View Full Version : Broadband Speeds (UK)
I have been chuntering along for a while on a 512kb contract. I have now changed to an 'up to 8mb' contract (oh yeah!:), but bizarrely cheaper than the original contract). Since Openreach were in my road a couple of weeks back my b/b speed has been worse. I suspect my 1950's (road cable) wiring has been mangled. Best speed obtained in my road is, I am told, around 2.5mb, and the BT b/b sales site assures me I am 'good' for 2mb. I run on a RJ45 from a router, and have checked the router on the master socket - same speeds.
Now, I've been nagging my ISP from whom I have 'line rental' (not BT). They have asked me to run the BT speedtester. This produces the interesting fact that my 'Configured Download Throughput Speed' (set by BT) and also my 'IP profile' is 350kb. I have been told to 'wait up to 10 days' for the speed to adjust (higher) but I have severe doubts about my line quality. At the mo 330ish is best download speed I get. I get higher upload! I gather BT will not do ANYTHING unless the speed drops below the 'statutory' 128kb (voice data requirement.)
How do I get something done?
dazdaz
3rd Aug 2008, 14:44
Change you ISP pronto.
Daz
Track Jitter
3rd Aug 2008, 15:02
Go to this web page -
BT Total Broadband speed test - get up to 8Mb download speeds! (http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=16541)
Enter your telphone number or post code. You'll get an idea of the expected speed due to the distance from the exchange etc.
There are another sites that do a similar thing.
Unless you have access to a cable network the copper wires will be the same no matter who your ISP is.
Hope this helps.
The point is that it is not the ISP that set this speed - it is the BT exchange machinery, so changing would not have any effect! Google up 'BRAS rate' if you are not sure.
However, this PM the 'IP Profile' has jumped to '2000kb' so there is light at the end of the tunnel, although the download speed at the moment still runs around 330kb. Time for some more WD40 down the BT manhole cover...............
Alvechurch
3rd Aug 2008, 16:21
Do you happen to know if your ISP is giving you service over an 'unbundled' pair of wires to the BT exchange?
If this is the case, BT's involvement is merely to maintain the cable pair and the Exchange equipment will be provided by your ISP.
As you probably already know, the Upstream speed is always a fraction of the Downstream speed, typically my (wholly BT ) connection gives me 6,624Kbps downstream and 448Kbps upstream.
Alvechurch
TJ - that was the test site I used. Agreed on the copper wires.
AC - not yet 'LLU' and my 'up' is actually higher than my 'down' at the moment although with today's improvement in BRAS I am more optimistic.
We really are 'behind' in the UK - my wires are BELOW the new BT access pit and date from the 50's. It would be nice if I could persuade BT to rewire me and have my cables inside their pit instead of grobbling around in the subsoil below.......
Saab Dastard
3rd Aug 2008, 17:11
Hire a JCB...:E
SD
FWIW from a non-expert...
I suffered low speeds (< 1 Mb) for years with Eclipse Networking, and put it down to the fact that the line from my shed/office to the house is my wiring, from the house to a pole DP is BT's but looks to be decades old, and then it's miles to the exchange.
The contract was for 2Mb, I think, but it never got near to that.
Then I got fed up with Eclipse's appalling Accounts, and changed - in a fit of bad temper - to Utilities Warehouse as my ADSL (8 Mb speed) and phone service provider.
Speed rose overnight to 4 - 5+ Mb, and has stayed there ever since.
I've been told it's probably the difference in contention rate, and that this is actually the most important difference between ADSL (rather than ISP) providers. Does anyone know if that's right?
west lakes
3rd Aug 2008, 17:20
Worth noting on the BT wires that some (I don't know from when) are aluminium and can be more problematic than copper.
Discovered this when we had a phone fault some years ago when the BT engineer explained what had gone wrong. (one of the pair "broke" when disturbed during work on an adjacent pair)
Aluminium also suffers from surface oxidation which leads to bad connections
Another good speed test site
Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test (http://www.speedtest.net/)
http://www.speedtest.net/result/304390949.png
The Flying Pram
3rd Aug 2008, 21:54
The aluminium wires date back to political upheaval in Rhodesia (as it was then) following which the price of copper went through the roof. The terrible legacy was its use for telephone cables. IIRC this was of the pure variety and quickly became brittle, leading to a circus act of engineer following engineer following engineer etc. Subsequently an alloyed version was introduced which was much better. Further problems were caused by corrosion between this and existing copper wires. I left BT in '96 and I thought that most of these cables had been replaced, but I suppose there may be a few lengths about.
A possible reason for slow ADSL performance would be a poorly made connection, or changing from one conductor size to another. These can cause impedance mis-matches which will attenuate the higher frequencies used.
Gertrude the Wombat
3rd Aug 2008, 22:21
How do I get something done?
Change to cable. None of this "up to" bollocks you get with ADSL - if you pay for 8M you get 8M.
Muffin Themule
4th Aug 2008, 03:13
Change to cable
May not be an option. :=
GTW - not known within 15 miles! There be dragons 'ere:)
Capot - been with UW for around 6 years.
WALSue
4th Aug 2008, 22:32
Everytime I use that speed test it kills my browser just before it returns the results. Must be something they don't want me to see! :E
Don Coyote
5th Aug 2008, 07:08
It does depend on your ISP customer support, I had been complaining about speeds to my ISP who just shrugged me off saying that speeds were dependant on the distance from the exchange!
I then changed ISP (O2 and I cannot recommend them highly enough) and was still having problems with erratic connection speeds and dropped connections.
A couple of hours with O2 customer support (totally free) trying different settings on the computer and router and waiting for pages to download was enough to convince them that BT needed to sort the line out.
The BT engineer came out and checked the line and confirmed that it was faulty, he changed the line to the exchange and I have been getting 6.2 download speeds since.
oldbeefer
5th Aug 2008, 07:46
A couple of hours with O2 customer support (totally free) trying different settings on the computer and router and waiting for pages to download was enough to convince them that BT needed to sort the line out.
And that's what you have to do - keep on at the ISP to raise a fault with BT, as you cannot go directly to them yourself. Wish I could get O2 where I am!
HuntandFish
5th Aug 2008, 10:20
I get lousy sppeds from Orange but I am a good way from the exchange and contention rates seem high .
Its also worth checking your in house wiring . I now have a wireless router plugged directly into the BT socket (front cover removed ) this helped .
Pleased to report that the new 'contract' has setted down and a final change in MTU and RWIN has produced much improved speeds. I used 'DSL Speed' (free!) to choose the settings. Thanks and good luck to the others.:ok:
frostbite
6th Aug 2008, 21:35
Think you'll find DSL Speed is not free - runs a 30 day trial, then asks for $24.95.
Don Coyote
7th Aug 2008, 07:03
Oldbeefer
I cannot get the O2 Broadband Network supply where I am either, I am on the Home Access product which is limited to maximum 8mps depending on distance from the exchange.
oldbeefer
7th Aug 2008, 07:25
Yes, I'm on 'up to 8', but rarely get more than 2 (but I am 4km from the exchange). My daughter signed up to 02 in Bath. It's not just the consistently high speed that she's pleased with, but the fantastic (UK based) customer service - and, as she has an 02 mobile, the monthly cost is less than half that I pay!
Thanks frostbite - at least it 'did the job'. I tried 'DR TCP' but several downloads produced file errors on install.
I am on 512k bits/sec at home and 8 mbits/sec at work and there is NO difference in the general web browsing speed.
Most websites (or their servers) seem to run so slowly that anything past 512k is more or less wasted - unless doing file transfers etc.