Monitoring Bandwith

[02bin3]

I've had the least expensive Hughesnet internet connection since mid 2008, and had been perfectly happy with it.  I could watch youtube videos from start to finish with no buffering, web pages, emails and attachments downloaded fairly quickly, however, for the past 4 months or so the service has been degrading incrementally where it is now to the point of being worse than a telephone modem.  Now, the surprising thing about this is that if I get up at 5:00AM EST, it will download fairly fast, and web pages open quite quickly.  The closer the time gets to 7:00AM, the slower it gets.  If I try to watch a video on youtube after 6:00AM, it will buffer every few seconds.  I've been keeping a log of all the messages that I've been getting along with the slow service, and of the exact time it takes to download files and the size of the files.  What I would like is a program that will monitor how long it takes to download and the speed at which it is downloading.  I did check on Computer Hope's Q&A page before posting this, however, the programs suggested there weren't new enough to run on Windows 7, 64 bit.  I had download one called NetTraffic that was recommended on the Kim Komando website, however, it doesn't give any instructions as to how to use it as there is no HELP button.  Do any of you out there have any recommendations for software that will work on my system that is fairly user-friendly?  At some point I plan on calling Hughesnet but I'm the type that likes to have all my ducks in a row, first.  I know the first question they will ask is:  "Do you have a router?  If so disconnect it."  I've done all those little tricks and the fact that everything works fine at 5:00 AM should be a clue that the problem is on their end and not mine.  Thanks in advance.

[soybean]

What type of Internet service does Hughesnet provide, DSL or cable?  What is your Internet connection speed supposed to be for your Hughesnet service? 

Try running a speed test of your Internet connection via http://speedtest.net/ or http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ or another speed testing website to see how the reported speed compares to what Hughesnet is supposed to be providing.  Run several speed tests at different times of the day to look for consistency or lack thereof.

[02bin3]

Dear Soybean,
    Thank you for responding.  The Hughesnet service that I have is satellite and it is their least expensive and is supposed to deliver up to 1MB/sec download speeds with a ceiling of 200MB/day uploads and downloads combined.  I have never come anywhere close to 1MB/sec.  It used to hover between 60kbps to 120kbps & rarely 220kbps.  And that was OK because I could view videos OK, and downloads weren't too terribly long for email attachments or program updates from Microsoft or Norton.
     I did as you suggested and ran a test at 12:40PM EST with www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ and this is the results:
                                        Last Result:
               Download Speed: 33 kbps (4.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
               Upload Speed: 60 kbps (7.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
     I think I will make a point of getting up around 5:00AM tomorrow and try the speakeasy speedtest again and see how that compares with the one above.  Again, thank you for your help.
      I live in the mountains so choices here for internet connections are very limited and do not look too promising for the future either as many of the folks up here live at least 1/2 a mile from their nearest neighbor and none of the communication companies want to expend the money to run the necessary lines for so few people.

[soybean]

Yes, that download speed of 33kbps is, indeed, worse than a typical "56K" dialup connection.  Recording some of these speed tests will give you some ammo for your anticipated call to Hughesnet.  I imagine you're paying much more for this satellite service than you'd pay for dialup and you're not getting your money's worth as it stands now.

Do you know other Hughesnet users in your area?  Might be good to compare notes with them.

[02bin3]

Yes, I have talked to others with Hughesnet in the area and they are also having problems except for the ones that are paying for the prime service which is around $99/mo.   They are charging me $65.95/mo for their least expensive service.  Thanks, you have come to my rescue once again.  (I can remember getting faster speeds than this with my old IBM 486 with a 9600k modem.)

[02bin3]

Just thought I would give an update on what the final resolution was to the connectivity issue.  After calling Hughesnet and explaining what was going on with the slowness, etc., they tested the modem remotely and found it was not working properly.  I now have a new modem and the internet is perking right along.  Thanks again.

[Spoiler]

Glad to hear that things worked out for you.