Answer my question about modems (recommended modems)?

B

birdman

I live far enough outside of town that the landline phone internet by CenturyTel (called Extended DSL) has always been super slow.

I have been using Verizon HotSpot for my trading internet and sometimes it too is unbearably slow, but most times can make do.

Recently CenturyTel upgraded the phone lines and began offering a faster speed, claimed to be up to a blistering 1.5 MB download speed, and so i upgrade and find it none better. Speed test did show a tad better at 1.2 MB download and sometimes .2 upload and sometimes wouldn't even register an upload speed.

I had the CenturyTel tech out to the house and he made a few adjustments on the utility pole outside and it was maybe marginally better. The tech told me my neighbors were getting 3.0 download speed and i should be able to get as good. He had CenturyTel ship me a new modem and it has made a world of difference. My landline phone internet connection is now better than my Verizion Hotspot at a constant 1.5 download / .5 upload. I know that speed sounds sad to most of you, but is way better than i ever had.

Since the Tech said the neighbor can get 3.0 speed, I'm wondering if perhaps i would benefit by ordering some fancy high end modem from Amazon? Your thoughts? Any modem recommendations? Thanks in advance!
 
If you are friendly with your neighbors, run some trace routes on their setups to some servers, and then compare them to your own. If you see a lot of packet loss, that might be your culprit. How to fix? Mmmm, I forget POTS and it's foibles, but a line filter and signal amplifier on the incoming line may help?
 
Where do you live? I get faster speeds on my cell phone then that but I'm in NY. This is my cell phone without WIFI.

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Rural Arkansas is my location. This new CenturyTel modem made enough difference, that i wonder if perhaps an even better modem might do even better. I may try one to see.
 
Wow. Honestly, modern platforms require more bandwidth than that. As an example Sterling Trader Pro requires a minimum 5 Mbps download speed and at least 1 Mbps upload speed. Even that would require restraint in adding windows. Is there a Library nearby that you can set up in? Many have high speed Internet.
 
Having worked for Telco's/ISPs this is what I think - I may be wrong, just an educated guess.

Because of the whole numbers 1.5Mb on your line & 3Mb on your neighbors it sound like they set their edge router traffic shaping on your line to be different from your neighbors. This is not so uncommon

The traffic shaping should match whatever they advertise for the service you are paying for. You may be able to talk them into increasing it. This is done from their central office, this is not something a field tech can help you with.

You can always bond multiple DSLs into a single link with a hardware from Mushroom Networks/ Truffle Lite - but it's not cheap, it will cost you about $2,400.
 
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Hey Robert, I guess i could go the library route, but wouldn't enjoy it. I've thought about renting office space in town, but then again, i don't really want to do that either. I've even thought about relocating but doubtful i will.

Oddly, my Verizon Hot Spot connection varies widely from day to day and from hour to hour. I just tested now and it's the fastest time i ever had at 2.62 / 0.49

The aforementioned landline will be more constant i think.
 
birdman said:
Hey Robert, I guess i could go the library route, but wouldn't enjoy it. I've thought about renting office space in town, but then again, i don't really want to do that either. I've even thought about relocating but doubtful i will.

Oddly, my Verizon Hot Spot connection varies widely from day to day and from hour to hour. I just tested now and it's the fastest time i ever had at 2.62 / 0.49

The aforementioned landline will be more constant i think.
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I know you are doing the best the situation allows. I would not only recommend a stable faster speed but ethernet vs WIFI. WIFI and slow speeds can cost more more money from bad data and dropped connections than renting office space. WIFI is not only unreliable but can subject your computer to intrusions. I try very hard to avoid public hotspots.

Good luck.
 
1.5Mb is adequate for running your typical trading platform. In fact because it is DSL it has a fixed rate - which makes it faster and far more secure than your typical cable T.V. Internet.
 
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