Whirlpool

I have been on westnet for about 2 months and have not exceeded 100kbps download speed. not to mention constant 30kbps throttling. i recently rang westnet, first with their technical assistance going through numerous speed tests we deducted it was not my modem the phone line or any of the computers i use and he was clueless. finally giving up he stated on a 40/60 gb 1.5/256 plan 100 kbs is reasonable, meaning without getting throttled every second day i would have to maximize my download speed for 25 hours a day to successfully reach the internet cap. I then rang accountants and this same statement was told me he stated "when the plan sais 1.5 kilebits it means the download rate is one eighth i.e 200 kilobytes".
whats more interesting that there are plans with 256/50 so they must be downloading at 10 kbps maximum? dial up is 10 kbps. in conclusion westnet are thieves i pay 110 dollars a month for this junk. any feedback on a similar story and how did u correct it

Please use paragraphs if you want anyone to take you seriously.

If your on a crappy line 100kbp/s on a 1500/256 plan is reasonable.

Post your modem sync rates and atten rates.

Hi jeremyxxx

It sounds as though there is some confusion regarding download speeds and how they are reported (please correct me if I am misunderstanding your post).

When a plan is advertised, it is advertised in kilobits per second (kbps). When you are looking at a transfer rate (ie. when you are downloading something), it is generally reported in kilobytes per second (kBps).

As there are 8 bits to a byte, you need to divide your advertised speed by 8 to get your maximum theoretical download speed. If you're on a 256kbps plan, you would divide this by 8, to get 32, meaning your maximum theoretical download speed is 32kBps. Please note, this is the same speed, it's simply a different unit.

Due to several factors such as overheads, you won't quite see this speed, so the average speed for a 256kbps plan would be somewhere between 24 and 28kBps (any speed in this range is acceptable).

Let's now look at your plan, which you have said is a 1.5Mbps, or 1536kbps, plan. If you divide this value (1536) by 8, you get 192. Again, taking several factors into account, you should generally see speeds anywhere between 150 and 180kBps. Any speed above 110kBps (1.1Mbps) is acceptable on this speed, however.

A rough guideline to which speeds you should see on different plans can be found here:

http://myhelp.westnet.com.au/pages/releaseview.action?pageId=1278068

I hope this has helped to answer some of your queries. If you would like me to have one of our experienced team members review the notes on your account to see if we can assist further, please email me your Westnet username (my email address is in my profile), and I'll be happy to arrange for someone to contact you.

i have used broadband for years and have never downloaded at such ridiculous speeds in my life can you please explain how can someone possible download a full 40/60 gigabytes at 100kbps and 30kbps throttling constant(im throttled as i write this message) and have something as simple as msn active to chat on.

this is my options you tell me how to get a faster speed or i leave westnet

jeremyxxx writes...

i have used broadband for years and have never downloaded at such ridiculous speeds in my life

1. Post line stats
2. Have you tried another computer?
3. Have you tried another modem?
4. Other than making semi-literate attacks on Westnet can you provide any relevant information at all that might help us (and Mr. Criddle above) provide more assistance?

What do you mean when you say throttled?

Go here and download one of these files and report back what speed you get.
http://mirror.3fl.net.au/pub/speedtest/

Hi jeremyxxx

jeremyxxx writes...

this is my options you tell me how to get a faster speed or i leave westnet

We're more than happy to do that, however without knowing what's been done already, and without any specific information, it is rather difficult for us to provide you with much advice.

As I mentioned above, if you can email me your Westnet username, along with your contact details, I will have someone experienced follow this up for you.

[EDIT]: You can also email support@westnet.com.au or call our Support team on 1300 786 068 if you would rather not email myself.

bt throttling 30kbps exactly maximum download

jeremyxxx writes...

bt throttling 30kbps exactly maximum download

Ok well thats the first time you mentioned bit torrent.

So if you download one of the files from the link i provided I will assume you get higher speeds then 30kbps?

Also, what BT client are you using? and are the torrents your downloading well seeded?

ive tested those websites with technical assistance 100kbps no more no less
i use utorrent

jeremyxxx writes...

this is my options you tell me how to get a faster speed or i leave westnet

It is pointless to threaten. If that is your way of doing things you will not get much support from other members. Brent has given you the option to contact him and he will look into it for you, you can't ask for better that that at this point.

100kbps no more no less

That may suggest that your modem isn't syncing at 1500.

As said before, we need you go to into your modem and find your line stats and share them with us before we can go anywhere.

Also, in utorrent. Do you have any of the upload bandwidth limiters turned on? If so turn them off and see what speeds you get.

my modem syncs fine according to technical support and i assure you that i am throttled on utorrent ;( 5 torrents 3k seeders on each and its been a constant 29.9kbps-30.1kbps download for 2 days

jeremyxxx writes...

this is my options you tell me how to get a faster speed or i leave westnet

EDIT: You're still not giving us the required information to help you. Please login to your modem/router and copy and paste the attenuation figures and sync figures so we can take a look.

I'm also certain you're using public trackers to download torrents which of course will give you very slow speeds.

If you don't help us then we cant help you.

You need to post your line stats so we can see the condition of your phone line and connection stats.

If you phone line has issues then leaving Westnet will not make a different because you will have the same issues with any ISP.

Also you're putting the blame on Westnet without thinking at all. The chances are its not Westnets fault and its a line fault or a setup issue on your side.

Cheers

jeremyxxx writes...

its been a constant 29.9kbps-30.1kbps download for 2 days

Sounds like utorent is doing the throttling.

Make sure all the values are 0 and the scheduler is off, like shown below.

http://home.people.net.au/~sprooty/Pics/1.jpg
http://home.people.net.au/~sprooty/Pics/2.jpg

jeremyxxx writes...

in conclusion westnet are thieves

Yes, this is the only possible conclusion that could be reached.

jeremyxxx writes...

my modem syncs fine according to technical support and i assure you that i am throttled on utorrent ;( 5 torrents 3k seeders on each and its been a constant 29.9kbps-30.1kbps download for 2 days

This might be a bit of a stab in the dark, in uTorrent – change your upload speed limit to "unlimited". Then try again.

In the latest version of uTorrent (1.8), it will only let your download at a rate that's proportional to your upload transfer limit (I think this is a great addition). I'm pretty sure this is new for 1.8, I think by default it has your upload limit set to something low like 5-6 kb/s and will essentially only allow a ~6:1 ratio between your down and up. This setting must of taken place when you've upgraded to uTorrent or else perhaps you're being skint on your sharing and have set your up-speeds quite low.

Edit: more about this can be read here: /forum-replies.cfm?t=1038919

Remember kids, sharing is caring!

provide a tracert and screenshots of your utorrent/settings while downloading at 30kbs.

jeremyxxx writes...

this is my options you tell me how to get a faster speed or i leave westnet

Don't let the door hit you at 30kbps on the way out...

jeremyxxx writes...

my modem syncs fine according to technical support and i assure you that i am throttled on utorrent ;( 5 torrents 3k seeders on each and its been a constant 29.9kbps-30.1kbps download for 2 days

Jeremyxxx, it looks like to me your speed problems are only associated with using torrents, and relies heavily on seeders. Since I haven't used torrent in years I can't help you with your settings problem, but I assure you it is NOT Westnet.

I did however just read last week on WP that a user with a similar problem with another ISP only had to keep fiddling with his upload speed settings till he got to the speed he wanted. (subject to seeders as well)

I do suggest however that you think about using Usenet then your speeds will always be flat out. I can help you with that if you wish to go in that direction.

For us to help you we need modem stats in the thread,
upstream and downstream rates and attenuation,
can you post them so we can look further into this issue.
kudos to brent for offering help so early in the thread.

Other than that try closing all internet apps before testing,
failing that there is little we can do,
for the troubleshooting to continue please post the line stats.

now there's some concise steps that everyone should follow

jeremyxxx writes...

dial up is 10 kbps.

56k dialup is 6k max. get the numbers right pls

God I love these threads !OMG my download speeds are crap! I must be throttled, If only they had a good look at their own setups

Oi³ writes...

I assure you it is NOT Westnet

I'd have to agree ..

I'm a frequent user of utorrent 1.8 and although I'm on a different plan, I can frequently get in excess of 400 kBps ( yes, kiloBYTEs ) with a well seeded torrent both peak & offpeak. Even though WN have mooted a throttling disclaimer in peak periods, it has not been my experience to be affected by a period where it has been invoked.

Hi jeremyxxx

jeremyxxx writes...

bt throttling 30kbps exactly maximum download

At this stage, I would just like to point out that we simply can't guarantee the speeds you'll receive via peer-to-peer (P2P) applications, as there are far too many factors involved. I can think of two good examples off the top of my head:

1. If I'm seeding a file on my 1.5Mbps/256kbps connection (so a maximum upload speed of ~28kBps)and one person is downloading this file from me, they would be receiving it at ~28kBps. Even if they are also on a 1.5Mbps connection, the fastest speed they will see from me is ~28kBps. I then become shaped, slowing my upload speed down to ~6kBps. This person will still only see 6kBps from me, even though their connection is capable of much faster speeds. This is even without factoring in more people who start downloading this file from me after I was shaped.

2. I set a maximum upload speed in uTorrent of 5kBps. Now it doesn't matter how many files I am seeding, or how many people are connected to me – they are still going to see a combined maximum of 5kBps.

We can certainly make sure that your connection is reaching its maximum speed via HTTP and FTP tests, however as mentioned above, there is simply no way for us to guarantee speeds using P2P applications. Other people have listed some good troubleshooting steps, so if you can follow these, and post your result, I am sure that between us all, we can work out what is going on for you.

Again, I invite you to email me if you'd like us to look into this further for you.

snowman06 writes...

dial up is 10 kbps.

56k dialup is 6k max. get the numbers right pls

7.075kps to be precise, Most of the time you will only ever see 6 yes. But on a good connection you can get 7.

Also to the OP Try giving us some actual info that isn't based off torrent's
I used to use public torrent's until i realised just how bad the connection speeds actually are on them. Private is the way to go.

Texiun writes...

7.075kps

ive been seeing 7kbs lately while shaped, which isnt to bad compared to 5kbs that tends to bring tears whilst surfing the web

I think the OP has realized how stupid his rant was and probably figured out he was capped because he had his uploads capped in Utorrent.

HenDrix writes...

ive been seeing 7kbs lately while shaped, which isnt to bad compared to 5kbs that tends to bring tears whilst surfing the web

If you are shaped then you will see 7 to 8 kbs since they cap you at 64kps

Brent Criddle writes...

I can think of two good examples off the top of my head:

Brent that was a very good, clear, and precise explanation on torrents. Many of us referring to seeding never go into the nitty gritty when its probably warranted.

Well worth adding to any FAQ Westnet might have for customers with p2p issues or via those email tickets.

Jeremyxxx, when using Bit Torrent for downloading data bear the following in mind.

1. The download rate will get throttled on Westnet if and only if the network becomes saturated. WestNet exists to serve customers who have more diverse interests than what can be obtained solely via bit-torrent.

2. The spread of the seeders globally will dictate the route(s) that your connection will take. As I understand it there are 3 global fibre connections between Australia and the rest of the world. These become saturated at different points throughout the day and their respective owners/upstream providers may also decide to throttle traffic. If this is the case its completely outside the control of any national ISP.

3. Adjusting your upload rate can affect your download rate in uTorrent as it will do in most torrent clients. However overall congestion and routing conditions on the internet in general will probably dictate with far more gravity the rate you actually get.

4. Adjusting upload rate will still make no difference if the source does not have enough completed seeds available, or if too many leechers are trying to obtain the same files.

5. if you can download at maximum rate from westnet's internal servers/services such as 3fl.net then Westnet is delivering a full service to your modem.

I hope this helps.

hahaha what a flog. why are you people wasting your time helping this idiot?

I wonder if he even has the correct westnet....

So has OP gone quiet because they found some software config that was the root cause of the problem?

You generally also need to make sure you have your ports forwarded properly in your Bit Torrent client, as this can sometimes have yield on the speeds you are getting. Obviously the kind of problems OP is experiencing isn't supported by Westnet (or likely any other ISP for that matter), but a quick trip to http://www.portforward.com/guides.htm and selecting your modem model followed by utorrent should generate a guide that you can follow.

Make sure you also statically configure the PC your forwarding ports on – see http://www.portforward.com/networking/staticip.htm for a guide on doing that.

Dudley writes...

So has OP gone quiet because they found some software config that was the root cause of the problem?

Looks like he has logged on at least once since the advice was given about uTorrent.

Please let us know how you went with our advice jeremyxxx! :)