Extremely high latency from 4am - 12pm in Baltimore, MD

Question

Lately for the past month I have been getting extremely high latency 1500ms+.  I am directly wired to the Actiontec router using a new cable on a confirmed working lan card.  I believe the problem maybe at the POD card.  How would I go about proving to Verizon without going through numerous transfers of people that don't have a clue?

Answer 1

I had the same problem since Mid-June. Seems like it's anywhere in North Eastern United States. I myself is located about 20 Minutes from Washington DC. I get the latency right around 12~50 ms on first hop to Google or verizon.net on a good day with trace route test. The people in Verizon tells me that's normal but I don't buy that because my neighbor gets around less than 20 ms, never higher. It gets progressively bad around prime time and onward. Around 12 AM it can reach from 100~400 ms on latency to Google or verizon.net server.
I am a late night gamer and need that low latency badly. Seems like most of the people I have talk to from FSC (Fios solution Center) had no idea what is the difference between Bandwidth to Latency. They just call it "Speed". I have spoken with these people for almost every night for a month and a half, when I get a hint that they have no idea what they're talking about, I just hang up and call another one up or just request a supervisor to speak with.
Here is my trace route result, I have highlight the part that are unacceptable.
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  Wireless_Broadband_Router.home [192.168.1.1]
  2    61 ms    54 ms    23 ms  L100.WASHDC-VFTTP-62.verizon-gni.net [96.231.212.1]
  3    25 ms    15 ms    19 ms  G11-3-662.WASHDC-LCR-06.verizon-gni.net [130.81.104.182]
  4    36 ms    17 ms    33 ms  so-4-2-0-0.RES-BB-RTR2.verizon-gni.net [130.81.28.146]
  5    57 ms    65 ms    58 ms  po1.ctn-border1.vzlink.com [206.46.225.85]
  6    56 ms    67 ms    54 ms  po121.ctn-core1.vzlink.com [206.46.225.18]
  7    60 ms    71 ms    68 ms  206.46.228.130
  8    76 ms   102 ms   141 ms  206.46.232.39
Trace complete
I'm going to list the things I have done so that perhaps if you are having the same issue, maybe you can anticipate or maybe save you time with this issue.
Replaced Router
This will be my 3rd Router in my possession. The odds of having 3 bad routers are astronomical but yet FSC will try to keep sending you more.
Replaced coax cable (twice), ONT, and splitter.
Once again, the problem still persist. To get these fix, I had total of 4 dispatchers. From the word of their mouth, they stated it's beyond their level and when it comes to latency the tech at verizon server will be the best people to help you.
Reset ONT by unplugging it for 5 minutes or more to pull up a new Gateway IP.
Appearently, someone were able to fix their latency issue this way but the results are mixed. Either it's a permanent fix or temporary fix or it made the problem even worse.
Optimizing connection/wired connections
I have a gaming PC, when they ask to clear the cache to solve my problem, it's an insult. Not only it's irralavent, in order for the computer to bog down because of cache overload, I must possess a computer that is less than of Pentium 2 back from 1995.
Anti-virus and FireWall
If these were actually the source of my problem then the high latency should be constantly bad.
Potentially hacked or other connection to your router.
While this problem can be an issue, I can see who uses the internet and even turned off the wireless. There's no way an uninvited person can slow down my connections.
The server that I am connecting to such as website and gaming server is not guaranteed by the verizon.
Yes, that is true but what are the odds of having google, verizon.net, altavista, gaming server from Steam, etc are having the latency issue all at the same time? It is as if they are blaming traffic problem on I-95 for having bad congestion on I-66. It's not relevant at all!
Verizon in-home Agent
Must I continue?
I will now list the solutions that others have found. Please keep in mind that these problems may not be relevant to you.
1) Bad PON card
Good luck convincing the verizon that this is the issue. For this to be the issue, people from your neighborhood must experience the same problem. Sadly, the problem is the latency and most people will be completely unaware of the problem as long as they are "online". There were cases where group of people resolved the problem but unfortunately the problem came back again the next day because the network tech at Verizon decided to switch them back to the old one.
2) Faulty hardware on rack
As far as I have been told, couple claimed that this has been the issue and was permitted to move their line into another rack.
3) Switching Gateway IP
One have claimed that certain Gateway IP they have been assigned are bad. For example, the house you're trying to drive away from has a huge pothole so you have to go around it by taking a detour.
4) Resetting the ONT by unplugging the battery
There has been claim that doing this for 5 mintues clears it up. What this actually does is it allows you to get a new Gateway IP and re-establish connections.
5) They blocked my IP
Yes, this can happen. I have been blocked once or more perhaps because sometimes I like to purchase and download games from Steam. When I do download, it does so for about an hour to 3 hours depending on the size of the game. Whilst this is going on, my room mate watches movie on Netflex and perhaps download music on the side. Also I watch On-Demand (requires internet). Also not to mention sometimes torrent and other P2P downloads. Check to see if you are blocked.
6) Last but not least, Verizon is purposely gimping our latency to squeeze budget.
There has been talks and speculations that since many primary account holders are not advance users. In otherwords, many would settle for just being "online". This supports the claims for having such a low standard for latency management in verizon. If so, Verizon must stop advertising their "fast" gaming gimmick that they display on their commercial.