Another Adsl Line Query, Help Me Out People!

[Mike J]

Hi there

Hopefully you guys can be a bit of a devils advocate for me here. I am having a broadband problem at home and it is as follows -

Recently, well over the last 6 months or so, my broadband speed has progressively slowed down. My ISP, Virgin, insist the fault lies with my BT line but I am not sure it does.

During the working day, I am lucky if my connection speed goes over 100kbs yet at some times, early in the day for example it shoots over 1.5Mb.

One thing that remains constant is my upload speed, always steady at around 350kbs.

I am convinced that Virgin is at fault here, their contention ratio must be shocking in my opinion. Also, if BT were at fault with the line, surely upload speed would be affected too? I have also asked BT to check the line and they are happy.

Another reason why I think Virgin are a gang of monkeys is that they insist my phone line cannot exceed 0.5Mb download speed. I use a test site daily for download speeds and emailed them a file with the results in Excel which they refused to open because "company virus policy dictates we cannot open attached files" and when I printed in the email for them to review they told me they could not act as the speed test site was not one of their approved testing sites.

Any comments guys, where does the blame lie here, who should I be pestering the most?

Mike

[arfur mo]

Hi there

Hopefully you guys can be a bit of a devils advocate for me here. I am having a broadband problem at home and it is as follows -

Recently, well over the last 6 months or so, my broadband speed has progressively slowed down. My ISP, Virgin, insist the fault lies with my BT line but I am not sure it does.

During the working day, I am lucky if my connection speed goes over 100kbs yet at some times, early in the day for example it shoots over 1.5Mb.

One thing that remains constant is my upload speed, always steady at around 350kbs.

I am convinced that Virgin is at fault here, their contention ratio must be shocking in my opinion. Also, if BT were at fault with the line, surely upload speed would be affected too? I have also asked BT to check the line and they are happy.

Another reason why I think Virgin are a gang of monkeys is that they insist my phone line cannot exceed 0.5Mb download speed. I use a test site daily for download speeds and emailed them a file with the results in Excel which they refused to open because "company virus policy dictates we cannot open attached files" and when I printed in the email for them to review they told me they could not act as the speed test site was not one of their approved testing sites.

Any comments guys, where does the blame lie here, who should I be pestering the most?

Mike

why not simply dump them?

i'd assume too many people on the same local nod your on at busy times, school holiday are over so it should get a bit better - well untill christmas at least

regs

alan

[breff]

If its with Virgin, can you not get cable in your area?

[Guest anguscanplay]

Might be BT`s fault, might not be problem is your stuck with dealing with the ISP

[barooga]

What speed would you expect to be getting??

I'd still be suspicious of the BT connection. They always say is ok. What condtion is the drop wire to the house? does the overhead cable run near trees??

Or,

Have you been overdoing the downloads?? too many videos?? Highly possible they've 'choked' your connection.

[Smart Electrics]

Hi Mike

Load and Run this program and let me know what your Downstream attenuation and SNRM is.

If your on a ADSL MAX product then this will be expected due to contention and your line changing constantly.

Another great site is http://www.kitz.co.uk/index.htm from hear you can tweak your DMT setting which may help. Also the program above can adjust your noise level from a default 100% set by BT wholesale doing this can either slightley increase speed or increase stability.

Kitz web site is full of useful info but be wary if you are unsure about changing settings as they may dramatically affect your service.

Good Luck.

You could try a Google search for a freelance, independent broadband and telecoms engineer in your area. There are quite a few now.

[Mike J]

All great advice guys and the Kitz website s great.

A few questions I have would be -

Will changing my ISP increase my speed? At the end of the day, its coming through the same route?

I live in a cul de sac, I know the phone numbers and postcodes of my neighbours, my max download speed available on the line is said to be 0.5Mb but my immediate neighbours have an 8Mb spped available....I am really scratching my head.

I may well go for a freelance engineer to help me, any further suggestions are welcome.

[barooga]

All great advice guys and the Kitz website s great.

A few questions I have would be -

Will changing my ISP increase my speed? At the end of the day, its coming through the same route?

I live in a cul de sac, I know the phone numbers and postcodes of my neighbours, my max download speed available on the line is said to be 0.5Mb but my immediate neighbours have an 8Mb spped available....I am really scratching my head.

I may well go for a freelance engineer to help me, any further suggestions are welcome.

But what speed are the neighbours actually getting??

and are the on the same or diferent provider??

[amateurandy]

Will changing my ISP increase my speed? At the end of the day, its coming through the same route?

I live in a cul de sac, I know the phone numbers and postcodes of my neighbours, my max download speed available on the line is said to be 0.5Mb but my immediate neighbours have an 8Mb spped available....I am really scratching my head.

Hello Mike,

Changing your ISP is unlikely to make any significant difference to maximum SPEED but it may to THROUGHPUT.

Why - because different types of people go for different ISP's, so your contention is going to be different. Round my way it doesn't matter, whichever ISP you're on it dies during school holidays as the kids are taking all the bandwidth.... (except Virgin Media cable which is a different kettle of fish entirely)

It's not really clear what/which you're measuring, or how - can you tell us exactly what tools you're using please?

And what is the quoted speed for the package you're paying for and what make/model of equipment is used to connect (modem, router etc.). Usually there will be some sort of monitoring/management software that will enable you to check line status and hence SPEED (but not throughput)

To check maximum available SPEED go to the BT web site and act like a potential new customer. You'll have the opportunity to put your phone number in and get an estimate of the maximum speed available. Try this for your number and some of the neighbours and let us know the results - or is that what you've done already?

Of course you don't have to buy the maximum. It may be quoted as 8Mb but actually only be 6 (or much less depending on many factors). But you can buy 1Mb or 2Mb or even only 512Kb if you want to save money.

[barooga]

To check maximum available SPEED go to the BT web site and act like a potential new customer. You'll have the opportunity to put your phone number in and get an estimate of the maximum speed available. Try this for your number and some of the neighbours and let us know the results - or is that what you've done already?

If you manage to get that working, please tell us how.