Im really peed off with my service

[#1]

My current service must be the worst in the UK. Not the customer service from PlusNet but my phone line and broadband.I am playing FIFA12 online and as it stands i have only managed to be connected to 2 games in over 1 hour, and was beaten by inferior players in both games and only because their teams were super fast compared to mine. When i signed on to PlusNet i was given a static IP address to play FIFA on, but IMO it made no difference to my speed or stability. No matter how many times i ask PlusNet they say the line is running fine. I know my area is due to go Fibre in September but i am thinking of cancelling my contract as i am not getting a service i was led to believe , i actually believe this service should be given to us free and even then i dont think i'd keep it, so can anyone tell me what the solution to my constant "lost connection with opponent" messages i get from EA/FIFA, or am i just going to have to tough it out till September( i seriously dont think i can, as its making me fly into a rage and im not a teenager anymore)
p.s im not a tech head so if there are any test i need to carry out, you'll need to talk me thro' step by step, ta

[#2]

You need to clarify if you are losing your broadband connection ie losing connection to other websites as well, or is it just this EA/FIFA site?

[#3]

Its my broadband in general. My 2meg is useless, every couple of days it just goes off completely, when 2 or more are using the web pages will time out or take ages loading and this happens on many sites. If im gaming and my daughter is surfing ,my match is very laggy and will break up until eventually "lost connection" message. The only time i get a decent crack at the game is when im working lates and come home 2-3 am and no-one in my area seems to be awake, but during the day the lag is very bad. Most times when there are more than 1 person using the service i cant even get a match up for 30 minutes and get "lost connection" messages

[#4]

Quote

If im gaming and my daughter is surfing ,my match is very laggy

That is the cause of your gaming issues.  If you have at best a 2mbit connection then anyone else on your network Surfing online will cripple your in game latency, as they will be stealing all the speed to browse online.  Worse if they are streaming anything, be it a 10 second youtube video or on-demand TV program.  Gaming and online browsing for the most part do Not mix.

[#5]

Hi there,
Gus has made some good points, but let's see if we can identify any problems with your connection.
Can you post the following information -
Results of a BT speedtest http://www.speedtester.bt.com/
Your current line speed from https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed (login required)
The ADSL Line stats from your modem/router, see http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php for help in getting these.
Can you hear any crackling noises on your line when using the phone? and who do you pay line rental to?
Using the exchange checker http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/ ; please copy and paste the current status.
On the Start Menu, select Run and type cmd in the box and click ok. When you see the prompt type ping bbc.co.uk and post the results.

[#6]

This sounds a lot like an issue within your home network.
When someone is using the Internet connection your router has its own way of prioritising the traffic and doesn't care if its taking up all of your download and upload bandwidth to stream those youtube videos.
Most routers you get don't have any advanced settings that allow you to limit the amount of bandwidth from different users. I would recommend using the TP-Link TD-W8960N: http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TD-W8960N-300MBPS-Wireless-connections/dp/B0031SUB4S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=U...
I had a similar problem before with my Netgear DGN2200 but after getting this one from TP-Link those problems disappeared. It allows you to set a maximum and minimum upload and download rate per ip address (or range of ip adresses)
This is how I have mine
(the image has been resized, save it to see full size)

The first 2 rules ensure that my Xbox 360 and PS3 have a minimum amount of bandwidth to stream data when playing online, the third rule is for my PC I use for work, and the last rule which covers a range of IP addresses automatically assigned by the router covering 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.200. The most important part is that no connection is allowed full usage of the download and upload bandwith.
So no matter how great your connection becomes you will always experience the same problem when someone takes up all your bandwidth with their Internet usage. With a better connection the only difference is that loading a youtube video won't take as long so your FIFA matches will lag less frequently but nonetheless WILL lag.

[#7]

Hi SidSnot66,
Realistically I wouldn't expect to see browsing or streaming affect the game that much as gaming (Titanium) is prioritised over browsing and streaming (Gold). There are some issues with FIFA12 - there's a rather long thread on it here. Have you seen this happen on any other games?
Jojo

[#8]

@Joanne it does, try it at home tonight.  Have the browser on one pc set to refresh a heavyish loaded page every 30 seconds to simulate someone google site hoping or have it set to stream anything on Youtube/IPlayer.  On a second PC or a console try to play any online game.  Unless you are lucky and have a decent connection and bandwidth spare, it will add latency spikes to the game or make it loose connection in-game.
With 2mbit at best the OP hasn't.

[#9]

Hi Gus,
I know what you're saying, and it does make sense. None of our household game and we do, luckily, live close to the exchange so it's not something I can replicate. If anything, it's the browsing or streaming that should falter while a game is in progress, although I don't suppose a 2 meg connection will help. I'd be interested to see what other games are affected because FIFA12 has had other issues, so I wouldn't like to cloud the issue too much.
Jojo