8mb Broadband availability

Originally posted by mcuth

Originally posted by catsilversword
With a BT line?

Yes - just because it's a BT line doesn't mean you have to go with them for everything Of course it's often "easier" because then you have everything on one bill, but it's rarely cheaper.

As part of the deregulation of the phone industry, the consumer is empowered to use any company they want as a voice call provider (e.g. companies that provide cheaper international calls), ISP (Internet Service Provider), etc... It's a lot like the power industry deregulation - it doesn't matter who owns the pipe supplying your house, you can have anyone you want supply the energy you need and they bill you the service charge & energy charge directly (they just pay the "pipe owner" a usage fee).

Up until I moved house, I used to get 3 different bills per month - BT, ISP & international call provider (now it's just BT & ISP, since the international call provider was no longer economic)

The difference is that with BT's monopolistic position, they've continued to be able to charge for the line rental, no matter who your calls are routed through, and your provider would bill you for calls only. I believe that's starting to change though.

BTW, as csparker says, I can also refer you to PlusNet (as can mitchja), oh and I've just put in to upgrade my account to the "up to 8mb" product at the end of the month

BT a nightmare? I don't think that quite describes it for me, I'm trying to come up with some superlatives! Could write a book on them. In several volumes.... [:(!]

I've only dealt with them for residential calls (i.e. not as an ISP) - they're bad enough for that, but I've heard worse about them as an ISP [n]

Cheers

Michael

Thanks Michael - and Christopher.

BTW, you can also see details on many ISPs here

Cheers

Michael

Originally posted by mcuth
BTW, you can also see details on many ISPs here

Cheers

Michael

I get the impression that speeds and prices are having major upheavals. Not before time!

I probably meant overhauls, didn't I???

Originally posted by catsilversword
I probably meant overhauls, didn't I???

Very probably :D
PlusNet have just moved me from my old 2mbps ADSL package to the new "Broadband Plus up to 8mbps" package - same price, but now I'll get whatever speed the line can provide, up to 8mbps. Checking the Sam Knows availability tool, seems my exchange got MaxDSL just last week [:0]: "According to BT Wholesale, your line should be able to support a 4Mbps or greater ADSL connection via ADSL Max" - kewl [y][y]

Cheers

Michael

[mitchja]

Well I've changed my account with Plus.net as well -although not to 8Mb just yet.

I was on a monthly 2MB Premier account but I've learnt that the Premier accounts (the top packages) will be upgraded to MaxDSL last, after all the PAYG and Plus accounts, which could take 3 - 4 months [:0]

I'm now on 2Mb PAYG with 8Gb for the same monthly cost as I was paying for Premier (£21.99) and I will get the MasDSL upto 8Mb upgrade on my next billing date (April 15th). I only use about 6Gb a month anyway (it did go up to 12Gb once though)

So if you are on a Plus.net Premier package you might have a long wait for upto 8Mb DSL [:?]

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
Well I've changed my account with Plus.net as well -although not to 8Mb just yet.

I was on a monthly 2MB Premier account but I've learnt that the Premier accounts (the top packages) will be upgraded to MaxDSL last, after all the PAYG and Plus accounts, which could take 3 - 4 months [:0]

I'm now on 2Mb PAYG with 8Gb for the same monthly cost as I was paying for Premier (£21.99) and I will get the MasDSL upto 8Mb upgrade on my next billing date (April 15th). I only use about 6Gb a month anyway (it did go up to 12Gb once though)

So if you are on a Plus.net Premier package you might have a long wait for upto 8Mb DSL [:?]

Regards

I've been looking at various options - I managed to beat BT down to a lower monthly rate last december, but unfortunately it tied me into 12 months subs. Their new service has small print showing you have to take out another 12 months - and to be honest, I don't want to do that, so will just wait untul later in the year and watch. That said, I'm going to chase them, further to my frustrating conversations with them last week, trying to find out why, if my line is upgraded, I'm still only getting 1mg..... the last person i spoke to said there was a 'problem on the line, BT's side, it's important and someone will contact me'. This was last Weds... I'll have to call them - but why, oh why, is it so painful to do so and why, if they must have their customer services in India, must it always be someone who only has a tenuous grasp of English. I asked the last guy 'can I ask who I'm speaking to?' 'Yes' - silence. 'Can I ask your name please?' D'oh.... Oh yeah, and totally OT, he kept calling me claire-ee. He didn't even ask if he could call me by my first name!

OK, soap box going away now...[:(!]

I gotta say, I recently had a problem with my broadband - connection dropping out intermittently, but getting more frequent over the last few weeks - nothing totally drastic, but annoying.

Logged the call with PlusNet, who did some initial tests that proved the fault was on the BT side....couple of days later I got a call from BT, wanting to arrange an engineer visit. Typically, this was the usual "we can only attend between the following times" type, but I managed to get a mutually acceptable date & time. Engineer came, soon identified a problem with the signal to noise ratio, changed the master socket and fitted a hardwired filter. All is well and I've had no dropouts since. Cracking job (though I suspect it would've been more difficult if BT was the ISP!) [y]

Cheers

Michael

[mitchja]

Has anyone actually got upto 8Mb DSL yet?

I'm still waiting for my upgrade here. It seems that at the moment as things arn't going to plan for Plus.net regarding their automatic upgrades as BT are unable to keep up with the 8Mb order demand which I guess is to be expected. It's a case of everybody wants 8MB and they all want it now [:w]

Things should start to happen shortly though as BT are about to release their bulk MaxDSL upgrade tool for ISP's which means all ISP's can place many more orders a day with BT. (at the moment ISP's can only place around 700 8Mb upgrade orders a day with BT)

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
Has anyone actually got upto 8Mb DSL yet?

I got an email on Tuesday morning to say that my speed regrade was complete However, I've tested my speed several times since then, and had in the range from 568kbps-2.9mbps [ii] I've also been suffering with connection dropouts....got a ticket open...[|)]

Cheers

Michael

[mitchja]

Originally posted by mcuth

Originally posted by mitchja
Has anyone actually got upto 8Mb DSL yet?

I got an email on Tuesday morning to say that my speed regrade was complete However, I've tested my speed several times since then, and had in the range from 568kbps-2.9mbps [ii] I've also been suffering with connection dropouts....got a ticket open...[|)]

Cheers

Michael

Michael

This is a pretty common occurance with the 8Mb upgrades as parts of the BT DSL network can take upto 3 days to change the speeds to match that of your actual DSL speed. For the first 10 days your DSL speed will rate adapt automatically based on your line conditions. After this intial 10 days, your line speed will calm down be set at it's most stable based on your line conditions.

There are a few web sites which discuss this problem (here's one). One solution which Plus.net seem to be discussing is dropping your DSL connection manually every couple of hours for the first few days (switching off your router/modem for 30mins at a time)

The other advice (which is too late for you though sorry) is that once you get the email to say you will be upgraded is to unplug your router/DSL modem over-night until you are sure the upgrade has occured, as the speed upgrades occur during the night and if your router/modem is still connected at the time of the actual speed upgrade, it will only run at your old speed and not pick up the new faster speeds for the first couple of days.

It's all something to do with parts of the BT DSL network taking several days to reset and to 'catch up' to your new faster line speeds.

Many people are commenting on the first '10 days of troubles' though once your do actually get the faster speeds.

Regards

James

Thanks for that - I'd actually seen the info on the "10 day period" before. Indeed, Plus mention it & the speed fluctuations in their "pre-upgrade" email:

In the ten days following your upgrade, you may see your speeds vary. This is perfectly normal, as tests are carried out during this period to see what speed your line can support. It's important that you stay connected during this ten day period so that these tests can take place. After ten days you should see your speeds stabilise at the fastest speed your line can support.

My router got rebooted anyway, because when the regrade happened, the connection dropped [ii] Anyway, the speed wasn't actually bothering me that much - though I did ask Plus just how long it would take to stabilise properly as I haven't been in the 500kbps range for almost 2 years now!

The ticket's actually open for the more frequent connection drops, which are really getting on my nerves ("It's important that you stay connected during this ten day period so that these tests can take place" - yup, I'm trying - LOL)

Originally posted by mitchja
once you get the email to say you will be upgraded is to unplug your router/DSL modem over-night until you are sure the upgrade has occured

I'd seen that before too - again, this was from the "pre-upgrade" email:

What do I need to do?
---------------------
Nothing. We'll automatically upgrade your account to receive high-speed broadband - this should take place within the coming months. Once done, we'll email you to confirm the good news.

So, for an "always on" service, I'm afraid I'm not likely to go through the switch off routine for the "coming months" on the offchance the regrade could happen one night....

Cheers

Michael

[mitchja]

Well woke up this morning and found I'd got 8Mb DSL on my line [y] :

DownStream Connection Speed 8128 kbps
UpStream Connection Speed 448 kbps

The system still thinks I'm on 2Mb though so just got to sit here and wait for the BT DSL network to catch up here though.

Regards

[Bazz]

So to get the 8mb speed, do the companies, PlusNet, Virgin, TalkTalk (Opal Telecom), etc., etc., have to unbundle the Local Loop (LLU) and install their own equipment in BT exchanges?

If this is the case it would explain why I am only getting 2mb or worse, instead of the 8mb I cantracted for - I know my exchange is ready for DSLMax but TalkTalk have not yet installed their equipment; although they say it will happen this month (May).

[mitchja]

Barry

No BT completed the upgrades to the BT DSL network in March so any ADSL provider that uses the BT DSL network can now offer upto 8Mb DSL - that's basically all the standard DSL providers in the UK.

There are no LLU providers available in my area as there's no LLU equipment in my exchange yet so I can only get my DSL from a BT provider.

Plus.net are the only ISP so far that are upgarding all their customers automatically at no extra charge or monthly cost. (They do have an opt-out system though should you not want it).

Other ISP's should now be able to offer upto 8Mb but you will probably have to request it yourself and they might also want to charge you more as well.

Regards

[Bazz]

Thanks James.

TalkTalk are offering (up to) 8mb FOC for as long as you are with them providing you join their International3 call plan. Line rental is cheeper than BT (aren't they all?) and you get free UK and (most) international call included in the plan. Whether it works well remains to be seen.

All I can say at the moment is my 2mb BT service at work appears to be about twice the speed of the 2mb TalkTalk connection that I have at home [n]

[mitchja]

Well I'm now on day 7 of the 10 day MaxDSL training period (everyone who gets upto 8Mb MaxDSL goes through this 10 day training period - it' where your line stats are automatically monitored and a stable line rate is set based on your line stats). Your upload speed should increase to ~400kb/s on day 1 (which mine did).

Nothing happened with my DSL download speeds (I was on 2Mb) until yesterday when my stable line rate increased to 2500 (2.5Mb connection speed). Today this has again increased to 5000 (5Mb connection speed). Currently getting ~4333kb/s line speed which means I can now download a file at 540 kb/s (2Mb line speed gives around 240 kb/s for comparison)

Hopefully I might get a bit more out of my line here (very good line stats as I'm close to my telephone exchange)

If you do get a MaxDSL product, don't panic if your line speeds dont increase straight away as it can take anything from 3 - 12 days to increase. It's recommended that you leave your router/modem connected 24 hrs a day and do a re-boot/disconnect your equipment from the phone line once a day for a period of 15 mins.

Regards

Bazz,
If your looking to see what LLU providers are in your area try http://www.samknows.com

LLU are a bit hit and miss (although are generally cheaper than the BT DSL network)

I'm currently with BeThere..to be honest I wouldnt recommend them yet as they're still finding their feet

I only have a 4MB line (due to distance from the exchange) but would bet 22MB if I was close enough [:(]

James - nice speed upgrades [y]

Where are you seeing the Max Stable Line Rate stats? I can't find them on the Plus Member Centre??

Cheers

Michael

[Bazz]

Originally posted by mcuth
James - nice speed upgrades [y]

Where are you seeing the Max Stable Line Rate stats? I can't find them on the Plus Member Centre??

Cheers

Michael

I get the impression that James is testing his line speed himself rather than reading stats from their website?

[mitchja]

Michael

Goto https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=stable_rate (you will need to log in, unless you have auto-login enabled from the Plus.net home page). The figure this shows you the figure Plus.net have set you connection speed at, based on the daily reports they get back from BT during your initial 10 day training period on MaxDSL.

Regards

James

Thanks for that mate - that's nicely hidden isn't it?

Hmmm - "Your current broadband speed is 5500 Kbps" - tonight's speed test gives me 963.80kbps

So, since I went to "up to 8mbps", I've had the following:
18-04-2006 17:31:03 2977.2
19-04-2006 22:12:38 2618.3
20-04-2006 21:27:03 528.9
20-04-2006 21:27:30 736.3
20-04-2006 21:27:56 771
20-04-2006 21:29:51 635.3
21-04-2006 23:27:30 2532.8
21-04-2006 23:28:33 2803.9
26-04-2006 17:48:56 2630.1
03-05-2006 17:21:27 2896.4
09-05-2006 18:13:11 2699.8
10-05-2006 19:40:20 963.8
10-05-2006 19:55:44 1662

I think I'll log a new call.....

Cheers

Michael

[mitchja]

Yeah I only found out about the stable rate page by reading their forums, along with a few other gems too, hence the rason why I moved onto a PAYG package [:?]

This is a issue with MaxDSL - it's a lot more contention dependant than slower speed DSL packages so rates will drop during peak times to 2Mb or below. Try this speed tester as it seems to be quite consistant unlike others including the Plus.net at the moment.

Still on stable rate of 5000 and I'm currently getting 3792 kb/s compared to 4333 kb/s earlier this afternoon.

Regards

Cool checker - thanks James [y][y]

I've just run 3 quick tests on that:
1st: d/l 3197kbps - u/l 373kbps
2nd: d/l 1486kbps - u/l 371kbps
3rd: d/l 3104kbps - u/l 370kbps

Seems u/l is more stable than d/l....[ii]

Cheers

Michael

Originally posted by mitchja
Barry

No BT completed the upgrades to the BT DSL network in March so any ADSL provider that uses the BT DSL network can now offer upto 8Mb DSL - that's basically all the standard DSL providers in the UK.

Shame BT is still coming up with cr@ppy excuses then - 'something to do with the distance your line is from the exchamge' - sigh... by the way, I recently watched a thingy on IT in Korea, where 100mb appears to be the norm..... yeah, made me sit up as well!