Internet in Caithness

[Dan Hot]

I'm getting fed up with my internet connection these days but before throwing a wobbler and switching ISP i was wondering what other people think of the internet in Caithness?

Is it fast/reliable enough? Are all the ISPs struggling here? I'm becoming concerned that there may be major congestion and wondering, if there is, can we do anything about it?

The 21C upgrade is due later next year from what I can tell. Will this be enough to sort out any problems we have?

...fingers crossed it's just my ISP

[upolian]

Ive been with tiscali/talk talk for years and it has been faultless,i had to phone the helpline once but it was my fault so they have been 100% i wont be switching ever!

[redeyedtreefrog]

I'm with Tiscali and there haven't been any real problems, just general slowness. but maybe thats just a Caithness thing.

[ShelleyCowie]

Im with BT, never had any problems. Fast aswell i would say. Was with orange before and it was so slow. Now not so bad

[NLP]

With BT it's so slow at times we end up putting it of.

[Leanne]

I cannot believe how slow the net is here compared to south of the border I used to have 20 meg broadband and get 15 minimum at all times. I now have 10 meg (the max they can offer here) and am lucky if I get 1 meg!

[Metalattakk]

I cannot believe how slow the net is here compared to south of the border I used to have 20 meg broadband and get 15 minimum at all times. I now have 10 meg (the max they can offer here) and am lucky if I get 1 meg!

Whoever told you that you can get 10 Mbps in Caithness told you a big whopper. 8 Mbps is the limit.

Mind you, if you're only getting 1 Mbps then you need to either change ISP or investigate your router settings.

What ISP are you with?

[Leanne]

What ISP are you with?

BT with an old phoneline They want £100 to replace the cabling

[Metalattakk]

BT with an old phoneline They want £100 to replace the cabling

Ah right. How far are you from your nearest exchange?

[Leanne]

Ah right. How far are you from your nearest exchange?

About a mile and a half from Watten. We've tinkered as much as we can and it is actually better now than it was

[Metalattakk]

About a mile and a half from Watten. We've tinkered as much as we can and it is actually better now than it was

I would suggest you'll need to replace the dodgy copper phone line to start with. If you change to another ISP you would still be facing the same problems.

Even so, at that distance from your exchange I doubt you'd get the full 8 Mbps speed.

I may be wrong though, others with more knowledge may be able to advise.

[Kenn]

Since moving here, the speed has increased considerably which has some what surprised us as we were in a city.
Server is BT and they have been excellent in their service and follow up.
I would add that the telphone exchange for our part of the village is just a stone's throw away.

[Gronnuck]

Most exchanges in Caithness are capable of 8 Mbps; however your speed is dependent upon the distance you are from that exchange. I noticed few Orgers include their location so it would be difficult to comment.
For myself the Barrack exchange is listed as ADSL Max status (8 Mbps) however I am over 4 miles from the exchange. Until recently I was getting just 420 Kbps which has dropped to 308 Kbps.
My main gripe is that I don’t get a discount from BT and the government is going to tax me a further £6 a year to fund any improvements.
I feel a rant at the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman coming on.

[Stefan]

Same here, used to live in large town but the exchange was over 3 miles away, so had lots of problems. Since moving to Halkirk service has been fast and reliable as the exchange is a lot closer.

To see your closest exchange just go to google maps, put in your post code to bring up your location then search for BT Exchange and they are listed.

It can help to change ISP as they all get a certain share of the exchange and if there is too many on one ISP the speed will drop. But it's hit and miss, so best to speak to your neighbours to find out who they are with and what works best.

[Olin]

Ive been with tiscali/talk talk for years and it has been faultless,i had to phone the helpline once but it was my fault so they have been 100% i wont be switching ever!

Faultless? Recently my partner and somebody I work with had no internet service and Tiscali posted on their site that it was fine and everything was working. One was from Thurso the other from Wick.

When my partner phoned up the Tiscali help line the lady told her that my girlfriend should restart the pc and that would solve it. My girlfriend restarted it whilst still on the phone and told the lady she had done this to which the lady said that my girlfriend couldn't have done it in that time because it takes longer than that to restart a pc. My gf assured the lady she had and the woman said "Go away and do it again and phone us again"

I also know of someone else who I work with that said Tiscali were a nightmare to try and cancel with.

I use BT and it is fine. Only problem I have noticed is it is sometimes slow but I put this down to it being when a lot of people may be on the web.

[Gronnuck]

To find out everything you need to know about your local BT exchange go to here Go to the top right and ‘click’ on the button marked “Exchange Search.” Then key in your post code or place name to reveal your exchange. 'Click' on the exchange's name and see the details of your local exchange. A short note in the bottom right hand corner will tell you who is responsible for Broadband services.

[badger]

About a mile and a half from Watten. We've tinkered as much as we can and it is actually better now than it was

If you're on Gillock exchange it has a serious problem. I've campaigned for years about it, as have others, even though I don't live there now. It needs upgrading. BT will tell you it's fine but local engineers know different.

[kgs]

True, Gillock exchange is a nightmare. Have been trying to get broadband for 2 years with no luck. New build so cable is fine, closer to the exchange than our old house so thats not the problem either. Very frustrating to be stuck with dial up!

[Tristan]

You might want to get an I-plate if you are not very technical or if you are disconnect the bell wire. I went from 2 to 4 Mbps by disconnecting the bell wire so well worth it but if you much it up BT will charge you for your mistake.

[Vistravi]

My mum is with BT and its hit or miss. its generally fast but there are occasioanal days when it just wants to crawl. It's the same for my partner's parents broadband. There are also with BT and we noticed last time we were up it was alot slower running than my mum's broadband at times. I do think though my mum is a bit closer to the exchange though.

One of our friend's has just moved house in thurso and one of the main things that really clinched the deal with the house is that it is literally next door to the exchange lol.