Saturday, March 04, 2006
More on Comcast/Vonage issue
Some months ago, I forget the source, I was part of a discussion about how an ISP could discriminate against VOIP. One way, somebody said, was to increase the jitter, the variation in arrival time, of packets. (VOIP telephony packets must arrive fairly close together to keep delay low voice quality high.) Somebody else said that the disruption would be more voice-specific if it were on the upstream side only; this would not affect downloads, web surfing, or other "consumption" activities.
Anyhow, it looks like this Comcast-Vonage problem is on the upstream side. On this page of the Vonage Forum, "shidokan" reports:
"JPElectron writes:
On this page, "suaveric" writes
On this page, "raudi77" writes
Seems pretty suggestive to me what's going on . . .
Anyhow, it looks like this Comcast-Vonage problem is on the upstream side. On this page of the Vonage Forum, "shidokan" reports:
I have used vonage for over 6 months without a problem. Now, I am having the same problems that other michigan user report, I can call out, but my voice is choppy and can not be understood. I have read the posts about the vonage says it is comcast, and comcast says there is nothing wrong.
"JPElectron writes:
From home [with Comcast Internet] ...
- logging in and navigating secure.vonage.com webiste very slow/unusable
- calling my cell phone (in the same area code as my vonage number) audio quality is "digital" it breaks up mid-word (incomming caller audio is fine, just my outgoing audio was bad)
MOS score = 3.9 (yellow)
On this page, "suaveric" writes
Ugh, I've been hit with the problem. I'm in Chicago and no one can understand a word I'm saying. Although I still do hear everyone as clear as day. I called Comcast up 30 minutes ago and their suggestion was to upgrade me to 6MB down (up from 4). They thought that might fix the problem. Well, it didn't. At least, not yet.
On this page, "raudi77" writes
I spoke with both Comcast and Vonage at length today regarding service issues (Parties I am speaking with complain about "choppy" voice quality; ongoing disconnection problems).
Comcast's position, per a Customer Service manager/supervisor: "Vonage is using our lines and they are not allowed to do so. If you have service problems take it up with them."
Vonage's position, per an Advanced Tech Support Agent: "Comcast is toying with the packetization and/or bandwidth in order to disrupt Vonage service" She had me run a couple of Tracert's and forward her the info via email.
Seems pretty suggestive to me what's going on . . .
Technorati Tags: Comcast, Content-Conduit, F2C, NetworkNeutrality, Vonage
Comments:
I would not trust anything vonage tells me. Their moral and ethical standard seems in the pits. For more info, see:
http://www.netadventures.biz/vonageproblem.htm
http://www.netadventures.biz/vonageproblem.htm
while carltown is offering a legitimate criticism of vonage, one that has been echoed by many others, it should be pointed out that comcast, as well, is far from saintly.
their business practices are deceptive and underhanded. they are fighting tooth and nail via misleading tv advertising to prevent a video/tv service from Verizon from operating here in new jersey. (and using their own airtime in order to do so, effectively propagandizing the public for free.)
they frequently mischaracterize their service packages and insist that there are "no network problems of which we're aware" when things are all fouled up. (a lot of this is a "left hand ignorant of right hand" matter that plagues their numerous independent tech divisions)
my associates and i know the Roberts family (the owners of Comcast) and can tell you plenty that would curl your hair much more than the antics of the folks at Vonage.
their business practices are deceptive and underhanded. they are fighting tooth and nail via misleading tv advertising to prevent a video/tv service from Verizon from operating here in new jersey. (and using their own airtime in order to do so, effectively propagandizing the public for free.)
they frequently mischaracterize their service packages and insist that there are "no network problems of which we're aware" when things are all fouled up. (a lot of this is a "left hand ignorant of right hand" matter that plagues their numerous independent tech divisions)
my associates and i know the Roberts family (the owners of Comcast) and can tell you plenty that would curl your hair much more than the antics of the folks at Vonage.
# posted by 
: 3/15/2006 4:42 PM
: 3/15/2006 4:42 PM
Any "Vonage over DSL" users? What is your experience. I have the same issues with Vonage over Comcast and is probaly time to switch.
# posted by : 10/05/2006 9:26 PM
: 10/05/2006 9:26 PM
I was having many of the same problems - voice cutting in and out. Same thing - Vonage said it was Comcast with packet loss and Comcacst saying speed was fine - wouldn't address quality.
A friend at Microsoft suggested a Hawking Broadband Booster - which I got and seems to help with the choppy voice thing.
THe problem I keep having is with call waiting and both calls getting dropped when I click from one to another -
Thinking to switching to ATT Call Vantage - any thoughts?
Post a Comment
A friend at Microsoft suggested a Hawking Broadband Booster - which I got and seems to help with the choppy voice thing.
THe problem I keep having is with call waiting and both calls getting dropped when I click from one to another -
Thinking to switching to ATT Call Vantage - any thoughts?
# posted by : 2/09/2007 7:45 PM
: 2/09/2007 7:45 PM
