A Basic Question Of Speed

[allachie9]

Hi,
I've been with my present ISP (AOL) for over 10 years and, despite other peoples dislikes of AOL, I have, until recently found them to be reliable and helpful when needed.

My download speed during the day is always very good at around 6.7Mbps and, until a couple of months ago, didn't usually vary much in the evening.  I believe that my consistently good daytime speeds prove, at least to me, that my line is OK, and for up here in the Highlands I am more than happy with that sort of service. However, from early evening onwards my download now drops so dramatically that my usage of my BB connection is very limited. The speed drops to around 0.9Mbps or even less. Last night it went down to just 0.24Mbps.

AOL are being as open and helpful as they usually can be but I'm just not seeing any improvement. At the end of April they advised me it was a 'congestion issue' and that it would be rectified in May. Now my latest email tells me it is a 'Network issue' which they are currently working to resolve and hope to resolve in June.

They are crediting my account for the time my service is below that which I should expect.

As my local exchange is non LLU, would I expect to see any improvement if I were to jump ship with AOL and go to, let's say BT ? Or would I simply end up with the same congestion / network issues ?

[HPsauce]

The chances are that it's an issue that will affect all ISP's similarly, down to increasing popularity and use of broadband. If the backhaul bandwidth to your exchange is inadequate but being upgraded that will be good for all.

BUT you can but ask AOL where the congestion lies - i.e. in their network or BT's? Don't expect a meaningful answer though.  

What exchange is it?

[allachie9]

Thanks for that HP.
My exchange is Aberlour. I'll have another go at AOL to see if I can elicit any more info from them.

[waltergmw]

Hi Allachie,

I've just looked up

http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/mso.php?id=13587

which shows there were outages in May at (I guess) Glenrothes but that there are no BT capacity problems reported on your exchange itself.

There are others here that have been suffering from access problems with AOL in other parts of the UK and which might still be ongoing.
Have a look for Zoe's posts and her links to other forums.

If it is a CarPhoneWarehouse (AOL & TalkTalk etc.) problem then transferring a reliable ISP such as Zen internet would probably give you better performance.

Kind regards,
Walter

[allachie9]

Thanks Walter,
I have been reading of Zoe's plight with interest and did indeed post a comment on one of her threads on another forum.
Thanks for the info about the outage. I have noticed over the last couple of months that BT Openreach seem to be doing a lot of work at locations on the main road between here and Elgin. I might be as well sticking with AOL for the time being and see what happens.

[HPsauce]

If it is a CarPhoneWarehouse (AOL & TalkTalk etc.) problem then transferring a reliable ISP

Good point, it could be as a result of "consolidation" of all the various brands (also including Tiscali!) that are now all in the same bucket.

If you've been happy with AOL (as many of my customers are) and they can give you a credible explanation and timetable to fix it they may be worth sticking with.
Otherwise, as the exchange is "Green" as far as BT is concerned then a "better" (probably more costly) ISP could be worth trying.,

[allachie9]

Thanks again,
I've just asked my level 2 tech contact at Waterford for more info regarding the network issues and await his reply. As AOL are being open and upfront (and crediting my account at the moment ! ! ) it is probably worth 'suffering' a wee while longer.

[Zoe]

Hi allachie9 

I have noticed over the last couple of months that BT Openreach seem to be doing a lot of work at locations on the main road between here and Elgin.

Re: Your Speeds
Although I've got disconnection problems with AOL
When I test my speeds... Pretty much the same day and night.
However!
1) I'm on LLU ... So that could be the difference.
2) You are certainly not the only person with the speed problem 
Have a Look Here: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/aol/3810644-slow-evening-speeds.html?fpart=19&vc=1
&
Here: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/aol/3853973-slow-evening-speeds-new-thread.html
&
Here: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1225336
&
Here: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1264875
&
There's also a few people on the Talk Talk forum saying the same 

A lot of Openreach activity going on in my area too 
Plus!
Today we've just found out where our local exchange actually lives.
It comes under.. Connahs Quay = WNDEE ... But it's actually much closer than we thought - Shotton
And...
My mum says there looks like part of the building is a brand new.


Zoe

[allachie9]

Thanks Zoe,
Certainly a lot of reading there to keep me happy !

Nice to see you over here as well,
Regards,
Alan.

[orainsear]

As my local exchange is non LLU, would I expect to see any improvement if I were to jump ship with AOL and go to, let's say BT ? Or would I simply end up with the same congestion / network issues ?

Do you know anyone else with an ADSL connection to your exchange (neighbours etc)?  If so you could ask them if they have been experiencing similar issues to yourself. 

[allachie9]

Thanks, that's a good idea. I have a couple of neighbours nearby, I'll ask them.

[Zoe]

Hi Alan 


Another one here for you : http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t23454-7.html?

You might want to start at Post 188 as the rest are very old posts 
Note!
Post 193 is very similar to your problem.

Zoe