Slow internet

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Emmy
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Slow internet

Post by Emmy »

Logically, there is no reason why but...

This is only our 2nd year running holiday accommodation (2 gites) and last year, not only did our Internet run as fast when we were fully booked as it did when there were just the two of us, but even a couple of reviews mentioned just how fast it was. It was very fast right up until the summer - coinciding with the arrival of guests...

This year, NOTHING has changed - no extra guests, no change of equipment or supplier. However, over the summer the Internet access has been so slow that sometimes, when I'm waiting for a page to load, I forget what I'm actually doing! It's especially frustrating because I'm building another website, and updating my current ones. It's certainly our guests - very early in the morning it's "normal" again.

So - are people generally using devices for more/different things this year than last? Are more people watching TV/ listening to the radio on iPads and phones? Or can they now connect them to the tv and watch internet tv that way? (No need, we have English tv and radio). Or, could it be that some new developments in the last 12 months mean that devices are using more bandwidth (if that's the correct term?) than they were last year. More to the point... Anything we do to prevent the problem next year? I'd be grateful for any comments - even understanding why might make me feel a bit better about it!
farley
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Location: Poitou Charentes

Post by farley »

Hi Emmy
Yes, we have similar problems. I feel the same frustration when trying to update my websites.
In extreme circumstances I have been known to 'unplug' the largest Gite temporarily:(
Especially if the group is large and has many devices.
Not ideal but works for us.
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

We have exactly the same problem here at the border between Gironde, Dordogne & Lot et Garonne. We attended a public meeting about the problem in our village and it is simply saturation of on line use as more and more people go on line and for longer periods. So many things now you can only do on line. My Partner is trying to prepare a dossier de retrait and has to connect in the middle of the night to be able to use the internet. We were told that bit by bit optic cable is being installed which will solve the problem, but out here in this rural area it could be at least two years before things improve.
Honi soit qui peu y boit
Zingara
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Location: Antibes, PACA

Post by Zingara »

We have a similar problem here in the UK, with no likelihood of fibre in the foreseeable future. If we're lucky we get 1-2mB. You loose e-mails, forms etc as the line 'fades' but recently it just drops out completely, for up to 3h at a time. We are one house from the end of the overhead phone-line.

I have just started using my mobile phone as a hot-spot, which keeps us going most of the time (occasional loss of mobile signal too). It's such a relief not be repeating things, and wasting 2-3h a day...My 15gB monthly allowance should allow us to do basic stuff, and we don't 'stream' (as we've never had the possibility before!)

Our only other option would be satellite, but that's not cheap...so I'll try this hot-spot lark for a while...

Perhaps you can use a hotspot yourselves, and warn the gites that it they overindulge, they may end up on a go-slow?
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petemcveigh
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Post by petemcveigh »

Emmy,

extra usage of on-line streaming, larger file sizes (e.g. for photos and such), more people with more devices on-line can all affect speeds, not just from your properties but also from the locality - the main 'pipes' from your local exchange back to the main internet hub (normally in a large city) can get congested (contention ratio is the techie term), normally at certain times of the day (during the day in business environments, evenings in residential) however you should have periods where your speeds are good (close to what you experienced last year).
If you are not getting any periods of decent speeds (early or mid-morning tend to have less congestion if there are not a lot of large businesses sharing the routes) go back to basics and look for 'old fashioned' issues such as a line fault or a fault in your router/ modem. Is the voice quality on your phone line OK? As we can leave landlines unused for so long nowadays it can be a while before we discover a telephone line fault! If possible get your line tested, switch your router off for a while and allow it to re-connect and/ or, if possible, try a different router as a test.
If you can rule out the basics then, unfortunately, it may be that just trying to find out which times of day allow the best speeds - OK for your personal use but maybe not the best guest experience or using a hot-spot (tethering) may be a solution. If you are using a hot spot just be a bit careful - some providers charge extra for tethering on lower-end plans and also PCs/ tablets tend to use higher data than mobiles (also people more likely to use them for streaming) so you can eat up your data more quickly.
Main message - check the basics first - is line and kit actually OK.
" Do I really look like a guy with a plan?"
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bornintheuk
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Post by bornintheuk »

I have found that Apple products seem to be bandwidth hungry as far as our guest use is concerned, or maybe its certain apple apps ?
You can manipulate to a small extent by using QOS on your router to ensure your computer gets priority access, but be aware that some modems sold with QOS can be difficult to understand and implement. (QOS = Quality Of Service)
What would Plato do ?
Emmy
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Location: Charente
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Post by Emmy »

Thank you all for your comments and replies.

I think it IS that more people are using the Internet in the area - a new B&B, for example, has opened up within half a mile. I can't switch off the gite because they're on our system, so will just have to continue to do any marketing work late/early or when they're out.

I was beginning to think I'd imagined the problems this year, but it does sound as if there are reason it's slow down. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as if there's a simple solution...
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