Aol did send me a D-Link DSL-2680 Router which gave me the same speeds, but had trouble with the wifi to all the various iPhones and iPads around the house whereas the Netgear router does it all without complaining so I reverted back to the trusty Netgear.
Interestingly enough, I got through to the Bangalore helpline this evening which gave a recorded message dated 1st May saying that there is trouble in my area which Openreach is trying to fix - target date for a fix is tomorrow (7th).
I'll wait and see - but without holding my breath!
Thank you all for your help.
mcdhu