Packet loss or high ping times reported via a simple ping test (such as the line test here at BBR or SmokePing) are very misleading and are not an accurate representation of real traffic on the network. Routers are programmed to give a lower priority to ping requests than standard traffic. During high traffic situations your ping request times will spike as they are pushed farther down by higher priority traffic. It normally reaches a point where the request will timeout or be ignored completely. That does not mean there is a problem with the router. It simply means that ICMP pings are being ignored, however priority data is still being passed normally. The only thing you can rely on ping for most of the time is to see if you can actually reach a host, however since some routers completely ignore all ping requests, it still can't be relied on to even show basic connectivity. In that case it would show 100% packet loss and no returns even though it is functioning correctly.

Time Saver Tips!
1. BellSouth can not do anything about packet loss on routers that are not on their network. Chances are, the routers do not have a problem and are dropping ping requests for priority reasons. It is a complete and utter waste of your time (and theirs) to call about it. Of course, this is America and you are free to waste all the time you want, however do not expect any solutions by calling. Your time would be better spent in useful endeavours such as "making a paper hat" or pondering why were there "four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" and why did someone actually count them all?

2. Increased requests from customers constantly running silly ping tests thinking that there is a problem simply adds to the latency and packet loss "problem".

One thing to keep in mind: If the packet loss on your first hop then you may have a possible physical issue that requires further troubleshooting. If you have consistent high ping times on your first hop you may be "interleaved"

Andy Houtz DSL