Job Discussion Forums

[Smooth Operator]

I'm thinking of switching from ADSL to Fibre Optic (FTTH) since KDDI have a good deal going on their Hikari Plus service and my ADSL connection is an old one (1.5mbs) and getting increasingly spotty (regularly goes offline for a few minutes every day). So, is anyone else using a fibre optic line, at home or work? Any bad points? Is it much faster? Reliable?

Also, if you're really keen, you can check your line speed here:

(A local test site, in Japanese) http://www.bspeedtest.jp/

(An American site) http://www.dslreports.com/stest

...and report back the results. I, for one, would be very interested if the real speeds are anywhere near the claimed 100mbs.

Thanks for any replies...

[azarashi sushi]

I attempted the speed test but couldn't get that java plug in thing happening and gave up so I can't give you any concrete figures.

But for what it's worth, I use USEN Hikari fibre... and it's great! I have had no problems with it at all and it's very fast.

My main reason for getting it though was that it was simply the cheapest option... 4300 per month and free installation.

[Gordon]

Anyone out there also having problems with their Yahoo BB phone/internet? The phone line keeps cutting out and my internet freezes.
If this keeps up, I'm going to get my internet connection somewhere else. Wouldn't that threat scare them.

[ironopolis]

[JimDunlop2]

Gordon: I used to work ADSL tech support for TELUS back in Canada... Funny, huh? Well, anyway, the first thing you should check is the ADSL modem itself. Ensure that the ADSL light is on and steady. If it comes on and off (especially during those times when your connection dies) that means your modem is losing train.

If your modem is losing train, the first thing is to make sure that you are using the phone cord that came with your modem.... A longer one, or even a different type can cause your connection to die. Also make sure you are not splitting your signal to a bunch of different phones; disconnect any fax machines, cordless phones, or other devices that use the phone cord. Any of these could potentially disrupt your signal. If this fails, call your ISP's tech support (in my case, AsahiNet) and they will assist you further. The phone company may have to boost your signal -- it could be too weak. If they've already maxed that out and that's still the problem you just may live in an unfortunate area. When I worked for the phone company, this was rare, but maybe about 2% of the people had chronic problems and the only way to resolve them would be for them to move!

If the modem is trained (the ADSL modem is NOT going out) then you have to look at your computer a little more. Because ADSL in Japan all uses PPPoE, ensure the settings are correct. If using WinXP, please ignore this instruction, but if you aren't, ensure that the "MTU units" are not set to 1492, but to 1450 (in the case of AsahiNet)... This is in the "Network settings" of your Control Panel. If you don't know what I'm referring to, call your ISP's tech support and they can guide you through it.

Next, if you have trouble (let's say) connecting to a website, try this: first, disconnect yourself from any routers, hubs, etc and de-activate any firewall software you may have. Next, drop to a command prompt and try pinging. Eg. Press the "start" button, got to "Run" type in "command" and press enter. YOu will be faced with a black screen and a prompt. type in: "ping www.troubledwebsite.com" and see if you get packets through to them. If you don't, and you see the numeric address come up: e.g. (Pinging 65.203.232.11) then you take that address and type it into your next ping command directly: ping 65.203.232.11 and see if you get through. What you are doing is testing your computer's ability to translate a www.whatever address into a numeric address that "the Internet" understands. If the numbers work but the name doesn't you have a DNS translation problem and you need to check your DNS settings in the "Network Settings" of your control panel. Once again, if you aren's sure about how to do that, contact your ISP tech support. If neither the name nor the number ping through, the problem lies somewhere else, and you definitely should contact your ISP for help.

Finally, the last thing you can ensure, is that you aren't running any spyware (like newdotnet). Go through your add/remove programs list in your control panel and remove any references to that, or things that you ARE SURE should not be there. Do this at your own risk, lest you delete an important program that you will then have to re-install. Also, look for the "Adaware" program by Lavasoft. It will hunt down spyware on your computer and kill it. Interestingly enough, spyware can easily cause your connection to die.... Kazaa by the way, is full-to-the-gills with spyware.

Finally, if you use a cablemodem through CCNet or something... Change to ADSL... By nature unreliable, even in North America dropping and slow connections were a problem. I think many N.American providers have actually fixed most of these issues, but I don't think their Japanese equivalents are nearly so up-to-date..... I could never get a decent connection at my last job that was on CCnet...

[Gordon]

Thanks for all the info Jim!!

I'll give it a try. I'd be curious to know if I'm the only one encountering the same problem. My theory is that Yahoo BB has spread itself too thin regarding too many subscribers.

[JimDunlop2]

Well, Gordon... fortunately, unlike cable, ADSL service does not degrade the more subscribers you have in a given area.... I suspect the main problem is, the fact that they've been pushing their service so hard on people and gotten a sudden increase in customers, they just don't have the manpower to maintain, build, fix, and service their systems. I know that happened to us at TELUS more than a few times -- Sales would have a campaign going, and we in tech support and repair would be tearing our hair out! Not to mention the nasty backlogs of work that ensued.

P.S. I think Yahoo STILL hasn't caught onto the fact that gaijin can represent a small, but rather profitable demographic which they could really tap into if they started offerning bilingual services (like tech support and signup)... That's the biggest reason I went with Flets (NTT) and Asahi Net.

[Celeste]

I went with Asahi/flets because of their aggressive marketing to foreigners. They gave me a free English CD with all of the instructions for sign up already on it while I was at my JET programme orientation in Tokyo. Worked out great. The English speaking tech support guy was able to help us through all of the configuration stuff over the phone after we'd signed up. I would highly recommend Asahi net's FLET/ADSL.

[Gordon]

[Celeste]

Gordon-
This is their website:


http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/en/

[Gordon]

Thanks guys for the help and the tips. I'm going to call them for more info tomorrow. I think Yahoo is living up to their name.