TooWay Problems

I've seen the previous posts on this but there seems to have been no conclusion.

You will see that I am only barely competent after reading this post so I need simple answers rather technical - for me "bandwidth" is to do with the size of my belt not anything electrical!

Briefly, I subscribed to the French Tooway supplier Connexion Verte in November and have never had a satisfactory service. I installed the dish myself and have a strong signal according to my box.

When I use any speed test, I am getting near to and sometimes exceeding their download speed of 10mb. But....

I got the Tooway system as we can only get1/2 meg here - I live in a very remote location. The old system was slow but supported most of what I wanted including VOIP.

I have not cancelled the landline service because the Tooway system is MUCH slower in actual terms than the 1/2 meg system.

I have to download photos in bulk and it takes 30secs to a minute to download an image even in low res on Tooway. The landline system is quicker.

Connexion Verte say that there is NO problem as the speed test shows I am getting the contracted speed but, with the greatest respect to them that's ba**s.

They say if there's a problem it's with my kit but using the 3meg service at my wife's cousin in the UK produces the sort of response I was expecting. I used both my laptop and my IPhone - they both respond the same on both systems.

Now at the moment I am stuck with my landline  - I daren't get rid of it - and an expensive satellite system. The French are dismissive of my complaint and I would like something heavy with which to hit them.

Can anyone help?




I've just received a reply directly from EMS which says

"Check IP settings of all connected equipment especial if you use a router" As I said above I'm not a techie - can anyone explain this for me - or give me a better answer?

Thanks

creusetec has the right idea.  

Measure the download time for downloading a specific large image.  Write it down.  Then remove the router and repeat the measurements. Repeat till you are certain it either has no effect or makes an improvement.

If you get no improvement, investigate the IP setings of the network interface of the PC (while PC is alone connected to the Tooway modem) .
"Start, Control Panel, Network and Sharing Centre, Change Adaptor settings, View status of this connection, Properties, Select Internet Protocol V4, Properties.
Obtain IP address and DNS should both be Auto.
If not, note down on paper what they were so you can back out, change both to Auto, OK etc."

Repeat the image download time test. Does it make any difference?.

If removing the router improves matters, investigate the routers IP configuration. The WAN (internet) side should be auto.  The LAN side (your wired and wireless PCs) is for you to design. Defaults and Auto on all your PCs should work. If you have static fixed LAN IPs they must all be different and all the subnet masks must be the same. If you have fixed DNS, the choice should be whatever suits Tooway.

All above assumes some IP or routing problem in your equipments.  There is the possibility that you have been deliberately slowed down due to exceeding your download limit per time period.  If so, you will be speeded up again once your average speed over the last hour, day, week, 4 weeks drops below your limits etc. Ask Connection Verte about your FAP status.  PCs periodically ask for anti-virus or large software update downloads. Since these are not time critical I suggest leaving these to run slowly on your landline at night.  The Tooway sytem is not intended for peer to peer applications such as Kazza or WinMX.  If your images come, or are sent, in such fashion then Tooway may be deliberately slowing the flow. A virus on your PC might also cause traffic to exceed your limits.

Despite all the above comments, the fault, as you suspect, may well be in the Tooway network.  There have been other similar reports so keep on complaining.  It needs lots of end user complainers to get the message through to Skylogic in Italy, who operate the Tooway network. You are talking to a local reseller who does not see the whole picture and can't correlate similar problem reports coming from scattered users. Make sure your reseller is reporting trouble to Skylogic and not just dismissing your report.

One further thought. You say you installed the dish yourself and have a strong signal.  This is not the right idea. Just getting a strong signal is not acceptable.  It is not like satellite TV where getting a good enough signal is an acceptable end to the alignment effort.
Your objective is to get the satellite into the centre of the beam.  The top of the receive beam is quite rounded and broad and there is a wide range of movements over which the receive signal can be measured and described as excellent. None of these positions is acceptable if the beam is not actually centred on the satellite. When aligning, mispoint the dish slightly in all four directions and set to the mid point between four equally degraded positions.  The resulting accurate centering means the narrower transmit beam is also aimed at the satellite.  The Tooway NOC can produce daily/weekly graphs of your transmit signal link quality into the gateway teleport if they are so inclined and could thus detect any mispointing.

Best regards, Eric.

Thanks Guys.

Looks as though the problem may be with the Router. I've played with the settings and this seems to have improved things.

Thanks for your help

Chris

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I have the same problem with Tooway Chris. I've given up complaining to them . All I get is the standard "We have checked the system and everything is working correctly" but when I ask them why, if the system is working correctly, pages are taking anything from 20 seconds to 45 seconds, everyone at Tooway seems to vanish!!

Thanks for that bigdish. I did the test and the file took 77 seconds which indicates, if I have worked it out correctly, that my speed is 5.19 Mb/S. (Via the router it took 79 seconds).

Now, being a non-techie, what I can't get my head around is this. If the speed is indeed 5.19 Mb/S, why is it that when I compare my page load time against my neighbours page load time (he only has a download speed of 3Mb/S with a USB dongle) on this site for example...

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/canada

...his page loads in 4 seconds whilst mine takes 33 seconds. I have twice the download speed that he has yet his page loads 10 times faster than mine. (sometimes, on a Monday morning I have to wait up to 1.15 minutes to get a page up).

If you can explain why this is, (in non-tech language if you can please) it would be appreciated.

I have had the dish alignment checked and the computer formatted.

So it's fair to say that satellite internet is  NOT what could be described as 'FAST'?

Where I've been going wrong is assuming that satellite internet was fast when it obviously isn't!! I certainly don't consider sitting here for over 30 seconds waiting for a page to load to be 'fast'...and that's what Tooway advertise, "Fast Broadband". If I could be bothered with the effort I would try to prosecute under 'Trade Descriptions'  because 'Fast Broadband' it certainly isn't.

My old dongle with 2-3Mb/S download was faster.

I'm going to try a new WI-FI system in November, hopefully that will be better. If Tooway is an indication of satellite  communication they can keep it!

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...but if you just want to get your mail or browse the net it's useless! 

So, as I said, satellite internet is not what one would consider 'fast'

Dish alignment and settings have been checked by regions of Tooway/BW installers and found to be OK.

Tooway insist that the system is working perfectly but when I ask why the page takes so long to load...they stop responding to mail and disappear.

Having done the 50mb download test, it would appear that the system IS giving me the contracted download speed - the question is, is 30 seconds to load a page considered 'fast' by you bods that are experts.

Contacted Skylogic directly and they did not get a reply.

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Tooway KA-SAT ka band system near Nantes, France.

We did a 2 weeks ago an install of a Tooway KA-SAT system close to Nantes in France (Beam Blue) without any problems, click on https://www.satsig.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=tooway;action=display;num=1337...

Check your MODEN and TRIA status, it shows you at least your signal info etc.

WiFi



If you have a proper and reliable WiFi provider it is always better to use this kind of service, satellite is a last option if you don't have any other. Using WiFi, at least the latency goes down from about 650 msec to less than 100 msec.

But ..................... you live in Spain and we have seen over the years many problems with WiFi providers, check out you get a good one because there are to many bad ones in Spain (mainly run by ex-pats). Iberbanda is a good one (Spanish) but we have heard also horror stories about them. Happy users but also lots of not so happy users with similar problems as yours !

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I cannot find a website of SATELVEX, typical for Spanish companies but it is not a good sign. Any company involved with communications like this should be represented on Internet in 2012.

If nobody has a system in your area it means there is no transmitter nearby (line of sight), 20 KM can be done with proper equipment (antennas) but I dont think you get this speed (20km) and I don't think it is unlimited.

Its good to try it first but without paying any fee, in your case I would ask them to test the signal first before they install anything.

Some satellite providers advertise also with unlimited services but ............. the speed goes down when you pass your monthly limits, this is not unlimited

Any professional network (satellite, wifi, adsl) providing a shared service has to limit (control bandwidth) users to give everybody a fair share, this can not be done with an unlimited service.

Don't sign any contract in Spain unless your Spanish is fluent or you have consulted a lawyer. If they offer you a test period of 2 weeks it is not unnecessary to sing any contract upfront, this can be done after 2 weeks if you are happy with the service.

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Thanks for that info. Apparently, they are frantically putting up a 'repeater'(?) boxes everywhere and will install one in the area soon.

I certainly won't sign any 12 month contract until I try it. Next week, I hope to be going to see someone that has already had it installed.

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Thanks but there is no coverage in this area.

"ps. If you trow away your Tooway system, we are happy to pick it up, I am sure there is nothing wrong with the hardware."

I was thinking of asking the dustbin truck driver to drive over it!! Ha-Ha!

What did you think about the readings I have in post 19?