Would other people on classic EXEDE plan and in Beam 329 mind sharing some download/upload speeds they are getting during primetime and LNFZ? (for comparison's sake, I am using speedtest.net)
I am asking this because I have an Exede Classic 12 plan in this beam--with an allowance of 10gb/month....and my speeds from about 5p-2or3am are getting slower and slower....no where near the Exede promised speeds of avg. 10-12 download for example? (I never go over my allowance so that isn't the problem).
I am puzzled because some other people who live in the same beam area I do are saying they are getting 10-12 download speeds consistently and I would love to see some actual speedtest numbers from other customers who live in the area I do (for the time period I specified which is known to be a "more congested" time).
I haven't found any reason to think that my problem is equipment related, and my daytime speeds are considerably better, at least some of the time, although I don't know that they "average" the promised 10-12 Mbps download speed....
So, I did think it might help those of use in this beam to know if there are other people like me, maybe a lot of people, having such slow speeds?
Here is a list of the speedtest measurements I got for Dec 2015:
RECENT DOWNLOAD SPEEDS EXEDE CLASSIC
(without having gone anywhere near
over allowance)
12/30/15—6:40p—2.88/0.54
12/30/15 6:14p 2.9/1.23
12/29/15 8:02p 3.4/0.78
12/28/15 6:32p 1.5/0.82
12/26/15 10:09p 5.34/0.63
12/26/15 9:41p 2.43/0.46
12/16/15 7:50p 2.68/0.22
12/11/15 6:20p 8.43/0.52
12/10/15 1:18a 3.09/1.05
Thank you so much to anyone willing to help.
I am asking this because I have an Exede Classic 12 plan in this beam--with an allowance of 10gb/month....and my speeds from about 5p-2or3am are getting slower and slower....no where near the Exede promised speeds of avg. 10-12 download for example? (I never go over my allowance so that isn't the problem).
I am puzzled because some other people who live in the same beam area I do are saying they are getting 10-12 download speeds consistently and I would love to see some actual speedtest numbers from other customers who live in the area I do (for the time period I specified which is known to be a "more congested" time).
I haven't found any reason to think that my problem is equipment related, and my daytime speeds are considerably better, at least some of the time, although I don't know that they "average" the promised 10-12 Mbps download speed....
So, I did think it might help those of use in this beam to know if there are other people like me, maybe a lot of people, having such slow speeds?
Here is a list of the speedtest measurements I got for Dec 2015:
RECENT DOWNLOAD SPEEDS EXEDE CLASSIC
(without having gone anywhere near
over allowance)
12/30/15—6:40p—2.88/0.54
12/30/15 6:14p 2.9/1.23
12/29/15 8:02p 3.4/0.78
12/28/15 6:32p 1.5/0.82
12/26/15 10:09p 5.34/0.63
12/26/15 9:41p 2.43/0.46
12/16/15 7:50p 2.68/0.22
12/11/15 6:20p 8.43/0.52
12/10/15 1:18a 3.09/1.05
Thank you so much to anyone willing to help.
LorrieL, Champion
Posted 4 years ago
Spinninghorse, Champion
Spinninghorse, Champion
LorrieL, Champion
LorrieL, Champion
LorrieL, Champion
For your comparison - here are my speeds a this time:
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Fri Jan 01 2016 @ 7:31:45 pm 2.48 Mbps 310 kB/s
Fri Jan 01 2016 @ 7:02:07 pm 1.18 Mbps 148 kB/s
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Remote control apps and youtube at 360p still seems to function without too much trouble for me even at these speeds. I wonder if Exede might be throttling speedtest traffic in favor of "real" traffic during the higher congested times. It was something I wondered previously but am not sure. My downoad speeds during this time seem to be better than the speedtest speeds I am seeing, so I am not sure we can nescessarily fully trust the speed test results either. Of course I am on Liberty, but wanted to give the stats for you to compare to if you so desired.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fri Jan 01 2016 @ 7:31:45 pm 2.48 Mbps 310 kB/s
Fri Jan 01 2016 @ 7:02:07 pm 1.18 Mbps 148 kB/s
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote control apps and youtube at 360p still seems to function without too much trouble for me even at these speeds. I wonder if Exede might be throttling speedtest traffic in favor of "real" traffic during the higher congested times. It was something I wondered previously but am not sure. My downoad speeds during this time seem to be better than the speedtest speeds I am seeing, so I am not sure we can nescessarily fully trust the speed test results either. Of course I am on Liberty, but wanted to give the stats for you to compare to if you so desired.
LorrieL, Champion
subjectively speaking, the tests look accurate to me...when I got the sudden surge in speeds last night, my pages felt like they were loading "like lightening" for the first time in a long time...and I thought that before I tested and saw the high speeds.
to give you another example of how I have noticed the ongoing slowdown....I used to use up 70-80% of my 10gb every month....
this past billing period (up to 12/16), I used i think it was less than 40% (!!), with as far as I could tell the same amounts of time online....meaning the much lower speeds result in lower usage of bandwidth....one of those blessings in disguise I think! Time for big netflix bashes....
I really wasn't checking my speeds for months...so when I started checking after I got the Liberty offer in the mail, I could see a BIG drop in speeds from when I last checked in June 2015---one thing I am wondering is when exactly the addition of Liberty Pass programming to our beam started exactly, and whether this could be the cause of or partly a cause of the big downturn in my evening speeds between 5p and 12 mn---back in June and before, I didn't see that kind of slowdown until the LNFZ started....but I don't know technically anything much to know if Liberty Pass initiation could cause this kind of problems with other types of accounts.
Not that any of this MATTERS in the long run...but I am a "why is the sky blue" kind of person....all this stuff interests me.
to give you another example of how I have noticed the ongoing slowdown....I used to use up 70-80% of my 10gb every month....
this past billing period (up to 12/16), I used i think it was less than 40% (!!), with as far as I could tell the same amounts of time online....meaning the much lower speeds result in lower usage of bandwidth....one of those blessings in disguise I think! Time for big netflix bashes....
I really wasn't checking my speeds for months...so when I started checking after I got the Liberty offer in the mail, I could see a BIG drop in speeds from when I last checked in June 2015---one thing I am wondering is when exactly the addition of Liberty Pass programming to our beam started exactly, and whether this could be the cause of or partly a cause of the big downturn in my evening speeds between 5p and 12 mn---back in June and before, I didn't see that kind of slowdown until the LNFZ started....but I don't know technically anything much to know if Liberty Pass initiation could cause this kind of problems with other types of accounts.
Not that any of this MATTERS in the long run...but I am a "why is the sky blue" kind of person....all this stuff interests me.
I also wonder about the effect the Liberty Plan is having on heavily congested beams. It's probably a bad analogy, but imagine if a bank allowed its customers to continue to write checks under $50 once their account went to zero. I wonder about all those users that are dribbling along at 1-5 Mbps on Beam 329 under the Liberty Plan that would be off doing something else when they exhausted their data allotment.
LorrieL, Champion
Good point---and they can still do so much including streaming, even during prime time, from what Brian's experience has been telling us--even when their speeds drop below the 1-5 range....so no need to stop use during prime time when on Liberty Pass....and if they were DAP'd on classic instead of on the Pass, they sure wouldn't be streaming during prime time.
Worst speeds I've ever seen on Beam 329 Classic Plan:
(Though I am usually watching the boob tube, this time of the day)
Fri Jan 01 2016 @ 10:17:58 pm 896 Kbps
(Though I am usually watching the boob tube, this time of the day)
Fri Jan 01 2016 @ 10:17:58 pm 896 Kbps
(Edited)
LorrieL, Champion
Yikes--that IS bad!
so I just tested and got this: (beam 329 classic 12 plan)
11:35p --- 4.38/0.45
Wish I had tested right near the time you did...but the variance in exact speeds is so frequent and unpredictable...
about what I have come to expect in the eve during "prime time" in the last month, from the hours of 5p-around 4am, when I test the speeds are always between 1 and 5 download, EXCEPT for a spike in speeds last night for new yrs' eve....
during the day I get anywhere from 3-17 download speeds, but definitely better than during "prime time".
Am not complaining about my ability to do what I want, except for whatever was going on around dec 25th and 26th, when I kept losing connection and pages wouldn't load worth a darn.
But now that I think of it JEP, I DID lose a connection for about 5 minutes a while ago...maybe that was during the time frame when your measured download speed dipped that low....
At least I now know I am not the ONLY one in beam 329 experiencing low speeds during primetime. When people started saying they felt they consistently got speeds averaging 8-10, I KNEW that isn't what I have been seeing in eve/nighttime hrs...and I felt I must not be the ONLY one....but it is easy to miss/ignore as long as the speeds aren't so low as to disrupt what you are trying to do.
so I just tested and got this: (beam 329 classic 12 plan)
11:35p --- 4.38/0.45
Wish I had tested right near the time you did...but the variance in exact speeds is so frequent and unpredictable...
about what I have come to expect in the eve during "prime time" in the last month, from the hours of 5p-around 4am, when I test the speeds are always between 1 and 5 download, EXCEPT for a spike in speeds last night for new yrs' eve....
during the day I get anywhere from 3-17 download speeds, but definitely better than during "prime time".
Am not complaining about my ability to do what I want, except for whatever was going on around dec 25th and 26th, when I kept losing connection and pages wouldn't load worth a darn.
But now that I think of it JEP, I DID lose a connection for about 5 minutes a while ago...maybe that was during the time frame when your measured download speed dipped that low....
At least I now know I am not the ONLY one in beam 329 experiencing low speeds during primetime. When people started saying they felt they consistently got speeds averaging 8-10, I KNEW that isn't what I have been seeing in eve/nighttime hrs...and I felt I must not be the ONLY one....but it is easy to miss/ignore as long as the speeds aren't so low as to disrupt what you are trying to do.
LorrieL, Champion
OMG! i just checked my usage so far for this billing period--halfway through and I have only used 18%!! that is nuts compared to what I used to use by halfway through in the past (35-40% or more used by 2 weeks into my billing cycle).... I might have been online a little less in the last couple weeks, but not THAT much less.
And not only that but I could swear I watched a netflix tv series show during non Lnfz hours for the first time ever! How can this be....maybe my meter is broken....
shhhhhhhhh.,...
And not only that but I could swear I watched a netflix tv series show during non Lnfz hours for the first time ever! How can this be....maybe my meter is broken....
shhhhhhhhh.,...
Lorriel - Another factor, if you have one or more Windows computers, is the variation in Microsoft updates. For me, November was a horrendous update month. About 8GB worth of updates with me trying to finagle most of it during LNFZ. Beware the Super Tuesday each month when MS uncorks the big updates.
Spinninghorse, Champion
LorrieL, Champion
Spinninghorse and Jep, are you, as I have, noticed that your allowance is going a lot farther since the speeds have gotten lower over greater periods each day? I really noticed the difference in my last 2 billing periods--lower speeds during the 5p-12 midnight time period, not just after midnight....I wonder if this might have been the motivation for exede to start offering the liberty plan in this beam at this time?
Spinninghorse, Champion
Yes, this month my usage seems to be way down, although not too much has changed except for two holidays on a work day (I telework), I have been with Exede for nearly 3 yrs and I have seen this happen before as well as high usage months for unknown reasons.
Can't make any data comparisons as of late. November was a big MS update month for me and three house guests for a week over Christmas have made for unusually high consumption. I'll have to purchase 3GB to make it to the end of this billing cycle.
(Edited)
Spinninghorse, Champion
Lorri and Spinninghorse - Your upload speeds some quite low. When I have tested upload I am getting 1.5 to 3 even when download is low. Maybe that indicates some sort of issue as well?
LorrieL, Champion
Thanks for bringing that up, Brian, because that is something I keep wondering about--what kinds of things would cause that kind of consistently slow upload reading?
LorrieL, Champion
Pretty much typical results on Beam 329 here - speeds back up to 17 Mbps around 0800.
Overall pretty much analogous to one of the best weather forecasts I heard from Stuart Soroka in Boston many years ago - "gradually becoming darker around sunset, with an increased chance for light around sunrise".
Will be interesting to see if there's some relief over the next week or so as schools and colleges resume.
Overall pretty much analogous to one of the best weather forecasts I heard from Stuart Soroka in Boston many years ago - "gradually becoming darker around sunset, with an increased chance for light around sunrise".
Will be interesting to see if there's some relief over the next week or so as schools and colleges resume.
(Edited)
LorrieL, Champion
Love that quote!!
LorrieL, Champion
Poking along here Sunday night on Beam 329 with the Classic Plan.
Don't these people have to go to school/work tomorrow?
Sun Jan 03 2016 @ 11:33:55 pm 867 Kbps
Don't these people have to go to school/work tomorrow?
Sun Jan 03 2016 @ 11:33:55 pm 867 Kbps
LorrieL, Champion
that's a download speed?? jeez. what kind of stuff do you think people are doing that is draining the "capacity" to this point, Jep? do you have an opinion? I am wondering how much of the congestion problem has to do with numbers of customers, vs what types of internet use are more prevalent/likely to be contributing to such congestion? I always hear that streaming netflix etc is a big drain, but are there other uses I am not familiar with that are a big drain?
I think I heard something about downloads of certain types of gaming, but I have no knowledge of this kind of thing...
Meaning how much of the problem is greater numbers of customers, vs. changes in what people are doing on the internet?
I ask because the numbers of customers exede can control (by closing the beam) BUT influencing what people DO with their internet plans (and when they do it) is a lot less under a company's direct control.
I think I heard something about downloads of certain types of gaming, but I have no knowledge of this kind of thing...
Meaning how much of the problem is greater numbers of customers, vs. changes in what people are doing on the internet?
I ask because the numbers of customers exede can control (by closing the beam) BUT influencing what people DO with their internet plans (and when they do it) is a lot less under a company's direct control.
LorrieL, Champion
1:55am (classic 12)
4.22/1.12
4.22/1.12
LorrieL, Champion
and now watch it surge right back up as LNFZ ends.....
mon am 4:54 am
12.06/2.54
another question I thought of--I have exede voice in addition to having classic 12--would having "voice" have any effect on my classic 12 numbers? I am thinking not, but I don't know for sure.
mon am 4:54 am
12.06/2.54
another question I thought of--I have exede voice in addition to having classic 12--would having "voice" have any effect on my classic 12 numbers? I am thinking not, but I don't know for sure.
Lorriel - The congestion data I have on Beam 329 from a year ago shows a baseline usage of about 50%. Roughly speaking, that means if there are twice as many people using the Internet than "average" levels, the speed will be pinched off. I can see this with Bitmeter. When I'm downloading, it shows my data downloaded in 1 second increments. When I have good speeds, the 1-second bars on the graph are tall (20Mbps) and continuous in time. As the beam gets congested, the bars on the graph are shorter and start having gaps in time. When things are really bad, the bars show about one second of 2Mbps transfer with 3 to 4 seconds of dead time between those bursts. Hmmmm.... 2Mbps divided by 4 equals 0.5Mbps on the average. It would be interesting if I could measure better than 1 second resolution, but this does show what is happening.
LorrieL, Champion
oh, and I just thought about another major problem with the liberty plan, at least I think it is--
ok, I never go over my allotted 10 Gb per month---and because I am being so careful, I often don't even use up the full 10gb.
But if I switched to Liberty Pass, why I know I'd start streaming away to my heart's content--every eve and would thereby quickly use up my full 10Gb early on and then just keep on streaming for the rest of the pay period...and I'd do it during prime time since that is my usual streaming time, and even with lower speeds during the pass, seems like I could still stream....it would really NOT be convenient for me to switch over my usage from prime time/LNFZ to daytime hours.
So my overall impact on congestion would be worse on the pass plan--if that makes sense?
But Jep, did I just say in different words the exact thing you were saying (more succinctly) i your check writing analogy above?
ok, I never go over my allotted 10 Gb per month---and because I am being so careful, I often don't even use up the full 10gb.
But if I switched to Liberty Pass, why I know I'd start streaming away to my heart's content--every eve and would thereby quickly use up my full 10Gb early on and then just keep on streaming for the rest of the pay period...and I'd do it during prime time since that is my usual streaming time, and even with lower speeds during the pass, seems like I could still stream....it would really NOT be convenient for me to switch over my usage from prime time/LNFZ to daytime hours.
So my overall impact on congestion would be worse on the pass plan--if that makes sense?
But Jep, did I just say in different words the exact thing you were saying (more succinctly) i your check writing analogy above?
Lorriel - I think we are on the same page. That's why I wonder about the push from Exede to switch people over to the Liberty plans. It seems like a larger drain on the system overall. Yes, ideally people would be happier if they didn't hit the brick wall when their data was used up. But, I still have a problem with the concept that this is being done solely for the benefit of the customer.
LorrieL, Champion
I wonder if this Liberty offering is a way to phase out Classic plans, and the LNFZ with it? Classic plans aren't being offered at all in beam 329 now....and I don't see anything in writing that says that anyone who switches to a Liberty plan from a classic plan can switch BACK to the Classic plan?
But getting people permanently OFF of the LNFZ seems like it WOULD be something Exede might want at this point? Exede currently has no control over what people on Classic plans can do during any time period (except for the "unintentional" controls imposed by congestion causing slow speeds)--but Exede very definitely has control over the speeds at which Liberty customers can operate....first by lowering speeds during non prime hrs---and then by lowering them even more during Prime hrs and LNFZ.....
I actually switched from Hughesnet to Exede a year and a half ago because Hughes had gotten rid of its LNFZ plans altogether...I think that may be in the future for Exede as well. Sorry about that, because LNFZ works very well for me--I have been able to have the cheapest 10gb classic plan without feeling terribly restricted (esp since I am a night owl)...and I am not using it the way some people do with their huge and neverending downloads...I am not a gamer, so all I do on LNFZ besides web surf and email,is stream some netflix, and not all that much either.
But because of the way LNFZ has come to be used by many these days, I fear it is a dying breed.
But getting people permanently OFF of the LNFZ seems like it WOULD be something Exede might want at this point? Exede currently has no control over what people on Classic plans can do during any time period (except for the "unintentional" controls imposed by congestion causing slow speeds)--but Exede very definitely has control over the speeds at which Liberty customers can operate....first by lowering speeds during non prime hrs---and then by lowering them even more during Prime hrs and LNFZ.....
I actually switched from Hughesnet to Exede a year and a half ago because Hughes had gotten rid of its LNFZ plans altogether...I think that may be in the future for Exede as well. Sorry about that, because LNFZ works very well for me--I have been able to have the cheapest 10gb classic plan without feeling terribly restricted (esp since I am a night owl)...and I am not using it the way some people do with their huge and neverending downloads...I am not a gamer, so all I do on LNFZ besides web surf and email,is stream some netflix, and not all that much either.
But because of the way LNFZ has come to be used by many these days, I fear it is a dying breed.
LorrieL, Champion
What is REALLY weird is that my data usage this month is just NOTHING like it used to be...before I began noticing that my speeds are much lower not just during LNFZ but also between 5p and mignight....
I used to use approx 80-85 % on average of my data (or more) in a billing period.
(to the best of my recollection)
As of right now, today, I have used only 25% and have only 8 days left...this seems very strange to me....even though I know of course that slower speeds translates to using up data slower....I didn't expect it to be THIS much slower.....
And THAT may be why the Liberty plan slow speeds would be so desirable for Exede to have their customers getting? If slower speeds of more customers just adds up and up....
Without any LNFZ, Liberty customers use up their priority data that much faster....and then are on the slower speeds for the rest of the billing cycle and so can't use data as much by a long shot..
I am thinking that the key to lowering usage, more than anything else, is the loss of the LNFZ...(even taking into account the slower speeds during LNFZ due to congestion)--that LNFZ slowing isn't AS low and isn't as consistently low, and able to be made even lower by Exede if needed, as is true with the Liberty Pass.
does that make sense?
gee I really need to start my netflix party now.....so I don't waste a bunch of data this month.
I used to use approx 80-85 % on average of my data (or more) in a billing period.
(to the best of my recollection)
As of right now, today, I have used only 25% and have only 8 days left...this seems very strange to me....even though I know of course that slower speeds translates to using up data slower....I didn't expect it to be THIS much slower.....
And THAT may be why the Liberty plan slow speeds would be so desirable for Exede to have their customers getting? If slower speeds of more customers just adds up and up....
Without any LNFZ, Liberty customers use up their priority data that much faster....and then are on the slower speeds for the rest of the billing cycle and so can't use data as much by a long shot..
I am thinking that the key to lowering usage, more than anything else, is the loss of the LNFZ...(even taking into account the slower speeds during LNFZ due to congestion)--that LNFZ slowing isn't AS low and isn't as consistently low, and able to be made even lower by Exede if needed, as is true with the Liberty Pass.
does that make sense?
gee I really need to start my netflix party now.....so I don't waste a bunch of data this month.
The Liberty Plan is like the Roach Motel. You can go in, but you can't come out. That's the way it is for now, anyway. They definitely are phasing out the Classic Plan in favor of the Liberty Plan. I just can't figure out if the reason is that it is good for Exede, or good for the customer. Maybe both? But, I am a little wary since the only one that ever truly made me do something for my own good was my mom.
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
LorrieL, one of the reasons that you are noticing less data is that websites check your speed, and then adjust the resolution of the data it sends to you, thus with slower speeds, less data per page of the website. It is actually a plus for us, because we really can't detect the lower resolution on our computers, at least those of us using laptops. It would probably only be noticeable on those with the gamer video display cards and larger monitors.
david, Champion
I've got a 24" monitor and I haven't noticed any apparent difference when the speeds are slow.
LorrieL, Champion
Well, phasing out classic plans and bringing in Liberty Plans, with no other plans available, adds up to No plans with LNFZ......and I am tihinking this may be the crucial part of the plan, the more I think of it....no one will complain about slow speeds in the LNFZ if no one HAS a lnfz anymore....so this may be where we are headed...
I do believe that EXEDE wants what is good for the customer (for the simple reason that a happy customer is a GOOD thing for the seller), as long as it is feasible, but the LNFZ has become more and more of a problem as more and more customers are using more and more data.....when something is "unlimited", it can become a problem for whoever is supposed to be delivering what is unlimited....so the Liberty plan has the unlimited taken out of it, in a unique way, by lowering speeds first and then maintaining the option of lowering speeds even more (exactly how much left up to exede to decide)...which puts the control back in the Exede court....with the way things are now, with an overloaded beam, this is probably just NECESSARY.
I see the Liberty Pass plan as the best that Exede can come up with at this particular time....what do most customers want? Unlimited data usage.....and so Liberty Pass is one way Exede has come up with to provide that, kinda sorta (reducing speeds more during prime hours, but not so much that people can't do the most basic internet stuff that people want to do, most of the time)...while at the same time working toward reducing the massive data usage that has been increasing and increasing during LNFZ.
I don't know if what I am surmising is accurate or not, but it is my best guess at the moment.
I do believe that EXEDE wants what is good for the customer (for the simple reason that a happy customer is a GOOD thing for the seller), as long as it is feasible, but the LNFZ has become more and more of a problem as more and more customers are using more and more data.....when something is "unlimited", it can become a problem for whoever is supposed to be delivering what is unlimited....so the Liberty plan has the unlimited taken out of it, in a unique way, by lowering speeds first and then maintaining the option of lowering speeds even more (exactly how much left up to exede to decide)...which puts the control back in the Exede court....with the way things are now, with an overloaded beam, this is probably just NECESSARY.
I see the Liberty Pass plan as the best that Exede can come up with at this particular time....what do most customers want? Unlimited data usage.....and so Liberty Pass is one way Exede has come up with to provide that, kinda sorta (reducing speeds more during prime hours, but not so much that people can't do the most basic internet stuff that people want to do, most of the time)...while at the same time working toward reducing the massive data usage that has been increasing and increasing during LNFZ.
I don't know if what I am surmising is accurate or not, but it is my best guess at the moment.