Internet probs.(very many, be warned)

[Matapatapa]

Hello everyone, ive been frequenting this fourm for a long time ,but i only bothered to sign up now.
anyway onto my problem
I am a heavy internet user.

I live in lahore, and had(yes had, past tense) the ptcl broadband 4,6 and 8mbps for about 2 years
during these years i suffer from constant disconections for days at a time, frequent signal loss and slow speed
repeatedly complaining to ptcl, dident help. problems only got fixed after 2 weeks and the line man assigned to our area regularly put off complaints,dident fix anything.
i currently have the nitro cloud but it suffers from extreme throttling, i cant get any speed faster then 30kbps but on the first few days of each month i get a good speed. it is to be noted that i dl about...30-50 gigs per month, so i am not exceeding their cap, as far as i know. is there a way that i can check this?
cannot even video chat on skype w/o disconnection.

now i hear that they put out a vdsl2 system.
so i wanted to ask, is this a bit more reliable then the old adsl that i have so many problems with?
also i hear some people say they have fiber-optic to their home. seeing as adsl is a fiber to the junction setup i have a hard time believing this but if it is possible i would like to know how, my house is a bit far out you see, and that is (i think) the reason for all this nonsense. the people in dha are rather enjoying themselves but in the sui-gas state life region i am heavily suffering.

is it also possible to connect a external antenna to the evo nitro huawei unit?
i asked around and people said no, so i went ahead and bought a 30ft usb cable. problem is the electricity is passed thorough, but usb signals doesn't pass, as usb was not designed for that kind of length. so i wanted to buy a
TP-Link TL-MR3020 price in pakistan
along with a archer c7
i will connect the unit to the small wifi extender thing, and the signal will go down the wire to the c7. problem is that i dont know if this would work, as the mr3020 is disguised for small usb modems, not something with a mind of its own, dont know if the protocols will work.

Thanks in advance
(sorry i know ^ is a complete mess, but i just want a decent, reliable fast connection. going to get a ps4 soon and a decent speed is needed)

 

[Matapatapa]

comon guys, 60 views and no replies?
lemme shorten it for you.
just answer the questions
1.)I live in the southren part of lahore (suigas area), suffer from heavy broadband disconnection,repeated failure,slow speed etc etc
i complain only to have the problem fixed after a month instead of a more reasonable time.
is there anything i can do about this
2.)i hear some people have setup fiber to the home systems. can that possibly solve problem no 1? and how would i go about doing it?
3.)can problem 1 alternatively be solved by going to ptcls vdsl2 system?
4.)currently have a evo nitro cloud. any way i can lock it into evdo only mode?

thanks in advance.

 

[abobobilly]

[MENTION=124829]Matapatapa[/MENTION]! If you still have the PTCL Connection then as a last resort, you can visit the Head Office of PTCL near GPO, Lahore. Talk to the Regional General Manager (Mr.Abdul Waheed) ... or his P.A (Mr.Nazeer) and i assure you, you will be entertained better than your local exchange people.

Make Notes before you go there, & present your case in a respectable and educated manner. Answer their "technical" questions about your Attenuation, SNR and ADSL Modulation etc with confidence.

Personally, i always try to get my problems solved via the easiest way possible and that is, by talking to the people directly involved in this process i.e. Local Exchange, Line Man or Broadband Area Manager. This time however, despite their cooperative behavior, they failed to provide a satisfactory result. So after waiting for 1.5 Months, i visited Head Office. Its the 2nd time in 6 years i had to go there because the problem suddenly became so severe.

As for Fiber directly to your Home, i don't know how much of it is true because i haven't seen anyone. Maybe lack of my knowledge, but AFAIK, you only get fiber till your main DB Box, and afterwards its simply Copper wire. Don't get putt off by this because it still works as intended.

For EVO Devices, kindly talk to the people who have them. [MENTION=8932]The Avenger[/MENTION] also has one, i think. Or [MENTION=11094]StrikerX[/MENTION] might also be able to help.

 

[Dark Sith]

@Matapatapa
[MENTION=8060]abobobilly[/MENTION]



well i have a wingle 9mb one and it works just fine , actually i think its the best product ever as it portable , battery packs are avaliable and you can take it any where period .

i think look around for a friend who has it to check it there is signals in your area , if you can find a nitro 9mb then thats also good but they are hard to find but were in more ways slightly better then wingle in there catching of signals .

 

[saeedmazhar]

so here's my take on your issue, as i suffered some of it in the past:

1) freq. dc, etc ... happened a lot before they upgraded their lines to fiber ... so it's fiber till DB box, and afterwards copper. After that, I haven't suffered any dc or connectivity problem for months now. It runs very good. Occasional hiccups get sorted out by simple 1218.

2) B4 the fiber setup, if the guys weren't fixing the problem within 2-3 days, I picked up email addresses of all the contacts I could find from the PTCL website (chairman, karachi/south manager, or whatever) and emailed them all about the hassle I was going thru. They fixed the connection on urgent basis, and I received several calls in a day from HO/Regional HO/Exchange etc for apologies and if the connection is working properly. They also gave their direct contact numbers, in case there is any problem in the future. So my advice to you would be to go up the hierarchy and raise your voice! Don't take any crap or lame excuses for your hard earned money. It's your right.

3) Try having the copper wire changed from pole to your set; make sure it's not very brittle, rusted, or having many joints. Make friends with the line man, and he'll himself change the whole wire for you. Khush ho k kuch chaye paani ka khyal rakh lo us ka, and he'll even give you his personal number, so that you dont have to go through the hassle of launching complaints via 1218.

4) This requires patience, but get status of your complaint @ 1218 every day, and tell them that it's not fixed yet. Make their lives miserable Don't press "1" if the automated machine asks if ur complaint has been resolved until you are completely satisfied. The unresolved complaints get elevated automatically after a few days and go up the hierarchy.


3) I dont know about evo/nitro setup, sorry.

Bottomline: somebody suggested to visit HO, do that. Or complain higher up @ PTCL and you'll have your issue fixed in no time. Hope this helped and it's just my own experience or way of dealing with PTCL. It requires patience and a demanding attitude; if they see they can fool customers around, they are gonna do it indefinitely

Other pplz experiences may be different, but best of luck neway! :laugh1:

 

[abobobilly]

[MENTION=124829]Matapatapa[/MENTION]!

Fiber (ONU):
If you read my earlier post, i have mentioned it that you don't get fiber directly to your home. You get it till your nearest (main) DB, and then its Copper, till the mini-DB Pole (which is usually a few feet away from homes, mostly in the same street).

If Fiber is available in your area, then you should definitely apply for it. A lot of broadband problems are resolved via Fiber as it doesn't suffer from Copper's limitations.

The Lineman:
A lot of people think its "OK" to give people "chaye paani", as a bhai sahab above me mention it. If you are unsatisfied with Line Man's work, just ask him a direct question if he would do his job honestly. If you don't get desired results then:
1. Visit your local exchange and meet with the people i mentioned above -- Do note that every Lineman and Broadband person has a Senior, sitting in your Local Exchange, and they are usually qualified well educated people. If necessary, you can politely threaten them about going to Head Office (Main Exchange). (Try not to be disrespectful )
2. If Local Exchange fails to product desired results then you can move to Head Office. Talk to the Regional General Manager there. I am sure you will be entertained nicely.

How to find Local Exchange?
Call at 1236 or 1217 ... tell them your PTCL number and ask them which Exchange handles your area. You'll be guided with an address and a phone number.

Technicalities:
Nothing special. Just the basics. Check your Modem's statistics page to find out the Attenuation, SNR Margin etc . Take a screenshot or Printed Copy with you, if needs be.

Distribution Network
Pretty much the same as you mention it. Except, after main DB, the wire gets to the mini-DB i.e. the Telephone Pole in your street and THEN to your house. (You get Fiber till Main DB ONLY)

 

[Matapatapa]

Thanks guys, all of you. [MENTION=8060]abobobilly[/MENTION]
i read your post, and as i said before i thought that it was fiber to the local exchange, which would make me beyond the 1km limit of copper
the main DB, does it happen to look like a white box on the ground with a door on one side ? if it is, im in luck. in that case i wont be farther then 150m from the box.

I happen to have the nitro cloud, its speed is fine even great sometimes but problem is its very variable.
i do get the occasinal 700kbps hour of awesomeness,
but most of the time, barely 30-60
if there was a way i could up the normal speed to a more reasonable 150,200 that would be great
i do get good signals though ( 3/5 )

also i suffer from it switching to cdma. there is no option to lock it into evdo, but i see this is a huawei device. if someone out there has managed to rewrite the software with the original huawei one and locked it into evdo..please tell me.

 

[saeedmazhar]

@abobobilly bhai sahab, just to clarify, i meant give chaye paani AFTER the job is done ... "khush ho k", not before the job is done as a bribe.
The line man that changed my line, i didnt give him anything but he did it all by himself after going thru the proper channel.

Since he worked for 2-3 hours, I gave him some chaye paani as a token of appreciation.

Agar kisi ko chaye paani hi deni hai, tu itnay saaray proper channel walay points meri email mein kuon follow karay ga. Direct chaye paani se hi kaam ho jaye ga.

 

[Matapatapa]

sorry, my net was down for a while

for whoever needs it, i found that you can lock the evo nitro cloud into evdo, just go to dial up, network settings in the 192.168.1.1 page, and when it isent connected(the device) change it to evdo. note that it might not work the first few times.

now if only someone cold tell me what the main DB looks like...and ill be all set to go.

 

[devnull]

Forget PTCL. Look at other companies in your area that offer Internet connections via their OWN infrastructure. That is NOT DSL or anything that uses PTCL phone lines.

 

[Matapatapa]

Forget PTCL. Look at other companies in your area that offer Internet connections via their OWN infrastructure. That is NOT DSL or anything that uses PTCL phone lines.

seems interesting....can you please elaborate? (side note= i always went with ptcl before, as it had the fastest speeds and the other providers piggyback off of ptcl anyway)