Action Line #90705 -- ADSL Speed

  • Published
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Complaint: 

My concern today is with the ADSL company. I have been paying for 1064 kbps for three months now. During this time, I have done numerous speed tests by several different services, all of which falling well short of half the speed I am currently paying for. Recently, I had a representative of ADSL come to my house and perform a speed test directly from the ADSL Web site. The results were slightly better but less than 75 percent of 1064 kbps that ADSL is contractually obligated to give me.

At this time, while the technicians were still at my house, I got in touch with several ADSL customer service representatives. Each of these representatives assured me that the speed at which my computer was running was well above the speed that other people were getting for the same price. At this time I explained to the representative that not only is his explanation irrelevant because everybody should be getting what they pay for, but assurance that I am getting "the best of the worst" is merely a cop out. I was then told that the only way that I would receive higher internet speed is if I buy the highest package; I currently have the second highest. He assured me that there is nothing he could do to get me what I pay for, given that the internet works on copper wiring.

This has not only hindered me from getting my online homework done for school, it also makes phone calls virtually impossible through my Vonage phone. The speed tests were done without the Vonage connected.

Response: 

Thanks for writing...this is a common concern and has been addressed many times...see below for the response from the last time I was asked this question.

I know this can be frustrating...I use Skype and while it is slow sometimes, I generally get a fair connection. Bottom line, internet service is basically a monopoly in Turkey so unfortunately our options are limited.


Originally posted October 2008 Please see at:

http://www.incirlik.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123119397  

In an effort to adequately respond to your concerns, it is necessary to provide you a bit of background information in addition to some of the solutions we are working towards so that you may understand the full scope of the issue at hand.

Turkish Telekom (TT) is the sole provider of internet services in Turkey and is wholly owned by the Turkish government. Historically, TT has been reluctant to allow free market competition and currently MayaNet, the base internet service provider, is the only company that has been allowed to set up a "campus" type solution in Turkey. That being said, MayaNet still obtains service from TT and must utilize the current TT infrastructure in order to provide service to the base.

A significant portion of the DNS failures and/or service outages can be attributed to service conditions off-base. This can be especially frustrating when using TCP streaming applications such as Vonage, P2P, gaming and music/movie downloads. This problem is further complicated due to poor line quality caused by antiquated copper cabling currently used in family housing and the dorm units.

We have also received reports that the majority of end users are frustrated that they do not receive the bandwidth that they pay for and the cost of the service provided.

There seems to be confusion in regards to this subject, so here is further explanation. The bandwidth, 256Kbps, 512Kbps or 1Mbps, indicates the maximum connection speed between the end user location and the TT system. This does not necessarily mean that the user will connect to their target website at the maximum connection speed, although it is possible. Maximum connection speed or inability to connect can be affected by a multitude of reasons to include: how many users are on-line simultaneously, network condition, location of the receiving server, diagnostics of the end users computer, location of the wireless router and/or cable pairing. After having MayaNet test numerous ports during peak usage hours, we have found that the majority of end users are being serviced at 75% to 80% of the bandwidth they purchased.

In regards to pricing, MayaNet pricing is based off of what TT charges MayaNet for use of the leased bandwidth. In addition, Incirlik is a contracted campus environment and cannot be compared to services provided off-base.

Ultimately, there are no easy solutions to the concerns being expressed throughout the base in regards to service failures or network disruptions. Phantom Housing is currently undergoing renovations that have affected connections, although we expect service outages to decrease as the renovations progress. Additionally, Falcon Housing is currently under review for cable repairs. These actions will eventually reduce connectivity issues, but one must remember that the majority of connection speed issues are linked to the off base infrastructure.