecting via wi-fi or cabled? Our wi-fi isn't great here because of the sheer amount of wi-fi connections available, but the wired is much better...

ran_out · 28 Jan 2012 at 14:26

I do pay about £50 a month with virgin for phone line, 20MB broadband, Tivo and the TV L package. To start with I was paying about £28 for same but with less TV channels and no Tivo

Service from virgin has improved greatly in the last year for me, internet speeds are spot on and connection throttling doesn't seem to happen to me at all anymore. I can download a 10GB game from Steam for example in just over an hour so it's now faster for me to buy & download and start playing a new game online than it is for me to go down the shops and buy it retail.

KIA · 28 Jan 2012 at 16:35

shadowcreaper said:
here the latest router info. Becoming very fustrating given i cant go online at home during off peak due to work and stuff so like to make the most of it when i can and this just does my head in, given its 22:42 gmt and still rubbish when i tested on SWTOR

Are you using WiFi?

Create a broadband quality monitor. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping

shadowcreaper · 3 Feb 2012 at 11:27

it seems that SKY reduces your broadband speed as the end of month gets nearer, the ********...seems to be common as spoke to mate and his speed also gets reduced a LOT around 5-10 days before end of month.

thankfully it all ok now, but this whole joke with SKY speeds and the increase cost of them is putting me off.

Currently with my "package" it costing around £50-70 per month, depending on phone useage, but given how little i use the landline i still shocked how pricy the phone bills are..

evening calls count as after 7pm....to me evening calls are anything after 6pm, just one of the many anoying things.

Will call sky up and see if i can haggle a better deal if not might go Virgin depending on the costs.

MissChief · 3 Feb 2012 at 11:59

Unless you are on the Sky Connect service then Sky DO NOT throttle, traffic manage, traffic shape or any other method of reducing your speed. Sky broadband unlimited is exactly that, unlimited.

KIA · 3 Feb 2012 at 12:12

shadowcreaper said:
it seems that SKY reduces your broadband speed as the end of month gets nearer, the ********...seems to be common as spoke to mate and his speed also gets reduced a LOT around 5-10 days before end of month.

Is he on Sky Unlimited or Sky Connect?

Matteysan · 3 Feb 2012 at 14:10

Sounds like he's on connect to me, As MissChief says

awaybreaktoday · 3 Feb 2012 at 19:04

they have been recently doing upgrades which has been making everyones service worse...... they are losing customers

shadowcreaper said:
So been with Sky for a while and as of recently their broadband been getting a lot worse than normal.

Im on their "unlimited service" but doesnt feel very unlimited given they estimate my speeds to be 10Mg+ but currently around 6-7 at best.

Biggest issue isnt speed but quality of the broadband, as i keep getting disruptions during peak times which is becoming very fustrating given this the only time i can useally get online.

Playing a game online is now impossible as it disconnects nearly 100% of time, and even websites i have noticed hang on "connecting" for rather long periods compared to what normal broadband internet is deemed acceptable.

I hear a lot about how great Virgin is, but the price seems very off putting as some quote £50 per month for it.......

In reality what sort of price would i expect to pay if i was to swtich to Virgin media broadband+phone with a simular package to unlimited from sky??

3dcandy · 3 Feb 2012 at 20:51

and most of my mates are moving away from Virgin due to oversubscription problems...
people move all the time with broadband, most people stay 12 months and then move if they can and get a new router...I know loads who do it, regardless of the service they get.
For every good story you'll hear 2 bad about an isp. My move to Sky has halved my broadband costs and increased the speed by 50% so I'm happy. Throw in anytime+ and it's been pretty good for me...

MissChief · 4 Feb 2012 at 01:40

Been with Sky BB since 2007 or so I think. Since i moved my router off the extension and went wireless I've had 19meg+ constantly. For £7.50 it's a bargain!

Currently showing an up time of 512:30:16 or over 3 weeks.