3meg DSL Download speed running at dial-up speed

Question

Since last week I’ve been getting DSL download speeds that are basically dial-up speeds.  I have the 3 meg plan and for the past 10 years or so, I came close to a 2 meg download connection speed regularly.
Last week my download speed basically disappeared.  I spent hours on the phone with Verizon Tech Support during the week.  (Their standared 72 hours to assign a service call after creating a service ticket is bogus.) A Verizon DSL tech spent 5 hours at my house on Saturday and said the problem is on VERIZON’S END with their servers.  He did it all, replaced internal wires, used his modem for the tests, checked speeds at the NID, took the router out of play, tried to get new wires from the service on the street, and still could not resolve the issue. 
I show the correct 3360/864kbs connection on my DSL Modem (Actiontec GT701D) but my download speed is averaging 33K to 60K using 4 different speed tests.  DSL disconnects at random also. My upload speed is typically around 700kbs – where it should be.
My most recent test is from this morning:
Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done
SendBufferSize set to [8192]
running 10s outbound test (client to server) . . . . . 591.76Kb/s
running 10s inbound test (server to client) . . . . . . 60.33kb/s
------ Client System Details ------
OS data: Name = Windows Vista, Architecture = x86, Version = 6.0
Java data: Vendor = Sun Microsystems Inc., Version = 1.6.0_24
------ Web100 Detailed Analysis ------
Client Receive Window detected at 17424 bytes.
Cable modem/DSL/T1 link found.
Link set to Full Duplex mode
Information: throughput is limited by other network traffic.
Good network cable(s) found
Normal duplex operation found.
Web100 reports the Round trip time = 106.05 msec; the Packet size = 1452 Bytes; and
There were 33 packets retransmitted, 59 duplicate acks received, and 63 SACK blocks received
The connection stalled 4 times due to packet loss
The connection was idle 1.36 seconds (5.03%) of the time
This connection is network limited 99.9% of the time.
Excessive packet loss is impacting your performance, check the auto-negotiate function on your local PC and network switch
Web100 reports TCP negotiated the optional Performance Settings to:
RFC 2018 Selective Acknowledgment: ON
RFC 896 Nagle Algorithm: ON
RFC 3168 Explicit Congestion Notification: OFF
RFC 1323 Time Stamping: OFF
RFC 1323 Window Scaling: ON
Information: Network Middlebox is modifying MSS variable
Server IP addresses are preserved End-to-End
Information: Network Address Translation (NAT) box is modifying the Client's IP address
Server says [{edited for privacy}] but Client says [192.168.1.100]
My DSL STATUS from this morning is:
DSL Status
VPI: 0
VCI: 35
DSL Mode Setting : MMODE
DSL Negotiated Mode: G.DMT
Connection Status: Showtime
Speed (down/up): 3360/864kps
ATM WoS Class:  UBR
Near End CRC Errors: 0/0
Far End CRC Errors: 0/73045
Near End CRC (Within Last 30 mins): 0/0
Far End CRC (Within Last 30 mins): 0/0
Near End RS FEC: 0/68
Far End RS FEC: 0/0
Near End FEC (Within Last 30 mins): 0/0
Far End FEC (Within Last 30 mins): 0/0
Discarded Packets(Within last 30 mins): 0/0
SNR Margin (Downstream/Upstream): 0/14
Attenuation (Downstream/Upstream): 119/30
This performance drop off is totally unacceptable.  What’s really interesting is that my service call has been closed out as “resolved”.  Which is obviously has not.  I am now being forced to go through support again to “diagnose” my problem.
I’ve been researching (painfully) these speed issues and have determined they are a chronic problem going back to at least 2006 for many DSL customers.  The issue seems to be they have oversold DSL services and overcrowd their local Central Office servers and routers.  There is supposed to be some performance issue regarding Redbank and Juniper switches.  Redbank is supposed to be more reliable and Juniper aren't so.  I also believe their latest “optimizing” software may also be part of the problem.
For the first time EVER, I am seriously considering converting to COMCAST because no one at Verizon (other than the DSL tech) will acknowledge they are the cause of my issue.
Anyone have a realistic idea as to what needs to be done at the Central Office to correct this issue? 
Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

Consider yourself lucky. I have had the 3Mb plan for over ten years and initially had regular speeds of 1.5 to 3.0...until a new development was put in a block away, they were connected to Verizon, and my speeds dropped to 205 kbps down/805 kbps up at the copper drop in my basement. Many calls to Verizon resulted in modem upgrades (currently the Westell 6100) and reassurances from Verizons foreign help desk that my service was performing normally. Promises of FIOS soon being available in my area (Cedar Brook, NJ) have kept me hanging on but I stopped holding my breath a few years ago.  Hopefully your service will be restored - mine most likely never will.