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AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

adriano.fyi

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Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#81

Post by happymellon »

neurostimulant wrote: post #75
avianlyric wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Said the other way around: fast.com is great to see actual throughput from Netflix as opposed to some fake throughout from a dedicated speed test site for the exact same reason. Yup. This is pretty much the reason Netflix created fast.com. They wanted a speed test service that couldn’t be gamed by ISPs. Many ISPs will prioritise traffic to know speed test services (like Ookla’s speedtest.net), making their services…

Now that my ISP bundles Netflix subscription into their internet plans, access to netflix and fast.com now practically saturate the fiber link, while before it was outright blocked. Hooray for no net neutrality I guess. Another fun part: when netflix IPs was blocked by this ISP, it's pretty much impossible to use netflix because the only way to get around the block was to use VPN, but netflix itself blocks VPN access…

> Hooray for no net neutrality I guess

Surely it would essentially saturate your fibre if there was net neutrality, unless you don't pay for full fibre speeds?

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#82

Post by bee_rider »

neurostimulant wrote: post #75
avianlyric wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Said the other way around: fast.com is great to see actual throughput from Netflix as opposed to some fake throughout from a dedicated speed test site for the exact same reason. Yup. This is pretty much the reason Netflix created fast.com. They wanted a speed test service that couldn’t be gamed by ISPs. Many ISPs will prioritise traffic to know speed test services (like Ookla’s speedtest.net), making their services…

Now that my ISP bundles Netflix subscription into their internet plans, access to netflix and fast.com now practically saturate the fiber link, while before it was outright blocked. Hooray for no net neutrality I guess. Another fun part: when netflix IPs was blocked by this ISP, it's pretty much impossible to use netflix because the only way to get around the block was to use VPN, but netflix itself blocks VPN access…

What is the internet anyway? Are there truth in advertising issues around selling internet access with excessive filtering?

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#83

Post by vitus »

fjni wrote: post #51
dublinben wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For Netflix, part of the message is: If you’ve got a bandwidth problem, don’t blame us — blame your ISP.[0] This coverage from when Netflix launched Fast.com in 2016 alludes to the reason why the results on Fast.com may be slower than on something like Speedtest.net. ISPs like AT&T throttle connections to streaming video providers like Netflix, in order to force a lower quality stream. By offering a speed test from…

I never thought about this much, but what's interesting is that there's a missed opportunity for collaboration here. I think most ISPs throttle known streaming sites (netflix, youtube, etc.) by default for mobile plans. Some even advertise it [1]. And really what the ISPs have noticed is that if you throttle the throughput, the streaming services will switch to a lower quality stream (e.g. 720 or even 480 instead of…

> The two could have just worked together on a solution.

We do...? Google Global Cache [0] and Netflix Open Connect [1] are both the result of ISP partnerships wherein we deploy cache nodes in the ISP's datacenter to reduce network load and improve our users' viewing experience.

Whether a specific ISP chooses to partner with us or not (and the breadth of their deployment) depends on their willingness to sign the relevant contracts.

[0] https://support.google.com/interconnect/answer/9058809?hl=en

[1] https://openconnect.netflix.com/en/

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#84

Post by horsawlarway »

judge2020 wrote: post #72
jen20 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used Google Fi for a while, and while I'd love to use them as a primary carrier again, I can't until they choose to support add-on SIMs for watches. As a Google Fi and YoutubeTV customer, I cannot wait until I no longer have to give AT&T any money at all.

The only thing with Fi is that it is T-Mobile, and you'll always be in a lower priority block of customers compared to people paying for T-Mobile directly, which mean you'll see slower traffic in congested areas at peak times (including e.g. during rush hour traffic).

If you're travelling, I find it hard to beat Fi.

You literally land in a new country, turn your phone back on and you get a "Welcome to [country] - your data rate is the same" message almost anywhere.

Personally - I've flown from Taiwan to Brazil to Amsterdam and then back to the US and I don't have to think about my phone. It just works.

---

Outside of the travel use-case, I would also probably pick something else, but if I know I'm going to be travelling, I'll switch back to Fi.

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#85

Post by bee_rider »

LoganDark wrote: post #65
rzzzt wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Passthrough mode turns ~90% of the (DSL modem / ONT) + router + DHCP + NAT + WiFi AP + whatever functionality off, allowing you to add another home router after it which is completely under your control and let the ISP-provided one only do the most necessary, eg. (DSL modem / ONT) parts.

> add another home router after it which is completely under your control and let the ISP-provided one only do the most necessary, eg. (DSL modem / ONT) parts. Oh absolutely, I used that trick once in order to use a router that I could configure over web interface instead of Over The Cloud With A Spyware Mobile App (aka Internet Of Shit). Unfortunately my ISP smartened up to this and started cutting the line whenever…

Wow, I hate Comcast like everyone else, but even they are not that bad. That is just ridiculous. If I couldn’t have my own modem and own router… I dunno, they have a local monopoly, but I’d start looking at 5G connections or something.

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#86

Post by [deleted] »

bee_rider wrote: post #85
LoganDark wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> add another home router after it which is completely under your control and let the ISP-provided one only do the most necessary, eg. (DSL modem / ONT) parts. Oh absolutely, I used that trick once in order to use a router that I could configure over web interface instead of Over The Cloud With A Spyware Mobile App (aka Internet Of Shit). Unfortunately my ISP smartened up to this and started cutting the line whenever…

Wow, I hate Comcast like everyone else, but even they are not that bad. That is just ridiculous. If I couldn’t have my own modem and own router… I dunno, they have a local monopoly, but I’d start looking at 5G connections or something.

[deleted]

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#87

Post by tpxl »

happymellon wrote: post #81
neurostimulant wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now that my ISP bundles Netflix subscription into their internet plans, access to netflix and fast.com now practically saturate the fiber link, while before it was outright blocked. Hooray for no net neutrality I guess. Another fun part: when netflix IPs was blocked by this ISP, it's pretty much impossible to use netflix because the only way to get around the block was to use VPN, but netflix itself blocks VPN access…

> Hooray for no net neutrality I guess Surely it would essentially saturate your fibre if there was net neutrality, unless you don't pay for full fibre speeds?

Parent was being facetious.

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#88

Post by themagician »

A decade long fight about Net Neutrality in the public, and the ISPs just went and did what they were always going to do anyway in the background. No surprise. No news. No fanfare. Just, “Here’s your broken internet where every websites loads at a different speed. Get Unlimited* access with a 35GB limit before more limits kick in. Some websites are unusable. Enjoy. *Some limits apply. See T&C for details.”

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#89

Post by kijiki »

avianlyric wrote: post #58
fjni wrote: post #35

> I already knew from previous experience that for some reason, AT&T traffic to fast.com is throttled. Why AT&T wants bandwidth to appear lower than reality is a mystery to me, but I digress This I think is because they throttle ip addresses for known video streaming sites. That is one of (the only reliable) ways an ISP can get the streaming provider to drop the stream to a lower quality one by default. Since fast.co…

> Said the other way around: fast.com is great to see actual throughput from Netflix as opposed to some fake throughout from a dedicated speed test site for the exact same reason. Yup. This is pretty much the reason Netflix created fast.com. They wanted a speed test service that couldn’t be gamed by ISPs. Many ISPs will prioritise traffic to know speed test services (like Ookla’s speedtest.net), making their services…

Couldn't ISPs just sniff the SNI hostname to differentiate fast.com vs actual Netflix video streaming?

Re: AT&T Wireless traffic shaping apparently making some websites unusable

#90

Post by radicaldreamer »

LoganDark wrote: post #65
rzzzt wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Passthrough mode turns ~90% of the (DSL modem / ONT) + router + DHCP + NAT + WiFi AP + whatever functionality off, allowing you to add another home router after it which is completely under your control and let the ISP-provided one only do the most necessary, eg. (DSL modem / ONT) parts.

> add another home router after it which is completely under your control and let the ISP-provided one only do the most necessary, eg. (DSL modem / ONT) parts. Oh absolutely, I used that trick once in order to use a router that I could configure over web interface instead of Over The Cloud With A Spyware Mobile App (aka Internet Of Shit). Unfortunately my ISP smartened up to this and started cutting the line whenever…

You need to file an FCC complaint about this, Xfinity has an executive response team for all FCC complaints. Document every time you called them and your equipment details.
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