Computer specialist

09/11/2010 - 04:24

Does anyone know of a computer specialist in the Montegiorgio Marche area who can visit the house and sort out our rubbish connection on what is laughingly called broadband (snailband here), thanks

Topic

Technology

Comment

One of the problems with ADSL (UP TO 7mb).....is it depends on how far from the exchange you are, how many other users are sharing that exchange at the same time etc etc. Check your connection speed first with this.... . You really need at least 1mb download speed. I think you probably are more likely to need a visit to (say) global multimedia in (I think) piane de montegiorgio (opposite the TIM mobile phone shop?). They are very good and speak a bit of English (good for me anyway!) You may need to change your service provider( I assume it's telecom Italia?) Good luck, S

Thanks we know the guys at global multimedia and whilst always helpful have not really found a solution to the problem , have also had telecom Italia out to check the line, so running out of ideas and patience, perhaps we need a magic wand!

Have you checked your connection speed ? Because if you have a good speed, this would suggest it is not the connection, but your PC/router set up? Possible alternatives are dependant upon wether you have line of sight to either Monte San Martina ('Fidoka' 1.2mb connection there), or Smerillo ('Getby' 5mb connection there), both very stable, both about the same costs. S

First, I agree with the comments Sprostoni has made. From what you say, it sounds like your connection is as good as it technically can be, but that's just not all that great. Our connection is supposedly ADSL broadband, albeit at only 0.5MB, but it's often much slower than that. What's more, our ADSL modem/router has a log which shows how often the connection is lost and reconnected. On average, we lose what's supposed to be an "always-on" connection about ten times a day. That's not a huge issue if all you're doing is web browsing and emailing, but it does screw up things if you're wanting to connect to media or play games. And it's definitely not the way things are supposed to work. I'm certain that there are no problems with the telephone wiring in the house (such as telephones being directly connected to the ADSL line) and I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the ADSL router we're using, since I've tried six different models from a variety of manufacturers. It's also noticable that the connection tends to be a bit faster and more stable during school hours. From this, I've concluded that the main problem with our connection is, first, that our house is rural and we're on the end of a very long piece of wire. In fact, I think we're just about at the limit of getting any sort of ADSL. Second, I believe our connection degrades significantly once kids come home from school and start downloading music and videos. If you have a 10 MB connection that degrades by 50% due to competition from other users, you might not even notice that unless you're viewing HD TV or something equally demanding, but degrading a 500 KB connection by 50% just about takes you back to the bad old days of analogue modems. In short, there's nothing we can to do improve our connection. I hope it will eventually improve as fibre optic lines are extended and the data-flow capacity to our local telephone exchange increases, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm sure my comments won't cheer you up, but I hope they might be of some interest. Al

Happily come and have a look. PM me if you are interested.

Thanks Al, you are describing exactly our situation, thanks everyone for being helpul and thanks to Penny for her advice all much appreciated. So I shall continue to be kicked off mid prose, lets hope this makes it before it decides to have another "rest......boh."

Angie Just a thought. Are you using a digital or analogue house phone? With the digital I keep to fairly high speed, but if I plug in the analogue one I slow to a snails pace. Try unplugging your phone to see if it speeds up. K

You're welcome Angie & Robert. Hope what I suggested works. If you want a true picture of the speed of your connection and to be 100% sure there is no problem with internal wiring or other appliances do the following:

Unplug anything that uses the phone line, including SKY boxes and faxes
If you're using a wireless connection then plug your computer into the router/modem (it should automatically "find" the cable connection, if not you will need to reboot your computer)
Make sure your modem/router is plugged into the main telepone socket (i.e. where the actual physical phoneline first enters the house)

If your connection is now faster/more reliable (depending on your problem) you should now plug in each appliance one by one and do a speed test after you have done this to recheck the connection speed (or check the reliability of the connection by browsing for a bit). You can do a speed test here: This will identify any appliances that are degrading your connection. If your connection is now faster/more reliable (depending on your problem) but plugging in the appliances does not identify a fault, I would suggest you have either:

an internal wiring problem
or there is a problem with your wireless connection (only if you are using wireless and it is quicker when plugged in via a cable)

If the connection is no different after following the 3 steps above then it is either:

your modem/router (easily checked by borrowing someone else's and trying it on your line and computer)
or a physical problem with the line outside the house so you need to contact Telecom Italia
or it is just the way it is (as very well described by Allan Mason above)

Hope that helps.

Penny et al........... I recall back in blighty similar such issues with bandwidth and the likes living in a rural Cheshire village. When we left (3 years ago), we managed to achieve a 1.2mb connection from BT via the 'not so' local exchange. Without doubt things will improve here SLOWLY, but, as I have mentioned on previous occasions, I have chosen to go down the wireless route (using Fidoka(1.2mb) from their antenna on Monte san Martino - they have other locations) for the time being, knowing that I will have STABILITY. Nigh on 100% of the time I get 1.2mb stable access to the internet. not good but STABLE. This allows me to get live streaming UK BBC/ITV etc TV, Youtube uploads and downloads and many other products. I do not do gaming). There is a newcomer (GetBY, I think it's called) in the area providing 5mb download speed -GOOD (I don't now much about them but I believe they operate out of computer shop in Montelparo???) who has an antenna on Smerillo. IA friend has it, it works, I've seen it, played with it etc.... Both have installation costs of 250thereafter, 300 per year. So if you have line of sight to either Smerillo or Monte San Martino, either of these COULD be an option. I'm in my 3rd year with Fidoka...................I MAY move to GetBY in due course just for the bandwidth. No advertising from me.....just facts !! S

We gaze out towards Montegiorgio sprostoni and whilst its a good view there is as yet no link for Fidoka, will be trying the other suggestions , thanks Keith, and Penny for your very detailed suggestions. Funnily enough seems to be working OK this afternoon.

I'm sorry that here we are in 'sunny' Italy and we are sadly a bit behind a lot of the world with accessing the Internet in terms of bandwidth. We will get there...........eventually(2/5 years ?) but unfortunately a great majority of the 'age-ing' population here aren't requirening it, so therefore little demand means little 'profits' for the suppliers. I'm sure in the next few years we will catch up (a bit !). S

... router type model, pc speed memory etc, operating system, AV software and how are you connected e.g. wireless or hard wired? Can't say it will help, but may be able to provide a few suggestions :)