ISP throttling issue; device memory issue, or something else?

[Dark Penguin]

To begin with, I know my ISP plan is not that great, being AT&T's lowest tier DSL. But even so, on my laptop, I normally get download rates of about 1.2 mbps (that's megabits, not bytes), and this is fast enough that I can easily stream TV in real time on my laptop. And for archival content which some TV networks allow you to download and watch, I almost always can download AV content in less time than it takes to play, which means I can just click the "play" button rather than having to wait for the download first. So naturally, it makes sense that with my new LG Optimus S to enable wifi when I'm home, because even a slow DSL connection is usually faster than my 3G connection.

However, when I try to watch HBO content--legally through my DirecTV account and using the HBO-Go app--it seems that my WLAN connection abruptly gets throttled after about 5 minutes. I'm sure this would with the type of content being watched; FTR I experienced the issue when trying to watch an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and again trying to watch Real Time with Bill Maher. In other words, neither of these shows is heavy on the visual special effects. As I begin watching one of these episodes, it plays fairly well. Not great, but certainly watchable when I'm the first one in the house to wake up, still in bed and not wanting to fire up the laptop or turn on a real TV just yet. However, after a few minutes, it freezes up; the last time, which was earlier today, it was the sound that went first.

Following this, all data throughput via my WLAN slows to a trickle. Today this throttling affected only my mobile device, but yesterday it crippled connectivity on my laptop as well. I spent over an hour on the phone with AT&T yesterday afternoon, and the fix then was to bump up the wireless network power setting to its maximum, and to change the channel from 1 to 11. Today I merely changed the channel from 11 to 6, and now wifi on the phone works fine again.

As it happens, not only is AT&T my home ISP, but it also my former wireless carrier from which I defected despite still having over a year on my contract. The new carrier is a third party provider that uses the Sprint network and I've been quite satisfied so far, with an unlimited data plan and a credit for the ETF assessed by AT&T.

So I'm wondering what's going on here. My mobile device can play this content, so what difference does it make to my ISP whether I'm watching it on a PC or an Android device? Why would AT&T let me watch an hour long TV episode on my PC, but not my mobile device?? I'm thinking it might be a device/memory/storage issue (details below), but it doesn't appear that way. When you use the HBO app, you can pause and play, but you can't jump ahead or go back, from which it appears that the app doesn't try to download the whole episode

Infrastructure Details

ISP: AT&T
Best promised download speed: 1.5 Mbps
Typical download performance: 1.1- 1.2Mbps
Data allowance: Unlimited
Computer OS/ Manufacturer/ Model: Windows Vista / Toshiba / Satellite E105

Mobile Device: LG Optimus S (LG Optimus S - Full phone specifications)
Usable device memory: about .45G,usually about half pegged, goes down to about 1/3 after I run Memory Boost
Carrier: Credo Mobile, which uses Sprint's network
Micro SD Card: Still using the 2G card that came with it. Currently about 76% full, but I could probably get rid of some of this material.
OS: Gingerbread.

Former wireless carrier / device / OS: AT&T Wireless / HTC Pure / WinMo Pro 6.5

 

[sfhub]

When you have this "throttling" have you tried disconnecting your router and connecting a PC directly to your dsl modem? At least have you tried using a wired connection to the router? Have you rebooted your router?

My guess is your wifi is getting knocked into some strange state by some bug and the Optimus connecting to the router and transferring large amounts of data is what triggers it.

If you had to change wifi channels, are you sure your neighbor didn't get new wifi equipment that is interfering with yours?

 

[captmeach7]

You said you changed the channel on the router and the phones wifi fired right back up, so maybe you are just in an area where there are too many devices interfering. Try something like Wifi analyzer and it will show you the other networks around you and what channel they are on.

And their DSL is no longer unlimited though this is still a lot of data for most people --> from DSL FAQ
Residential AT&T High Speed Internet service includes 150 gigabytes (GB) of data each billing period, and residential AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet service includes 250 Gigabytes (GB) of data each billing period. The data you send and receive each month contributes to your monthly data plan.

What ROM or OS version do you use on your phone?

 

[Dark Penguin]

When you have this "throttling" have you tried disconnecting your router and connecting a PC directly to your dsl modem?

I apologize, but I've probably misused some terminology. I have just the 2WIRE DSL modem connected to the phone jack, which is what I meant when I said "router". There is no other network hardware other than an ethernet cable which I almost never use, yesterday being an exception.

Yes, I did test the notebook with the above mentioned ethernet cable, while speaking to the ATT service rep. The results of this test were normal, so then we knew the issue was affecting wireless only.

At least have you tried using a wired connection to the router? Have you rebooted your router?

Yes, rebooting the modem is usually the first thing I try.

My guess is your wifi is getting knocked into some strange state by some bug and the Optimus connecting to the router and transferring large amounts of data is what triggers it

When you say 'bug' do you mean in the modem firmware, or my phone's, or the app I'm using?

If you had to change wifi channels, are you sure your neighbor didn't get new wifi equipment that is interfering with yours?

Well now, this is odd. I mentioned upthread that I changed the channel from 11 to 6 today, but when I look now, my wifi manager says I'm on Channel 11, and there's another strong 2WIRE WLAN nearby on the same channel. The service rep told me I can use channels 1, 6, and 11--I don't know if that's specific to my WLAN, or all WLANs that use 2WIRE equipment. And now, my mobile wifi connectivity is hosed again.

[Checking PC connectivity] The wireless connection works fine, still, on my PC. Also, I changed my channel to 6 (again). Now the connection is working again on the Optimus, and the speedtest app shows that it's just as fast as the PC.

 

[Dark Penguin]

You said you changed the channel on the router and the phones wifi fired right back up, so maybe you are just in an area where there are too many devices interfering. Try something like Wifi analyzer and it will show you the other networks around you and what channel they are on.

And their DSL is no longer unlimited though this is still a lot of data for most people --> from DSL FAQ
Residential AT&T High Speed Internet service includes 150 gigabytes (GB) of data each billing period, and residential AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet service includes 250 Gigabytes (GB) of data each billing period. The data you send and receive each month contributes to your monthly data plan.

I think I'd have a hard time getting past the 250GB limit. From what experience I have with media files, I think I could watch a different feature length movie every night and still have a long way to go. II've got a copy of Star Trek, the one from '09 about Captain Kirk's years at Starfleet Academy, and if memory serves it's about 5GB.

What ROM or OS version do you use on your phone?

I updated to Gingerbread about a week ago.

 

[captmeach7]

You had said DSL (the 1.5Mb) so that's 150 the Uverse is 250 (lowest speed they offer is 3Mb), regardless they shouldn't throttle based on that from what ATT tells me.

Were you having this problem before the GB update?

And has it been working fine on the other channels, or do you still get issues? I had to change my router to Ch1 cause that 2wire guy was killin me.

 

[Dark Penguin]

I just had to change it back to Channel 1; did I mention that I was told only 1,6, and 11 would work for wireless?

I just installed WiFi Analyzer and it's odd; my signal strength goes up quite a bit, then abruptly goes down to near zero. for no apparent reason. There's one other modem I can see on this channel, but they don't seem to be doing much and it's not a very strong signal.

I'll have to see if there's a PC counterpart to WiFi Analyzer as I still need to learn its features and don't want to use my phone to do that and risk effing up my network again.

 

[robbyjr]

I was under the impression that THOTTLING was something that happened to BROADBAND USERS ONLY (hear that VERIZON). I am not sure how DSL can be throttled so if someone cares to explain , I would appreciate it. Thaanks ... Shift+R improves the quality of this image. CTRL+F5 reloads the whole page.