Broadband Speeds

[Bobinovich]

I got 1.82mb/s. Pretty bad. I'm thinking about switching to O2.

If you're in Caithness then no matter who you sign with it all comes through BT cables, so changing ISP won't make any difference. Your speed, as explained above, is related mainly to the distance you are from your local exchange - as the cable runs too, not as the crow flies! Also, is it possible you are still on one of the old 2Mbps contracts such as Tiscali had for a long time? In which case 1.82Mbps isn't bad, but you should be able to upgrade to an 8Mbps contract if you are connected to a suitable ADSLmax exchange, although this is still only UP TO 8Mbps.

I have found that, on occasion, BT can be persuaded to come along and replace some wiring with newer and it can make a substantial difference to speeds, such as raising from 256kbps up to 1.5Mbps.

However I've also seen people using badly wired telephone extensions, duff broadband filters, incorrectly setup filters, and many other abominations which can affect speeds once you've got past the main BT socket. Unfortunately if BT come to investigate your crappy speeds and find that its something which is your responsibility then they WILL charge you well over £100 for the call-out, and you still have to get it resolved.

[Loch not Lock]

I am in Thurso and have just done 4 speed checks. Here are the results - AOL (myISP) 2.84
Mozilla 4.56
Int. Exp. 4.67
Safari 5.14
What is the reason for this variation??

[Metalattakk]

LnL,

It's not down to using different browsers. Your speed could be changing constantly due to contention on the line, or the speed test you use can be wildly inaccurate at the best of times.

It's worth noting that the only speed test BT will accept and act upon is their own www.speedtester.bt.com.

(Be warned that it might take close to an eternity to run this test, and you'll need your ISP login details - the same username your router requires.)

Download speedachieved during the test was - 6479 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 600-7150 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :8128 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 7150 Kbps

[daviddd]

Halkirk tests at 3.52 Mps download; 0.34 upload. I thought Halkirk was only a 1 MP feed?

[NickInTheNorth]

Halkirk tests at 3.52 Mps download; 0.34 upload. I thought Halkirk was only a 1 MP feed?

Halkirk is ADSL max enabled so can provide upto 8mb

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/NSHLK

[redeyedtreefrog]

If you're in Caithness then no matter who you sign with it all comes through BT cables, so changing ISP won't make any difference. Your speed, as explained above, is related mainly to the distance you are from your local exchange - as the cable runs too, not as the crow flies! Also, is it possible you are still on one of the old 2Mbps contracts such as Tiscali had for a long time? In which case 1.82Mbps isn't bad, but you should be able to upgrade to an 8Mbps contract if you are connected to a suitable ADSLmax exchange, although this is still only UP TO 8Mbps.

I have found that, on occasion, BT can be persuaded to come along and replace some wiring with newer and it can make a substantial difference to speeds, such as raising from 256kbps up to 1.5Mbps.

However I've also seen people using badly wired telephone extensions, duff broadband filters, incorrectly setup filters, and many other abominations which can affect speeds once you've got past the main BT socket. Unfortunately if BT come to investigate your crappy speeds and find that its something which is your responsibility then they WILL charge you well over £100 for the call-out, and you still have to get it resolved.

Thank you, i hate Up To

[Kirdon]

It makes you wonder what all these Open Reach vans do at the Barrock exchange. OH thinks they've got easy chairs, a microwave and kettle in there.
I wouldn't mind 1Mbps. Apparently we need over 600 Kbps in order to use the ITV iplayer thingy. We want to watch the new series of Doc Martin now that STV have not bothered to take it up.

Try stopping and asking for look, you may get a cuppa too!

"Unfortunately if BT come to investigate your crappy speeds and find that its something which is your responsibility then they WILL charge you well over £100 for the call-out"

Just to clear up the above quote from Bob, it is usually Openreach engineers that come out to check your lines and it is your Internet service providers who charge you.

[Gronnuck]

Try stopping and asking for look, you may get a cuppa too!

"Unfortunately if BT come to investigate your crappy speeds and find that its something which is your responsibility then they WILL charge you well over £100 for the call-out"

Just to clear up the above quote from Bob, it is usually Openreach engineers that come out to check your lines and it is your Internet service providers who charge you.

I'm confident any engineer won't find any problem with my wiring/Home Hub/computer. The truth of the matter is that BT's "seamless moving home package" took 14 weeks because while there was cable capacity from the Barrock exchange to Scarfskerry there wasn't sufficient capacity on the '50 pair' cable down to my house.
I don't know what Open Reach did to solve the problem but I didn't notice any major excavations or line-laying during that 14 weeks. So I am deeply suspicious.
The Barrack exchange is ADSL Max and while I am 3.5 Km away I still expect my download speed to be considerably better that 108 Kbps!

[davem]

The 1.1 Mb lasted a whole day. Now back to 63kps and similar. I definitely am not anti indian but being able to understand the person at the other end would be helpful. They wanted to take me through the process again but I explained that so much of my life has been taken up with their problem that I would just like them to fix it please.
Grrrrrr
This is Barrock exchange too as far as I know.

[Phill]

I have noticed a significant decrease is bandwidth in the last couple of months.
We used to get 6000Kbps regularly and had no problems at all.

This morning 825kbps, line profile has been reduced to 3500kbps.

We cannot watch any streaming videos or news clips i.e. bbc etc.
I have two internet applications that used to run fine and dandy 24 hours a day if required, now require reconnection every 40 mins to an hour!


I'm off to Lithuania, at least they have decent broadband there! (is it Lithuania or Latvia?)(been orf to check and it's both!)

[Alan16]

I now live in Edinburgh, so my speeds are: 12.79 Mb/s download, 14.05 Mb/s upload, which I found odd because when I was in Wick the download was always a lot higher than upload, but oh well.

[Gizmo]

I now live in Edinburgh, so my speeds are: 12.79 Mb/s download, 14.05 Mb/s upload, which I found odd because when I was in Wick the download was always a lot higher than upload, but oh well.

You have things confused somehow, as far as i'm aware there is no such upload speed in the UK, and the maximum upload speed on the 24mb exchanges is 1.4mb

Do a speedtest and then post your results.

[Alan16]

You have things confused somehow, as far as i'm aware there is no such upload speed in the UK, and the maximum upload speed on the 24mb exchanges is 1.4mb

Do a speedtest and then post your results.

I did. That is what I find confusing - unless I misread the units or something, but those were definitely the numbers. I'll do it again, and add the results here.

[Alan16]

Image attached. Slightly slower than last time, but the upload is still almost 1 Mb/s higher than download... Also, the black rectangle in the bottom left I added to cover my IP address.

[Gizmo]

Image attached. Slightly slower than last time, but the upload is still almost 1 Mb/s higher than download... Also, the black rectangle in the bottom left I added to cover my IP address.

Mmm, perhaps some the more tech savvy Orgers can shed some light on this, as i can find not a single bit of online confirmation that an upload speed like that is available at an affordable cost, i found one ISP offering upload speeds of up to 4mb, but that cost £349 a month, and even Virgin Media with their 50mb cable broadband only offer an upload speed of 1.5mb.
I notice your ISP is a company called TopNet, but i can't find a website for them, and even details of the company are sparse, could you post the link to their hompage?

[Alan16]

Mmm, perhaps some the more tech savvy Orgers can shed some light on this, as i can find not a single bit of online confirmation that an upload speed like that is available at an affordable cost, i found one ISP offering upload speeds of up to 4mb, but that cost £349 a month, and even Virgin Media with their 50mb cable broadband only offer an upload speed of 1.5mb.
I notice your ISP is a company called TopNet, but i can't find a website for them, and even details of the company are sparse, could you post the link to their hompage?

If you can't find it then I probably can't. It is the university internet, which I think is provided by KeyCom: http://www.keycom.co.uk/index.php?p=services&i=2 And the internet is provided with the rent, so it's not as if I'm paying a lot of money for it, so...

[Gizmo]

If you can't find it then I probably can't. It is the university internet, which I think is provided by KeyCom: http://www.keycom.co.uk/index.php?p=services&i=2 And the internet is provided with the rent, so it's not as if I'm paying a lot of money for it, so...

Ahh, it might have been advisable to say that you were not using a home broadband connection, the type of connection at the university will be completely different to a home connection.

[Bobinovich]

Sounds like an SDSL connection *green with envy*

[mrs_inkstack]

First let me apologise for using the ‘General’ forum for airing what many might consider a technical subject. But I would like to get responses from as many orgers as possible not just the techno-orgers.
I recently checked my BT broadband speed at http://www.speedtest.net and http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk and found it to be 116 Kbps which I think is awful. My local exchange is Barrack and I’m about 3.5 Kms away. Now I know all the excuses/arguments etc for slow broadband but is it really too much to ask that in view of BT’s current aggressive advertising of up to 20 Mbps we should expect speeds here to be at least 10% of that advertised?
Are there any ISPs able to provide at least 2 Mbps hereabouts?

Let me shake your hand Gronnuck. I too am in Barrock and was told to upgrade my current broadband speed by purchasing a BT 'Excelerator', went on the website to do so to find out that my telephone sockets are incompatable - great All I want to do is download films from BT vision and now apparently I can't do that as my broadband speed is less than 2 MB ! Apparently it states that in the small print in my contract ? But you would think that as I have my broadband, digital TV and landline with them and considering that they are resposible for upgrading the line / exchange, that it would be in their best interests to do so ? !!! Apparently not ! So, until BT decide to upgrade our current dacs system, I'm stuck with 116 Kbps broadband too - nearly as archaic as dial up !

[Alan16]

Let me shake your hand Gronnuck. I too am in Barrock and was told to upgrade my current broadband speed by purchasing a BT 'Excelerator', went on the website to do so to find out that my telephone sockets are incompatable - great All I want to do is download films from BT vision and now apparently I can't do that as my broadband speed is less than 2 MB ! Apparently it states that in the small print in my contract ? But you would think that as I have my broadband, digital TV and landline with them and considering that they are resposible for upgrading the line / exchange, that it would be in their best interests to do so ? !!! Apparently not ! So, until BT decide to upgrade our current dacs system, I'm stuck with 116 Kbps broadband too - nearly as archaic as dial up !

You have my sympathy - when I was in Wick, my connection speed was diabo... Wait, I just need to start this 5MB song download... *Clicks start... 1 Mississippi... 2 Mississippi... 3 Mississippi... 4 Missis... Done* What was I saying?