Isp and bandwith

[dorsetknob]

hi any advice from the network guru's
Hardware is a Sitecom gateway router
Here is the problem
over the week end my download/upload speed has borked

Up to Friday my up / down speed was
Up Stream 1023 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 4687 (Kbps.) late Friday it changed to
Up Stream 1023 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 2278 (Kbps.
Saturday it was Up Stream 760 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 1028 (Kbps.)
Sunday and today its been
Up Stream 778 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 576 (Kbps.)

Changed the router today for a Linksys wag54g2
There was no change in up.down speed
LINKSYS
Downstream Rate: 574 kbps
Upstream Rate: 635 kbps

so i reinstalled drivers for a speedtouch usb modem to test connection ans speeds
that gave me
Up Stream 770 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 575 (Kbps.)

Isp has ""Quote tested the line and its ok""
having tried 3 different modems and routers to rule out hardware problems i cannot get a decent download speed
I believe the problem lies with the ISP and their line

Any Suggestions anyone before they sent out an engineer
(He is probably going to say its my equipment is faulty resulting in a call out cost approaching £150
but 3 different working modem routers that connect and download to me indicate my equipment is not faulty)

 

[shovenose]

hi any advice from the network guru's
Hardware is a Sitecom gateway router
Here is the problem
over the week end my download/upload speed has borked

Up to Friday my up / down speed was
Up Stream 1023 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 4687 (Kbps.) late Friday it changed to
Up Stream 1023 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 2278 (Kbps.
Saturday it was Up Stream 760 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 1028 (Kbps.)
Sunday and today its been
Up Stream 778 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 576 (Kbps.)

Changed the router today for a Linksys wag54g2
There was no change in up.down speed
LINKSYS
Downstream Rate: 574 kbps
Upstream Rate: 635 kbps

so i reinstalled drivers for a speedtouch usb modem to test connection ans speeds
that gave me
Up Stream 770 (Kbps.)
Down Stream 575 (Kbps.)

Isp has ""Quote tested the line and its ok""
having tried 3 different modems and routers to rule out hardware problems i cannot get a decent download speed
I believe the problem lies with the ISP and their line

Any Suggestions anyone before they sent out an engineer
(He is probably going to say its my equipment is faulty resulting in a call out cost approaching £150
but 3 different working modem routers that connect and download to me indicate my equipment is not faulty)

if you have a phone as well as your DSL make sure you are using DSL filters on all devices. Do keep in mind those can fail because they wear out over time so if you have extras replace them.

 

[dorsetknob]

The Phone is not usually connected but Replaced the DSL filters and
replaced all cables connecting the equipment to also rule out equipment failure on my end of things

 

[shovenose]

The Phone is not usually connected but Replaced the DSL filters and
replaced all cables connecting the equipment to also rule out equipment failure on my end of things

No improvement? Sounds like something on the line. Could be within your premises in which case you're screwed, but it could also be the ISP's fault in which case they should not charge you to fix it.

 

[dorsetknob]

Funny thing is over the weekend the download speed has dropped from 4+mb down to 0.5mb
the upload speed has increased from 0.5mb to up to 1mb

disconecting the line and reconecting the line usualy restores normal range of connected speed
( usualy 3.5 to 4.5mb down and 512kb to up to 1mb up
however this weekend that has not restored my usual speed range

 

[Seany1212]

Funny thing is over the weekend the download speed has dropped from 4+mb down to 0.5mb
the upload speed has increased from 0.5mb to up to 1mb

disconecting the line and reconecting the line usualy restores normal range of connected speed
( usualy 3.5 to 4.5mb down and 512kb to up to 1mb up
however this weekend that has not restored my usual speed range

Any data caps? Could be the ISP throttling the network.

 

[dorsetknob]

Hi

Contract was for

Rolling 30 day contract
Unlimited broadband no data caps no traffic shaping or throttling
line Rental is £8.50 ( on my bill ) Now and on website they charge £14.50 for line rental
They have not notified me of any increase in line rental charge
Up / Down Speeds changed this morning
00:45 Up Stream 760 (Kbps.)Down Stream 575 (Kbps.) (Speed at Shutdown)
10:14 Up Stream 811 (Kbps.)Down Stream 866 (Kbps.) (Speed after system booted and internet connected).

Done some file transfer tests on router

Transferred a 2.6gig file to another pc ( pc lan 100mb > Router > 100mb Pc lan) in 4 min 50sec )
Transferred a 1.2 gig file to a laptop ) ( pc lan 100mb > Router > 56mb wireless g/laptop) in 7mim 45sec

 

[RCoon]

That line rental is pretty cheap, BT usually charges twice that! Who is your ISP? Virgin?

 

[dorsetknob]

Billed to Home Telecom
Contract and account was 1st set up with Bulldog (because it was the only 1 month rolling contract i could get and i did not want to sign a 12 to 18 month contract)
Bulldog was the 1st in this area to supply internet services under the LLU deal
they were bought by cable & Wireless who sold them to Pipex who sold out/ taken over by
Home telecom
Contract and charges have stayed the same since Bulldog inc line rental @ £8.50
New contracts would be charged the same as BT @ £14.50

 

[Aquinus]

Someone where I work with had DSL through VTEL in Vermont and his internet was dead slow because the line itself had been compromised and was introducing a lot of noise on the line. If the telephone run is really old you might be encountering the same issue, particularly if it goes underground and it is old. Since then they've upgraded him to Fiber and now he gets 88Mbps down and 14Mbps up from his 0.75Mbit down and 0.25mbit up.

You may want to ask them to come out to check the signal quality off the line despite the fact that they "quote tested" it which sounds like a fancy way of saying that they're not going to come out.

 

[bencrutz]

a DSL on copper wires? check the line attenuation (via the modem web config)

 

[dorsetknob]

BT Recently upgraded the local Cabinets for Fibre !!!
My Isp use's the BT Network under the local loop unbundle system
They will send out an engineer to test the line from my end
If no fault is found or he says my equipment is faulty then i get billed up to £150

I have tried 3 Different functioning modem / routers
All show my up/down speed is around
600kb to 800 kbs up speed
350kbs to currently 866 kbs down speed
I Have transferred large files from PC to PC and via PC to Wireless connected laptop
at rates that exceed what my router can download them from the internet

So i don't think the problem is my Router ( i can still download !)
I Suspect that the ISP is coniving to push me on to a new contract ( current contract been in place since 2005 )
ie fibre at new more expensive price and an increased line rental + sting me for up to £150 for said engineer to lie to me

Edit
Line Attenuation 23 dB Upstream Downstream 54 dB


Attenuation.............Approximate Line Length............Potential Connection Speed
32db...................................2.3km.....................................16000kbps
35db...................................2.5km.....................................14500kbps
40db...................................2.9km.....................................11800kbps
45db...................................3.2km.......................................8500kbps
50db...................................3.6km.......................................6500kbps
55db...................................4.0km.......................................4500kbps
60db...................................4.3km.......................................3200kbps
65db...................................4.7km.......................................2000kbps

 

[Seany1212]

BT Recently upgraded the local Cabinets for Fibre !!!
My Isp use's the BT Network under the local loop unbundle system
They will send out an engineer to test the line from my end
If no fault is found or he says my equipment is faulty then i get billed up to £150

The local cabinets may have been upgraded to fibre but that does not mean that's how the connection travels to your house, if anything you'll remain on copper wire because they need to keep the infrastructure in place for those who just dont want fibre/want just phone lines.

So i don't think the problem is my Router ( i can still download !)
I Suspect that the ISP is coniving to push me on to a new contract ( current contract been in place since 2005 )
ie fibre at new more expensive price and an increased line rental + sting me for up to £150 for said engineer to lie to me

Ultimately for broadband you're going to end up switching to fibre, it's capability in data transfer will continue to grow and copper wire won't come close. *Looking at you, no longer existing dial-up*. It depends on whether you're in need of the line rental and if you don't whether there is a provider in your area that will give you fibre without the line rental (AFAIK line rental only exists to provide you with a phone number and line).

Virgin if it's available in your area have 3 fibre packages (30Mbps, 60Mbps, 100Mbps) and can be purchased without line rental (£22.50, £27.50, £32.50 per month respectively.)

 

[dorsetknob]

Contract and account was 1st set up with Bulldog (because it was the only 1 month rolling contract i could get and i did not want to sign a 12 to 18 month contract)

Personal circumstances mean that i cannot commit to a new contract as i cannot commit myself to being tied into a contract for a min of one year.

a Rolling one month contract suits my personal circumstances ( I'm not in work and only receive a pittance as a 24 hr carer).

As Far as i am aware there is NO British ISP that now offer a one Month broadband contract(at any Speed).
They All require you to sign up for a min of one year and often for 18 months

 

[bencrutz]

Edit
Line Attenuation 23 dB Upstream Downstream 54 dB


Attenuation.............Approximate Line Length............Potential Connection Speed
32db...................................2.3km.....................................16000kbps
35db...................................2.5km.....................................14500kbps
40db...................................2.9km.....................................11800kbps
45db...................................3.2km.......................................8500kbps
50db...................................3.6km.......................................6500kbps
55db...................................4.0km.......................................4500kbps
60db...................................4.3km.......................................3200kbps
65db...................................4.7km.......................................2000kbps

downstream line attn is quite poor, imho.

how bout downstream snr margin?

 

[dorsetknob]

"" UPDATE ""

The issue Has Been Resolved
Normal (for me ) Bandwidth seems to have been resolved
(15:27 Up Stream 835 (Kbps.)Down Stream 4538 (Kbps.). )


Earlier i Spoke to Customer Service (Technical) for an update on when their engineer was due and to inform them my bandwidth had just changed from a Down Stream of 575 (Kbps.)
to a Down Stream 866 (Kbps.) Up Stream 811 (Kbps.) that remained the same.

This time the person i was speaking to was more knowledgeable than the usual Telephone help desk grunt i explained to him what i had done to test my equipment and that i knew the fault was not there.
that any engineer visting to test the line would not be able to fault my equipment the fault was their line/equipment or they were throttling my bandwidth.
Knowing my equipment was ok i told them that for less money that what i was paying i could Tether my phone /tablet to my pc and use 3G (unlimited data + 300 min calls + 3000 txt for £15 on a rolling 30 day contract) And Still get near the same bandwidth at my location or mobile.
well he said that he would ring back with a time that an engineer would vist.
within the hour my bandwidth jumped from

13:10 Up Stream 787 (Kbps.)Down Stream 824 (Kbps.)
14:18 Up Stream 835 (Kbps.)Down Stream 4538 (Kbps.)

Now in negotiation as to adjusting my bill for this month and the inconvience they have caused me

PS they are also putting together a new Broadband package for me to change to if i so chose at a lower monthly price and "" STILL ON MY ROLLING MONTHLY CONTRACT ""

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Good outcome for you, I went with Pipex a few years ago for the reason that at the time they were the ONLY copper adsl ISP who did not do ANY kind of throttling/traffic shaping/capping etc. All the others did even though they were "unlimited" they all had some kind of FUP or traffic management. TBH they were one of the better ADSL suppliers that I have had over the years, the big names such as BT and Tiscali were some of the worst for speed, issues, customer services etc. I went to a Virgin cabled area 3 years ago and never looked back, just recently moved back to my previous area though they have infinity fibre there now and I'm so glad (75Mb/s down 20Mb/s up), going back to ADSL was my worst fear when moving, I kid you not

Anyway, went on a bit of a tangent there when all I wanted to say was congrats lol