Broadband Speed Improved.

[Colin-S]

Ok for the past 2-3 years the maximum speed i've been able to get is 2.5 Meg. I'm currently on an "upto 8Meg" BT ADSL connection.

Recently i started getting problems with my landline, the line had lots of noise and only sometimes a dial tone. This in turn impacted my broadband speed (speeds like dial up, constant disconnects and sometimes no connection at all!!!!)

To cut a long story short the BT engineer came out and diagnosed the fault as a corroded cable from the exchange to the house. The cable was the original phone line which was god knows how many years old 20+ (degraded over time). Once this cable was replaced my line speed has went from 2.5 Meg to 5.5 Meg instantly. The good thing is BT are legally required to maintain this line from the exchange to the master socket in your house. So this cost me nothing even though they threatened me with "It could cost you £150 if you are at fault".

BT would have know that this old cable would be giving me crap speeds which is annoying, and its not something you can legally change yourself. So unless your line mysteriously gets a fault on it , they wont replace it.

Maybe it's something else for people to look into if they are getting crap speeds from ADSL.

Comments welcome.

 

[Adam]

You should be able to tell if its the line quality causing you problems by looking at the errors you get via your modem / router. Bt / Openreach will always put up a fight to do any extensive work like this to rectify a fault.

Looks like you came out on top anyway

 

[joshread]

im getting pretty rubbish speeds, no where near 8meg. im on talktalk, you think they would do the same as bt?

 

[Daz]

Just because you don't get near 8Mb, doesn't mean your line is faulty.

 

[Adam]

See people just cant jump on the band wagon thinking its down the copper between the exchange and your property. In Colin's case it was but its always going to be different for everyone. The most common cause of slow ADSL Internet is peoples internal wiring and devices attached to the line as well.

 

[Colin-S]

You should be able to tell if its the line quality causing you problems by looking at the errors you get via your modem / router. Bt / Openreach will always put up a fight to do any extensive work like this to rectify a fault.

Looks like you came out on top anyway

Yeah BT put up a good fight, cant remember how many times i had to call the "foreign call support" only for them to tell me "have you tried rebooting your pc" OR "remove all connections and wait 30 seconds and reconnect them" OR "buy a new phone and try it, as your phone could be causing it"

Anyway its sorted now, not without lots of hassle.

 

[joshread]

so if i upgrade to 16meg, should i still get 2 meg that i get from an upto8meg subscription at the moment? or will it go up to say..6meg?

 

[Day]

I hope you tried to claim some money back from BT.

I've just successfully been rebated 8 months worth of virgin media 20mb because they upgraded me without changing my ntl 100 modem - one that can't take the service!

 

[Colin-S]

Just because you don't get near 8Mb, doesn't mean your line is faulty.

I agree but interesting going from 2.5 MEG to 5.5 MEG just from renewing the external line is a vast improvement, although still no where near the 8 MEG maximum, which i know in all the circumstances involved will never happen.

 

[Adam]

so if i upgrade to 16meg, should i still get 2 meg that i get from an upto8meg subscription at the moment? or will it go up to say..6meg?

It doesn't quite work like that lol. If you only achieve 2Mbps from an "up to 8Mbps" connection then no matter what you upgrade to your speed will still be the same.

 

[Adam]

Just because you don't get near 8Mb, doesn't mean your line is faulty.

I agree but interesting going from 2.5 MEG to 5.5 MEG just from renewing the external line is a vast improvement, although still no where near the 8 MEG maximum, which i know in all the circumstances involved will never happen.

Well if your line had loads of errors on it caused by corrosion or whatever and Openreach have replaced it with new copper between junctions then you are probably achieving the most you can get out of your line which is obviously what you want

 

[Adam]

I hope you tried to claim some money back from BT.

I've just successfully been rebated 8 months worth of virgin media 20mb because they upgraded me without changing my ntl 100 modem - one that can't take the service!

lol why dont I sound supprised

 

[Colin-S]

I hope you tried to claim some money back from BT.

I've just successfully been rebated 8 months worth of virgin media 20mb because they upgraded me without changing my ntl 100 modem - one that can't take the service!

Lost about 2 weeks line rental, which i will try to claim back and told BT to cancel the broadband subscription because i was so angry with them. I will go to a better ISP that doesnt block file sharing ports!!!

Isnt it funny when you phone BT and tell them you want to cancel how good the deals they can really offer you!!! an extra £5 off a month and a new BT hub (which is crap) and some other crap. Told them where to stick it.

 

[Adam]

If you go to www.dslzoneuk.net you will be able to see which ISP you can move to.

 

[Stevo_172]

so if i upgrade to 16meg, should i still get 2 meg that i get from an upto8meg subscription at the moment? or will it go up to say..6meg?

It doesn't quite work like that lol. If you only achieve 2Mbps from an "up to 8Mbps" connection then no matter what you upgrade to your speed will still be the same.

If I'm reading this right it's not correct.

The next DSL configuration up from 8Mbps is 24Mbps, which is ADSL2+

If you do upgrade to this service, you will obviously get a connection which is reasonably close to 24Mbps. How close depends on a few factors like distance from the exchange, noise and quality of cabling.

Faster services like this are only more widely available from 3rd party LLU ISP's who have installed their own equipment in the BT exchange.

You should be able to check online whether your local exchange is LLU enabled.

 

[Colin-S]

If you go to www.dslzoneuk.net you will be able to see which ISP you can move to.

Cheers Adam.

 

[Adam]

It doesn't quite work like that lol. If you only achieve 2Mbps from an "up to 8Mbps" connection then no matter what you upgrade to your speed will still be the same.

If I'm reading this right it's not correct.

The next DSL configuration up from 8Mbps is 24Mbps, which is ADSL2+

If you do upgrade to this service, you will obviously get a connection which is reasonably close to 24Mbps. How close depends on a few factors like distance from the exchange, noise and quality of cabling.

Faster services like this are only more widely available from 3rd party LLU ISP's who have installed their own equipment in the BT exchange.

You should be able to check online whether your local exchange is LLU enabled.

No I think I am correct and I know about ADSL 2+. This guy said he can only get around 2Mbps from a lets say 8Mbps line so why would he get a better speed on a 24Mbps line :S. If he is correct in what he is saying that he only gets 2Mbps then I doubt that the sole problem lies with his internal wiring so that cant be causing a "6Mbps" loss in sync speed so the problem must lie with the external line. He has probably got a very high line attenuation and high sn margin.

 

[Adam]

If you go to www.dslzoneuk.net you will be able to see which ISP you can move to.

Cheers Adam.

No probs.

 

[Jonesy]

Hey, not sure if it will help you but i invested in a filtered faceplate called xte 2005 as i wasnt getting the speeds i was meant to.

http://www.adslnation.com/products/xte2005.php

link seems to be down atm??

i bought mine for about 12 quid i think. You can get others from maplins etc but not sure if they are as good. Easy to fit and means you dont need those filters all over your house at every telephone point.

I used to connect at 4.5mb, bought a faceplate and now connect at 7.5mb!!!

Do it!

 

[Adam]

^ I have above ADSL Nation one. It will help to get the best out of your connection.

 

[Colin-S]

Good shout Jonesy I'll give it a go, as i can still hear some noise from the modem through the phone sometimes and ive tried a few different adsl micro-filters.

 

[*Badger*]

I work for a Telco, and we sell and support ADSL.

The speed your promised and the speed you get are two very different figures, due to a number of factors, one is distance from local exchange, and the other main one which has been mentioned before is the actual kit you have in your house. Also your download and upload speeds are affected by both noise and attenuation issues that could be on your line. My advice would be to plug your wireless router directly into your LJU (Master Socket). Dont have it plugged into an extension upstairs etc as the extension cable could and possibly is taking speed of you. Also, if you report an issue to most Telco's they will tell you to plug your router direct to your LJU and retest! I was recently upgraded (for free) and it made no difference to me at all due to my distance from the exchange.

 

[Dink]

I hope you tried to claim some money back from BT.

I've just successfully been rebated 8 months worth of virgin media 20mb because they upgraded me without changing my ntl 100 modem - one that can't take the service!

the ntl 100 modems can't take 20Mbits?

perhaps thats why i can't get 20mbits although i do get between 13-18.

 

[rory182]

probably explains why we got a pretty slow connection at home, the house is 30 years old and original lines.