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19 Messages
Speed issues with Netflix streaming
To start off I'm a knowledgeable Linux Systems Engineer with over 20 years experience in Internet related technologies so I've done my fair share of troubleshooting on this topic. We also live in the city limits of St. Louis and are told that our area has completed it's Uverse network upgrades.
Since we switched to Uverse we have consistent issues streaming Netflix. The initial 10-15 seconds of any video plays great, but then the picture quality severely degrades, sometimes enough that you cannot read text within the video because it is so pixelated. I was warned before switching by other users in our area that there is a severe over subscription issue with Uverse Internet. The more I look at this the more I am inclined to agree, but wanted to get community feedback.
We experience the issues the worst during peak times (4pm-midnight) but also at 4am we cannot stream movie in full HD without degradation of the picture due to throughput issues. This alone leads me to believe my area is oversubscribed on Internet and there simply is not enough bandwidth upstream to handle the streaming appropriately.
We've done the following to troubleshoot:
Moved all wireless devices to wired.
Restarted router/modem (too many times to count).
Had our lines checked by a tech.
Run speed tests during - these tests are inconclusive because we have the 24Mbps package and even during trouble times we sometimes get speeds up to 18Mbps which is more than sufficient for Netflix HD streaming (you only need 5Mbps sustained).
Multiple devices are affected including the Apple TV that never once had an issue in its 5 years of service while using Charter cable services. To re-iterate, never once, have we experienced what we are experiencing now with Charter cable services, but it consistently happens every day with AT&T.
Calls to AT&T have gone no where. Techs say everything is fine, one even went as far as to tell me this is a common problem and he sees a lot of people cancel Internet services and go back to Charter for them. I priced it out and we can get just Internet through Charter at 30Mbps (guaranteed steady throughput, not UP TO like AT&T) for $54.99/month without having to have cable TV through them. That is considerably cheaper than I'm paying for 24Mbps Internet through Uverse.
All of that said is there anyone who can actually help me fix this problem? I'd much prefer not to give another penny to Charter, but if this is the quality of Internet service we can expect from AT&T there is no way I am going to continue paying them for substandard service at a higher rate than the cable company.
Am I doomed with Uverse or is there hope?
JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
The problem is more likely a peering issue between AT&T and the provider of services (e.g. Netflix) than any oversubscription problem within the U-verse network. This is why your speedtests work fine but your videos pixelate or buffer.
Netflix wants ISPs to jump through hoops (e.g. build a Netflix CDN within their own network) to provide their shared subscribers better access to the Netflix content, but as far as I can tell are not willing to commit to covering the on going costs required for the ISP to service the Netflix business model. Some ISPs have been willing to join the Netflix "Open Connect" network.
Note that Netflix and Youtube combined now represent about 50% of the traffic on the US Internet.
BTW, Charter's speeds are every bit as "up to" as AT&T's. I get my subscribed rate from AT&T pretty much all the time; that was not true with Charter (who I had immediately previous to AT&T).
From a Charter website:
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jesserehmer
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19 Messages
10 years ago
You only need to be able to sustain 5Mbps to stream HD via Netflix. So what you're telling me is that AT&T doesn't have the upstream capacity do that. There is no direct peering with Netflix as you mentioned. AT&T routes me through Level3 to Netflix so I see the issue as being more likely a throughput problem on AT&T network out to the rest of the Internet. What I need is for someone higher up to confirm (or deny and fix) the issue.
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jesserehmer
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19 Messages
10 years ago
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
Sigh. There have been ongoing complaints from users across nearly every ISP over the past two or three years as load increases, shifts and peering arrangements change. Some people have gotten relief from the issue by using a VPN, which redirected the Netflix traffic to another peering point then fed it in through the U-verse network to their home.
If you would like, you could try clicking this
U-verse Customer Service link to send a Private Message (PM) to the AT&T customer service team to help you resolve your request. You can expect a reply via return PM (the blue envelope 
in the upper right hand corner of this site) in a business day or three.
This is a group of U-verse service specialists who are knowledgeable about U-verse and will stay with your problem until the end (instead of forgetting about it when the phone hits the cradle). Speed things up by including your Billing Account Number, and the best time and way to reach you. No guarantee that they will be able to help you an any way, but they have more resources than the people who you've reached by phone.
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jesserehmer
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19 Messages
10 years ago
The TV service is phenomenal compared to Charter - that I will absolutely admit!
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
This is partially because of the artificial speed bump (PowerBoost) that they give you for the first seconds of every stream so that speed tests will look artificially good. Did you ever measure a 500 MB download?
I regularly get 12.2 Mbps on my 12.0 Mbps connection using speed test, and have measured 11.7 on longer term downloads.
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jesserehmer
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19 Messages
10 years ago
I've downloaded 100GB files and sustained ~30Mbps (with 1-4Mbps sags, but the sags lasted seconds) all day every day with Charter. I used it for work where we frequently download large files for processing. I don't do that work from home anymore, but my downloading of large files with Uverse shows extremely inconsistent speeds which fluctuate from 1Mbps - 20Mbps. I have no steady/sustained rates with AT&T like I experienced with Charter. This is another bit of information that leads me to believe things are oversubscribed.
The server that I'm downloading these files from is my own, hosted in the data center that I work at all day. I know the throughput issue is not on the other end. 😉
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
Understood, but there's a lot of network in between.
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oufanindallas
ACE - Master
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6.9K Messages
10 years ago
I must be in a lucky area as I only have the 12Mbps internet speed and I have no issues with Netflix on multiple wireless devices, many times more than one in use. Our house currenlty has 4 Rokus, 3 wireless PCs, a 3 Kindles, an iPad, an iPod and a Nook, all of which are used to watch Nextflix.
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jesserehmer
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19 Messages
10 years ago
It is a shame because I REALLY don't want to switch back to Charter. The tech was just out, replaced all of our cabling since the previous tech didn't use cat5 the whole way. Everything checks out better than okay from his end and he watched the issue on both the Apple TV and our Blu-ray player WIRED into the new modem. Now that I've confirmed for sure our service is fine I'll escalate through here.
The odd thing is, when Netflix crawls to a halt we are still getting 21-23Mbps via speed tests and other file downloads. They have to be throttling Netflix somewhere upstream from me, nothing else explains what we are seeing. It's just a matter of getting the right person to acknowledge and change some settings for our neighborhood.
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