BT 3Mbps performing like 1-2Mbps

[howfast]

Originally Posted by hellboy99

Got another call from Esat TS earlier, "we'll send you another router (that will be the third one I'll have from them now , four including my own, so I don't think it's a router problem ), if that doesn't work then we'll take it to the next level". What part of it's not my router do they not understand

Hi hellboy99

If you are getting the same slow speeds all the time then you have to eliminate hardware issues completely before we can definitively assume the problem is oversubscription at the exchange.

Have you always been getting slow speeds or did this only occur recently. If you always got slow speeds then you have to realise that the Eircon Bitstream product is rate adaptive. This means that no matter which package your on the maximum speed you can get will be dependant on the phone line distance from your house to the exchange, the greater the distance the lower the max speed attainable.

Check your router stats, you could try using RouterStats if your modem is compatible. Otherwise check the stats manually, in particular if the downstream attenuation is around 60dB or greater then you'll have problems getting 3Mbps [40dB or less is needed for a 3Mbps connection]. If the SNR or noise margin [this measures the useful signal the modem can hear] is 5dB or lower then there is likely to be a problem on the phone line [only Eircon can fix this]. For a good 3Mbps connection a noise margin of 10dB or higher is needed.

Do you use a wireless modem/router. If so connect this to the main phone socket, if your speeds improve then you have an internal phone wiring issue. Either correct this fault or use the wireless modem at that location.

Finally, don't be too hard on BT TS, their hands are tied by Eircon who will not let BT engineers into the local exchanges to check the DSL equipment. Also the fact they rang you back shows they're trying, keep the communication lines open.

Howfast

[hellboy99]

Originally Posted by howfast

Hi hellboy99

If you are getting the same slow speeds all the time then you have to eliminate hardware issues completely before we can definitively assume the problem is oversubscription at the exchange.

Have you always been getting slow speeds or did this only occur recently. If you always got slow speeds then you have to realise that the Eircon Bitstream product is rate adaptive. This means that no matter which package your on the maximum speed you can get will be dependant on the phone line distance from your house to the exchange, the greater the distance the lower the max speed attainable.

It only started to get slow about two weeks before Christmas, before that my average download speed was between 2.56 - 2.72Mbps.

Originally Posted by howfast

Check your router stats, you could try using RouterStats if your modem is compatible. Otherwise check the stats manually, in particular if the downstream attenuation is around 60dB or greater then you'll have problems getting 3Mbps [40dB or less is needed for a 3Mbps connection]. If the SNR or noise margin [this measures the useful signal the modem can hear] is 5dB or lower then there is likely to be a problem on the phone line [only Eircon can fix this]. For a good 3Mbps connection a noise margin of 10dB or higher is needed.

My Downstream attenuation is 29dB
Noise margin is 14dB

Originally Posted by howfast

Do you use a wireless modem/router. If so connect this to the main phone socket, if your speeds improve then you have an internal phone wiring issue. Either correct this fault or use the wireless modem at that location.

I've tried various routers; wireless, ether and usb and still the same, and I've tried them all on a laptop so it's not my PC. As for internal phone wiring it's all new and the main socket is only 6ft away from my PC.

Originally Posted by howfast

Finally, don't be too hard on BT TS, their hands are tied by Eircon who will not let BT engineers into the local exchanges to check the DSL equipment. Also the fact they rang you back shows they're trying, keep the communication lines open.

I know, but I pay for a 3MB service and expect to get what I pay for.

[hellboy99]

Another call back from Esat TS today (fair dues to them for keeping tabs on it and me informed), Eircon again have said they've fixed the line (this is the third time now in 2 weeks ). I'm asked to download the BT test file and what speed do I get, 9.89KB/s ,at this stage I'd be better off getting a carrier pigeon. Not only am I fed up at this stage but by the sounds of the TS guy he is too.

And Eircom want to put line rental up

[ellardm]

Hello All,
For some days Bt BB ok, but again back to poor service.

Until the Regulator has proper powers we shall suffer poor service.

Surely we are nor the only people to have problems.

[hellboy99]

I'm being downgraded to 2MB to see if that works any better, "Thanks Eircon !!"

[howfast]

Originally Posted by hellboy99

I'm being downgraded to 2MB to see if that works any better, "Thanks Eircon !!"

Hi hellboy99

I hope you checked that you won't have pay a fee for downgrading to 2Mbps.

As far as I know Eircon charge BT for doing this and BT may try to pass it onto the customer.

Howfast

[hellboy99]

Thanks for the heads up Howfast, I won't be paying it if they try, not my fault I have to downgrade.

[hellboy99]

Haven't been downgraded yet still 3MB but here's what I was getting at 3am this morning :



BT test file downloading at 315KB/s too.

I'm baffled , it was going faster than it ever did before. I don't know what to make of it, looks like it could be to do with other people using the line at the same time, here's what I'm getting at the minute :



Back to dialup I think

[ellardm]

Hello All.

I have been testing with speedtest.net from 2100hrs last evening until 0930 this morning. I have had an average of 1.2Mb download and upload of .2. The upload is ok. However download is poor for a 2Mb package. I would have accepted 1.5Mb upwards would be the norm.
Several of the test have been in the small hours of the morning, when I would have thought I would have had better download speeds.

Irishisptest.

The speed here were exactly the same.

So much for Ts saying contention is the problem. Is it that maybe the Servers in question have downgraded their systems.??????

[hellboy99]

Note to people in the Dublin & Louth areas with DSL BB, the DTT pilot is currently been tested and broadcasting transmissions from the Three Rock site in Dublin and the Clermont Carn site in County Louth, these transmissions can affect the quaility of your BB service.

[Dante]

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Thats all on a 3mb line and its also the best its been in a month!!. When i first got connected it was running at 3.24mb/s and BT used to answer there phones and emails. Seriously does anyone know who to contact about this sort of thing? And i don't mean BT or Eircom:P I mean someone official that can do something if theres enough people complaining about it.

Also the only way to get anything done in this country is to either complain or campaign and since complaining is getting us no where then maybe a boycott or a "Ban Bad Broadband!" campaign might work. The name needs work but atleast all the words start with B:P

[Dante]

I just thought of something..... what about a pay per performance scheme? Its only fair that we should pay for what were geting and not what were promised.

[ellardm]

Have tested my system for the last four days with the exception of one test my average has been 1.65MB download with the worst being .9Mb.
The upload has been .2Mb throughout.

This average has been the best for several months. Since May.

My package is 2Mb download.

Maybe I am back to normal.????

I am away on business in Europe and I may again look at there varying systems

[Sean]

I've been with BT Ireland for about two years now and have been getting a very good transfer for the first year. In the 2nd half of last year, I had a 2Mb connection and the transfer rates began falling to between 400 to 800kbps in speed tests. As I figured this was due with the day & weekend speeds much quicker, I upgraded to the 3Mb connection and was back up to speed with ~2.5Mbps using the IrishIspTest speed tests.

Just recently, my connection began deteriorating in the evening again and in the past week, I was getting transfer rates like I use to get from a 512k ADSL connection, with yesterday evening (28th March) being the slowest I've seen so far, with a speed test of around 250kbps. Even during the day I'm seldom getting above 1Mbps now and at this time of writing, I got 601kbps down / 253kbps up on the IrishIspTest The weekend and overnight (after 2am) are the only times I get something decent.

While I'm sure in some cases, an unusually slow connection is the result of an overloaded exchange, I can confirm this is BT here, since I carried out the test remotely from another PC using a DigiWeb 3Mb connection connected to my same exchange in the town and got around 1.2Mbps to 1.6Mbps on each speed test during the same time I was getting below 300kbps on my speed tests. While DigiWeb's result was still around half of what I would expect from the 3Mb connection, it was still around 4 times quicker than what I was getting.

[Sean]

This evening is so far the slowest I've seen it yet, with performance feeling much like that of around a dual-ISDN and also as shown in the Irish ISP Test screenshot below. In fact, I use to complain to my satellite provider when I use to have a 300kbps satellite based Internet connection and started seeing speeds of under 160k on the link, however, in this case it looks like I'll be changing to another broadband provider in the next week or two if this keeps up. About an hour before this time of writing, I got 200k and when I got someone on a 1Mb Eircom connection to perform a test on IrishIspTest (who is local here and is on the same exchange), they got just over 800k.

As two final checks, I rebooted my modem, but no improvement and then checked the diagnostics to see how the values compare with what I had when the connection was good. The downlink is 3072, the uplink is 384, the DSL link error count is 0 and the noise and attenuation figures are about the same as before also. I can also confirm that I had no file sharing software or any transfers taking place at the time of performing each speed test.

[Sean]

Just to keep everyone watching this thread updated, so far I have yet to see an Irish ISP Test result of beyond ~1.5Mbps, even after 2am and around 7am in the morning from my BT Broadband 3Mb link. Last Monday, I wrote an e-mail to BT using their online form to complain about the issue and all I got back from them was an advertisement saying that I should consider changing my telephone provider to them (yeah right!). After no further response, I called up BT last Friday (using their 1904 number) to report the issue and as pretty much expected, they predict it is a line issue and will have Eircom (who I currently pay line rental) to check it. I really doubt it is my line, since the ADSL modem itself shows I'm connected at 3072 down / 384 up, have a ~20% noise margin in both directions and am using ~45% line utilisation in both directions. The error count on the ADSL line is also a steady zero.

My last 9 speed tests are as follows (10th was left out when I forgot about a transfer taking place):
09/04/2007 20:49 127 kbps (16 KB/s) 270 kbps (33 KB/s) 65 % 105 ms 1298 ms
09/04/2007 13:51 522 kbps (64 KB/s) 270 kbps (33 KB/s) 13 % 37 ms 1207 ms
09/04/2007 11:10 720 kbps (88 KB/s) 301 kbps (37 KB/s) 3 % 37 ms 1175 ms
08/04/2007 23:47 369 kbps (45 KB/s) 151 kbps (19 KB/s) 4 % 38 ms 1837 ms
07/04/2007 20:21 366 kbps (45 KB/s) 315 kbps (39 KB/s) 18 % 38 ms 1293 ms
07/04/2007 15:10 85 kbps (11 KB/s) 306 kbps (38 KB/s) 49 % 24 ms 1029 ms
07/04/2007 02.06 613 kbps (75 KB/s) 278 kbps (34 KB/s) 3 % 24 ms 1323 ms
07/04/2007 01:49 784 kbps (96 KB/s) 275 kbps (34 KB/s) 3 % 24 ms 1208 ms
07/04/2007 01:16 984 kbps (121 KB/s) 217 kbps (27 KB/s) 2 % 25 ms 1188 ms

(Time in 3rd last line changed to "02.06" to avoid "026")

I'll report back with how BT deals with my line. However, as my next billing is at the end of the month, if this issue is not resolved by Sunday 22nd, I'll be changing to another ISP, since I know someone else on my exchange with a Digiweb 3Mb link gets between 1Mbps and 2.4Mbps on the Irish ISP Tests.

The following image is a test (on Irish ISP Test) just before this time of writing. I'm sure anyone paying €40 / month for a 3Mb link would not be happy feeling like they are browsing on a dual ISDN, never mind a 1Mb link:

[brianbruff]

I had problems with BT too, I got 2mbps a few weeks back and was only getting around the 150kbps mark..

I rang BT a few times but no one could tell me my problem...

And it was my problem.

We don't have a phone at home (ok we have a phone line but no phone connected) I did not RTFM so I knew nothing about the filters that came with the modem...


I said.. ok .. no phone so why bother using the filter with connection for the phone,,, i used a single filte.... WHICH FILTERS OUT THE DSL SIGNAL...

so then i used to correct filter.... although now i'm using no filter as the router is the only thing connected to the phone line..



(btw... not a great filter was it if it still let some dsl through..!)

hope this may help someone....

btw now I usually get around 1.6xmbps downlink at speedtest.ie and router is connected at 2048.. happy days.

brian.

[(IRE)Wolfman]

I just got reconnected since losing it in march

It was low a start but seems ok today

[(IRE)Wolfman]

[(IRE)Wolfman]

Can you trust speed test look what i got



irish isp didn't change