Maybe - but if that causes the TBB speed test to be unreliable, how does the user discover this?

Edited by deleted (Mon 25-Jun-12 14:41:41)

So how can this be changed? Are Virgin Media aware of the problem?

In reply to a post by JohnGray7581:

Maybe - but if that causes the TBB speed test to be unreliable, how does the user discover this?

The test isn't unreliable. It is reliably reporting the speed that VM can deliver over the link being used to access TBB.

I'll freely admit that I've gone through this exact same thought process some time back and blamed TBB (search the forum). I was wrong as later experience has proved.

If you want to know what your local link can deliver then many Speedtest.net testers are on decent peering (I suspect that this is no accident).

Yes we have told Virgin Media, then over a year later they came out and talked about Spotify peering issues.

What to do, VM improve peering, they could peer direct with us if they wanted.

I should point out that our network (we run our own network) has a lot of great peers, and we have a link that we can force traffic over, but it would cost us so much to do that, that we would vanish pretty quickly.

Even if we force different routing, that link leaving VM will still be congested, and other services using it are affected. One reason for doing this may be that stuff VM consider less critical goes this route.

Thanks for the information.

Then should there not be a warning for Virgin Media cable customers, that TBB results for line speeds of 20 Mbps and above are likely to be "unreliable"?

If TBB published the fact that VM users wouldn't see their headline speeds and the reasoin why (poor VM peering) I suspect they'd be hearing from VM lawyers PDQ.

The test isn't unreliable - as I said before it is showing exactly the speeds a VM customer can achieve to the tester - plus any other sites on the same peering link.

Well the old problem is back again

4 tests done within 10 mins
1) TBB - 15 Meg down 2.8 up
2) Broadband Max - 53 Meg down 2.8Meg up
3) Speedtest.net - 61 Meg down 2.7 up
4) TBB - 14 Meg down 2.8 up
5) TBB Flash -- 12 meg down 2+ up

So look at the routing out of the ISP and you'll probably find different routes.

Wonder how many other sites and services are on this congested link, perhaps Spotify was.