Why is FaceTime unreliable?

I have triple checked my FaceTime configuration and everything is proper. In fact, every once and a while it works perfectly. Aside from those few occassions I experience the following:

1. I call my partner. I get 40 or 50 rings on my end. She answers after two rings on her end.

2. I call my partner. I get 40 or 50 rings and then it says she is unavailable. I immediatly place another call and she answers after a couple of rings. She doesn't register a missed call and she was right next to her iPod on my first attempt.

3. I'm sitting next to my iPod and get a call from my partner. I answer it on the second ring. She asks where I've been. This is her third or fourth call in the past 5 minutes, the others without reaching me. I register no missed calls. I didn't get a ring on any of the previous attempts.

FaceTime used to be quite reliable but for the past couple of months the service has been going downhlll. Could it be that Apple is simply swamped with FaceTime activity?

I'd be interested in knowing if others are experiencing degraded service. Yes, some would say it's free so why complain. Well, in my case FaceTime was the primary reason I spent $600.00 on two iPod Touches.