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dunderheed
28-Jul-07, 19:16
query? is anyone getting 8 mg broadband, and if so which company as our current one only gives us up to 2.5 mg

Metalattakk
28-Jul-07, 19:25
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/

bekisman
28-Jul-07, 19:29
I'm with virgin.net and out at Strathy, Sutherland - I'm three miles from the exchange and I can get 7.2. Right this second I'm on 6.9 - mind you I think I'm the only on the line that's got broadband (which helps!)

Tom Cornwall
28-Jul-07, 22:40
I'm with virgin.net and out at Strathy, Sutherland - I'm three miles from the exchange and I can get 7.2. Right this second I'm on 6.9 - mind you I think I'm the only on the line that's got broadband (which helps!)

I get the same as that...I'm with BT Broadband...and I'm about 600 miles south of you, which may have something to do with it..

captainpugwash
28-Jul-07, 22:53
6.8Mbps at the moment (borders of Sutherland / Caithness)

Geo
28-Jul-07, 23:27
8MB is the maximum based on the quality of your telephone line. If you are a long way from the exchange then the speeds drops, so it's possible no ISP will be able to get 8mb out of your line. I get 3.2mb max but on average it is around 2.5mb.

accossie
29-Jul-07, 09:46
Currently getting 7.7mbps on a quiet, wet, post gala Sunday morning. With BT which is good but expensive

Julia
29-Jul-07, 17:35
I'm with Madasafish and currently connected at 7.6Mbps here in Wick.

poppett
29-Jul-07, 18:29
5.3 today in Thurso with Pipex.

scorrie
29-Jul-07, 23:04
5.3 today in Thurso with Pipex.

How will Tiscali's purchase of Pipex's Broadband service affect you, if at all?

Tristan
30-Jul-07, 20:32
had to share theis speed tester

http://www.speedtest.net/ :D

felis silvestris
31-Jul-07, 03:35
I am currently getting 21.1Kbps! We have tried getting broadband but keep getting told we are too far from the exchange - 5.2miles. I would be happier if we could get a faster dial up speed, we are with Fast4 at the moment.

Lolabelle
31-Jul-07, 07:27
I have 54mps, whatever that means???? :confused:

badger
31-Jul-07, 10:02
Yes I have exactly the same - it says 54 Mbps which I've always assumed meant 54 K so, please tell us exactly what it means. I understand it's the lowest broadband speed because our exchange hasn't been upgraded and it makes no difference which company I'm with (BT actually). Can anyone confirm?

paris
31-Jul-07, 10:09
Ive recently gone over to wireless with orange but couldnt tell you what speeds ect i have ....im pc THICK ! LOL jan x:lol:

NickInTheNorth
31-Jul-07, 10:13
I am currently getting 21.1Kbps! We have tried getting broadband but keep getting told we are too far from the exchange - 5.2miles. I would be happier if we could get a faster dial up speed, we are with Fast4 at the moment.

If you're only getting 21.1 Kbps then it sounds as though you are also DACS'ed - I am assuming that you have a V.90 modem - will it run in V.34 mode? If it will you may be able to get it to run at about 33k. Not a vast improvement but every little helps at that sort of speed.

At 5.2 miles from the exchange you will likely not get broadband until such time as BT upgrades it's entire network to fibre - and that's going to be a very long wait.

Ricco
31-Jul-07, 10:15
I am currently getting 21.1Kbps! We have tried getting broadband but keep getting told we are too far from the exchange - 5.2miles. I would be happier if we could get a faster dial up speed, we are with Fast4 at the moment.

That's daft. Try one of the other ISPs and get a line test through them. I would think it is more likely to be the age of the equipment.


I have 54mps, whatever that means???? :confused:

Yes, Lolabelle... mine is also showing 54mps. It means 54 million bits per second - that's bits, not bytes. So, it shows no relation to, say, 2 Megabytes. It is really the speed of your modem.

I am on 2Megabytes, apparently I am just too far to get 8. C'est la vie. :(

Brizer2k7
31-Jul-07, 10:22
54 MBps is the fastest speed you can get from a wireless connection. It means you will be reasonably close to your wireless router and getting a good or excellent signal strength on your wireless connection.

This isnt your Broadband line speed (we all wish it was).

NickInTheNorth
31-Jul-07, 10:25
felis silvestris - there is an alternative you could opt for if you really want to get a faster (and better) connection - ISDN2e (http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/btbusinessProducts/displayProduct.do?productId=BTB-5163&s_cid=BTB_PPC_Zedmedia_Google_BTBusinessBB_Winback _q1_isdn2e_isdn2) it gives upto 128k connectivity - but it will cost more than a normal "broadband" service.

For a while BT offered it as midband or highway, but in reality they were allways just good old ISDN with fancy labels :D

Just another thought, can you see to any neighbouring properties that can and do get broadband? If you can then there are ways of sharing their connection - legally and with their permission! Cost a wee bit to put in place, but not a fortune.

You can get wireless to work line of sight over distances of upto about 18 miles - but not your average domestic indoor wireless gear.

jimbews
31-Jul-07, 12:58
Just another thought, can you see to any neighbouring properties that can and do get broadband? If you can then there are ways of sharing their connection - legally and with their permission!

But likely to be a breach of their ISP's terms and conditions.

JimBews

NickInTheNorth
31-Jul-07, 13:45
with some certainly - but by no means all. Many ISP's now allow for a LAN - what is on that LAN is up to you.

felis silvestris
01-Aug-07, 18:33
Thanks everyone who has suggested ways we might get a better connection speed. I am going to try asking our ISP if they can do anything - we have already changed recently and no improvement in speed but it may be worth a try.

bekisman
02-Aug-07, 12:14
From the BBC (Today)

Britain 'failing' net speed tests
There is a huge gap between advertised broadband speeds and the actual speeds users can achieve, research has shown.

A survey by consumer group Which? found that broadband packages promising speeds of up to 8Mbps (megabits per second) actually achieved far less.
Tests of 300 customers' net connections revealed that the average download speed they were getting was 2.7Mbps.
Which? has called on regulator Ofcom and Trading Standards to launch a fresh investigation into UK broadband.
Misleading ads
The speed tests were prompted by complaints from members of the public, unhappy with the speeds of their broadband connections.
In the last 12 months more internet service providers (ISPs) have offered services, promising speeds of up to 8Mbps.

FACTORS AFFECTING SPEED
How many people are being served by your local telephone exchange
How close you are to the telephone exchange (the closer, the faster)
The length and gauge of the line from the exchange
Electromagnetic noise from other lines in a cable or wiring within your home
The modem you use


The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has investigated several cases of misleading promotions, most recently asking Bulldog to make it clear in its adverts that speed was dependent on how far away from the exchange people lived.
It ruled that broadband providers could use the words "up to" 8Mbps when describing services as long as customers were likely to get close to those speeds.
The average speed achieved in the Which? trials was 2.7Mbps, with the lowest coming in at under 0.09Mbps, barely at dial-up rates, and the maximum only reaching 6.7Mbps.
"It is shocking that internet service providers can advertise ever-increasing speeds that seem to bear little resemblance to what most people can achieve in reality," said which.co.uk editor Malcolm Coles.
"If it's unlikely that you'll reach the advertised speed it should be made clear up front, so that you know with some certainty what you're buying," he added.
Lack of demand?
Ofcom told the BBC News website that it was monitoring the situation.
"If we get increasing complaints we may look at what more can be done. We are working closely with the ASA and it is very important that consumers know what they are getting and what they are paying for," said an Ofcom spokeswoman.
According to a Which? survey, done in conjunction with the speed tests, only one in 10 of its members thought that a broadband service advertised as up to 8Mbps would actually deliver the top speed.
Tim Johnson from analyst firm Point Topic believes that people are generally resigned to the fact that they are not going to get super-fast broadband any time soon.
"There is currently small demand for 8Mbps and we are in the early days for things that need that kind of bandwidth. The fact is that video generally is not served at those speeds even if you could receive it," he said.
A BT spokesman confirmed that 8Mbps would be a rarity for users.
"Virtually no-one will get it. The laws of physics start applying as soon as it leaves the exchange and you would have to live on top of the exchange to get the full 8 megabits," he said. BT is currently upgrading its exchanges as part of its 21st Century Network (21CN) programme. It will allow for broadband speeds of up to 24Mbps and will start to be made available from early 2008.

(24Mbps! that would be nice...)

bigno48
13-Aug-07, 11:49
I'm not to impressed by the speed I get from my broadband provider. Suspect the network to be underengineered. Would be interesting to gather some facts and are grateful if anybody else in Caithness would like to help.

I use the following to measure the service I'm getting:

Connection speed: The speed the modem connects to the telephone exchange. Could be 8 Mb down, 512 Kb up if you're using ADSL+ and the exchange is your nearest neighbour. Note: unless you are using an USB broadband modem, the connection speed the PC tells you is irrelevant. You have to log onto your ADSL modem to check the speed.

Speed delivered: I use http://www.speedtest.net/. Click in the yellow pyramid to see what speed you are actually getting delivered.

Exchange: Don't know if this matters, would depend on how the network has been engineered.

Time of day: My service used to die at 4 pm. After I forked out for a business line, they moved me from 50:1 contention to 20:1 I see less variation over the day but I am still not impressed by the level of service.

My test data

Connection Speed: ADSL Speed (DS/US)1472/448 Kbps

Speed Delivered: 945/367 Kbps 66ms ping delay at 11:35 am
http://www.speedtest.net/result/169712364.png

Exchange: Lybster

I'm getting 64% of my down link connection speed at mid day. Is this good or bad ?