High ping; need a new ISP

b3mor · 3 May 2010 at 18:40

It has become clear that these problems only arise because everyone is trying to use the internet at the same time, i.e. weekday evenings etc. I've been playing weekend mornings over the last few weeks and whilst not perfect it is certainly playable, although it usually starts deteriorating after midday as more people come online. Hopefully with an ISP that prioritises gaming traffic I won't have any of these problems, and can offer myself up as cannon fodder on the OcUK BFBC2 and TFU servers!

Regarding interleaving, I've checked on their website and there is mention of interleaving, and the ability to switch it off if your line stats are decent, which with any luck mine should be!

I foolishly thought I'd give Orange a chance to rectify the problem, but apparently as my speeds are acceptable (i.e. I can usually download and upload without too many problems, except a Sunday night of course when everything slows to a crawl!), there is no issue with the ping! Err, wrong!

bobpullen · 4 May 2010 at 09:22

b3mor said:
Hi,

The only thing I can think of is the difference between the Extra and Pro packages. I realise the Pro package is designed specifically with gamers in mind however per this page on your website:

http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/traffic_prioritisation.shtml

the priority level for gaming traffic is identical for the two packages? Therefore is there going to be much difference between the performance of the two packages for gaming?

The main differences between the two packages are the bandwidth allocation (20GB Vs. 60GB for Pro and Extra respectively) and the rate limiting that's in place on the Extra product (there isn't any on Pro).

Also *all* traffic on the Pro product is prioritised. This means that you're less likely to experience problems should you be playing a game that isn't recognised by our traffic management systems. On the Extra product unidentified traffic is given a lesser priority when compared to Pro.

Your website also mentions that the first 4 months is free, I assume this only applies if you take out a 12 month contract?

It's applicable for monthly contracts as well AFAIK although you'd need to pay your setup fees up front.

And lastly, I understand there is a £25 setup charge regardless of whether you opt for a 10 day rolling contract or 12 month contract, is that correct?

Yes, unless you take our Home Phone package in which case you have the option to defer the set-up fee over 12 months. If you have a router sent to you there's also a £4.99 p&p fee that needs to be paid up front, although the cost of the router can be deferred again over the course of a year.

Hope that helps!

Rgds,

b3mor · 4 May 2010 at 22:11

bobpullen said:
The main differences between the two packages are the bandwidth allocation (20GB Vs. 60GB for Pro and Extra respectively) and the rate limiting that's in place on the Extra product (there isn't any on Pro).

Also *all* traffic on the Pro product is prioritised. This means that you're less likely to experience problems should you be playing a game that isn't recognised by our traffic management systems. On the Extra product unidentified traffic is given a lesser priority when compared to Pro.

It's applicable for monthly contracts as well AFAIK although you'd need to pay your setup fees up front.

Yes, unless you take our Home Phone package in which case you have the option to defer the set-up fee over 12 months. If you have a router sent to you there's also a £4.99 p&p fee that needs to be paid up front, although the cost of the router can be deferred again over the course of a year.

Hope that helps!

Rgds,

Would I be correct in thinking that if a new game is released and the traffic isn't initially identified as gaming traffic, customers can get in touch with you and you can make the necessary changes so the traffic is identified as gaming traffic going forward?

I think for my usage (i.e. gaming and surfing, usually in the evenings), the Extra product seems the best bet. I can always upgrade to Pro should the need arise!

Many thanks for clearing up my questions about the costs.

bob055 · 4 May 2010 at 22:46

Im currenty with orange and it Sucks! slow speeds and Massive Pings during the week, get disconnected 2 or 3 times a day for 10min. There support is terrible, cant wait till the contract ends.

Going to look for an enta reseller. funny thing i work for enta now! ha

mp260767 · 5 May 2010 at 12:43

i'm currently with adsl24 (non llu) and its not a bad service, pings are decent and bc2 is playable.

package is £20, but has a 30gb limit.

bobpullen · 5 May 2010 at 14:02

b3mor said:
Would I be correct in thinking that if a new game is released and the traffic isn't initially identified as gaming traffic, customers can get in touch with you and you can make the necessary changes so the traffic is identified as gaming traffic going forward?

Yep that's right, take a look here, you can check the classification of a game using Wireshark.

Many thanks for clearing up my questions about the costs.

No probs

Rgds,

b3mor · 5 May 2010 at 21:33

bob055 said:
Im currenty with orange and it Sucks! slow speeds and Massive Pings during the week, get disconnected 2 or 3 times a day for 10min. There support is terrible, cant wait till the contract ends.

I feel your pain! I have found that technical support are anything but technical!

I guess I've been lucky in that I do not usually get disconnects (the router reports it has been connected for many hundreds of hours before), but in the evenings it often gets to the stage that I'm bashing the refresh button with nothing happening! Usually coming back to it in five minutes and it starts working again.

bobpullen said:
Yep that's right, take a look here, you can check the classification of a game using Wireshark.

Rgds,

Great stuff, decision made I'm off to Plusnet!

bobpullen · 6 May 2010 at 10:57

b3mor said:
Great stuff, decision made I'm off to Plusnet!

Glad to hear it!

I'm here if you've any further questions or have any issues during the transfer.

Rgds,

Pyroblaze · 6 May 2010 at 11:56

I assume cable is out of the question? I did read the thread but feel it's such an obvious suggestion that i may have missed it being mentioned.

I was never able to get decent pings on ADSL in either of my two homes over the past 10 years via various providers, 120-150ms was the lowest i'd evr get gaming but more often than not 200ms or over. I switched to Virgin 20mb a few months ago and now easily get 30-40ms pings playing FPS. I know, i know, some folks have trouble with Virgin but i've found them fantastic so far.

b3mor · 6 May 2010 at 21:44

bobpullen said:
Glad to hear it!

I'm here if you've any further questions or have any issues during the transfer.

Rgds,

Great!

Pyroblaze said:
I assume cable is out of the question? I did read the thread but feel it's such an obvious suggestion that i may have missed it being mentioned.

I was never able to get decent pings on ADSL in either of my two homes over the past 10 years via various providers, 120-150ms was the lowest i'd evr get gaming but more often than not 200ms or over. I switched to Virgin 20mb a few months ago and now easily get 30-40ms pings playing FPS. I know, i know, some folks have trouble with Virgin but i've found them fantastic so far.

Unfortunately anything exotic broadband wise is out of the question. This is my exchange:

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WMLEI

To be honest a ping of 200 would be a luxury compared with what I get with Orange. I think it'll be a while until cable and LLU makes it to this exchange seeing as there are not even 1500 residential connections.

Thanks for the suggestion though!