Broadband speed

[Andrew]

I know naff all about broadband! 

 

I recently upgraded my slow broadband to fibre BB. (Sky) I cant remember the max figure, but I was given a guaranteed minimum figure of 17Mb. A big improvement on the previous 3Mb or so.. 

 

I monitored the new set up for a week or so after it was up and running, and lo and behold, I'm struggling to see more that 7Mb. 

 

I contacted Sky yesterday, and they agreed it seemed slow, so got me to plug the router into the master socket and tested again.. 15Mb! wow! (I actually didn't believe him.. ) Chap agreed the extension I was using shouldn't rob it of too much speed, but said that was all the line would support. As 15Mb was below the guaranteed speed I could freely walk out of the contract  if I wished.

 

Anyway, I said I'll see how it goes.. I'd be quite happy if it actually was up to 15Mb. After the call, I did my own speed test, leaving the router plugged into the master socket, and yes, it was 15.6Mb. So, I then put the router back where it was, plugged into the PC, did another test.. 9.62Mb.. hmmm, possibly the old line extension robbing some speed, but still a much higher figure than I'd seen at any time previously. Checked again a couple of hours later and still got 9Mb. 

 

Fast forward to this morning.. speed check back down below 6Mb! and only just over 6 a couple of hours later. 

 

What's going on? Can the BB supplier open and close the tap at will? Turn it up for the test then back down again after? How do I get them to crack it open a little more? 

 

 

 

[CraigHew]

First off, Sky are robbing B**tards....dont believe a word.  If they guaranteed a speed then that's what you should have, or find another provider.

If you really think it's your phone extension wiring (and as you've found out it's easy to move your router to the master box to test) then consider a pair of Powerline adapters.

THey are the devices that plug into and send data around your house wiring.  I've used a set of 4 to great effect around our house rather than needing to rely on wifi.

Mine are Solwise but there are lots of decent ones out there.

 

To answer your question, yes the tap can be turned, normally by automated software at the exchange once your line noise dies down after an install.

[Trevor Little (Trevturtle) - Treasurer]

A few points that may help:-

1. Wifi.  If you are speed testing through wifi that may affect the speed test .Hardwire an ethernet cable into the back of your router from your computer for the speed test. (I think you are doing this )

2. When routers are first connected to broadband they spend a few days 'negotiating' with the exchange to confirm the fastest speed they can work at without things such as line noise affecting stability. That why when connects are first connected it's fast, then sometimes slows.  Unless the exchange is reset it doesn't jump to full speed.

3. Monitoring speed continuously. Have a look at Samknows.  If you sign up with them (no cost) they send you a box that continuously monitors your broadband speed and sends you a report every month.  They have to agree you are in an area and use a provider they want to monitor before they send you a box. But worth having because it continuously runs speed test when you are aren't using broadband.    

[Andrew]

Quote

To answer your question, yes the tap can be turned, normally by automated software at the exchange once your line noise dies down after an install.

Who's controlling the tap? The BB provider or the exchange.. BT?

My concern about swapping the provider is that they'll all do similar tactics? ..same phone lines, same exchange etc? 

I had a bit of a clear out on the TV / phone / internet front. I had line rental with BT, and a basic TV package and BB with Sky, and was paying in total about £75 per month! I cancelled Sky TV as we rarely watched anything other than "terrestrial" channels, moved the line rental and phone / internet to Sky (with the higher speed BB) and the total bill is now about £30 per month. At 6Mb the BB is double what it was, but not where it should be.. I'd be fairly happy with the deal if it was up around 15. 

[DonPeffers]

Do you leave your router on 24/7?

I was advised this would improve speeds as line testing fails if switched off apparently.

Being a bit paranoid I do switch mine off when not in use.

I'm not on fibre and just accept it will be slow now and again

[Stuart]

Do a BT Wholesale speedtest.  Follow the instructions in red to the letter then follow it through to further diagnostics (put your phone number in the top box). This will then tell you the IP Profile for your line.  Your download speed should be slightly less than the IP Profile (mine is 1 Mbps less) - if it's not then it's likely the issue is with you and not with BT/Sky

http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com/

[Andrew]

2 hours ago, Stuart said:

Do a BT Wholesale speedtest.  Follow the instructions in red to the letter then follow it through to further diagnostics (put your phone number in the top box). This will then tell you the IP Profile for your line.  Your download speed should be slightly less than the IP Profile (mine is 1 Mbps less) - if it's not then it's likely the issue is with you and not with BT/Sky

http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com/

Did that test, results were Download speed 8.92 Upload 1.21 and ping 35.13. 

tried to go into the diagnostics but no idea what the ID number was they asked for, left it blank and the test failed?

Download speed of 8.9 is a higher figure than I get on other speed tests. Usually between 5.3 and 7.2

[Stuart]

You don't need the ID number Andrew just your phone number in the top box. Leave the other 2 boxes blank. Do the test with your laptop ethernet cabled to your router and the router connected to the master phone socket

[Andrew]

11 minutes ago, Stuart said:

You don't need the ID number Andrew just your phone number in the top box. Leave the other 2 boxes blank. Do the test with your laptop ethernet cabled to your router and the router connected to the master phone socket

Ah Ok Stuart. I thought it was the lack of number that caused the fail.. it suggested I try later, so I'll give it another go , later.

[Blatman]

There are lots of moving parts in an internet connection so lets deal with them one at a time.

1. The extension. Yes it could be bad wiring. Lots of folks have discovered that cheap extension cables are actually copper clad aluminium which could be an issue. There's nor harm in re-doing the connections either. http://telephoneextensionsocket.com/telephone-wiring-colour-code/  Pay attention to the section on internet speed  

2. ADSL Filters. Make sure there is one on EVERY phone outlet even if it is not in use. Sounds mad but trust me on this. I've visited LOADS of customers with speed issues which has been solved by paying attention to the filters.

3. Using homeplugs. They're OK for shifting ethernet frames around. Not so much for shifting ADSL traffic "raw" from the master socket to a router elsewhere in my experience.

4. If the test is being done wirelessly for now doesn't matter as there is a clear speed differential between the extension and the master socket. Lets get them close before we start looking at wifi issues!

5. The provider is responsible for "the tap". They don't turn it up or down at will. Think about it. How many people have Sky Broadband? Millions. How many staff work for Sky broadband? And how many of them are empowered to randomly turn the tap down for individual customers? 

 

[Ian Podmore]

How come Sky haven't just called out Openreach? I've had more than my fair share of them to ours, had sections of cable changed by them at both ends to the cabinet, plus latest version of the master socket. I'm convinced my issues (Vodafone ISP) is their crap router, but after having my 3rd one if those the number of drops I have is minimal. I ended up with max speed higher than was supposed to be able get after Openreaches local expert changed some cable at the cabinet end. 

One thing to note is when speed test is done, evenings are heaviest loads on the internet so speeds can be reduced. 

[Blatman]

The issue seems to be in the house though given the opening statements.

There's no harm in getting the cabinet checked but it can be difficult to persuade them to do anything. I "do" ADSL/FTTC and leased lines as part of my job and even though I know what to say it can takes months to see any movement. Also bear in mind that if they do come out and find the issue is not in their part of the network (from the master socket out to the street and beyond) they will charge for the visit. Last time I asked it was £125. But we're nowhere near that yet. Lets get the internal cable, sockets and filters looked at first...

 

[XTR2Turbo]

Also don't lose sight of contention whatever speed you may get.  I am in the process of moving house and have 100mb broadband in my old house.  My new house is not in an area with fibre yet and the best I can get is 10mb. During the day the 10mb service is a bit slower but hardly noticeable for what I mainly use it for.  At night the slower service is much quicker than my 100mb service. This is not based on speed tests but reaction from accessing content. 

[Andrew]

Thanks for all the suggestions. 

I ran the BT speed test again this morning, but again it couldn't carry on with the diagnostics for some reason. The speed results were higher than usual, Download 9.82, so checked directly after on the on line speed checker I had been using, which confirmed the figure. I cant do the router directly into the master socket today, but will give it a shot at some point.

Tbh, at three times the speed I had, it seems perfectly adequate for my use.. I might just be getting obsessed with numbers.. a bit like Rolling Road results. 

[Blatman]

Tbh, at three times the speed I had, it seems perfectly adequate for my use.. I might just be getting obsessed with numbers.. a bit like Rolling Road results. 

There's also getting what you were promised/are paying for.

For me, if the master socket shows better speeds than the extension and the speeds and differences between them are consistent then this is an internal wiring issue. BUt do try a filter on both sockets and do see if pin 3 (bell ring) wire is connected in the extension socket. If it is, pull it (pin 3 cable) out and re-test

And I forgot to ask, how long is the cable from your house to the street cabinet where the fibre lives? I think the samknows website is able to calculate that. If you are more than about a Kilometer from the cabinet then performance could take a hit.

http://www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk/2013/chart-bt-fttc-vdsl2-speed-against-distance