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[jeffbb]

Hi
 have had a 1Mbps connection with Tiscali since January 08 . It was GOOD with a connection speed of 2Mbps . The download speeds were always above 950Kbps which is what I was paying for.Then I went mad and registered for an upgrade to 8max. The day the upgrade was confirmed was the beginning of my problems
25/07/08  Morning  connection as normal 2Mbps up to about 12:00hrs
25/07/08 telephone line went down , phoned BT , work ticket issued etc
25/07/08 telephone back ok . Internet connection now down to 576Kbps. next 3 days logging on for about an hour at a time ,about 3 times a day showed no improvement to my connection speed .
During this period started checking my line capacity and exchange capacity
My line was reported to be able to support 2Mbps + the exchange as 5.5Mbps

28/07/08 tried to report my concerns that this was not behaving as expected,to Tiscali and you can guess the response "The connection takes up to 10 days to settle.
05/08/08 reported fault to Tiscali >the response was a five pages of rubbish not really addressing my concern ,I replied telling them that I connected directly to the BT socket and even used 2 different filters with No change  to connection speed .
06/08/08 Tiscali response another 5 pages with no acknowlegement of my reply to them. I replied again repeating my previous statement regarding doing a direct connection to BT socket.
07/08/08 Tiscali replied  acknowleging my direct connection test.This advisor informed me that my line could only support 2Mbps. and that I should regrade to 2Mbps package . I expressed my surprise that they had not found this out before attempting to upgrade to 8Max.But  I decided 2Mbps was better than 576Kbps
They upgraded the problem to their Technical dept.
08/08/08 received  "congratulation upgrade successful"   ? funny   still connecting 576Kbps 
09/08/08 received phone call from technical support  basically saying  "your line only supports 0.5Mbps and you can lump it "
I checked line capacity and yes It was now down to 0.5mbps.I couldn't believe it , every time I had checked it was 2Mbps.
Since then I have requested some answers from tiscali to explain why I am now worse off than I was before.
I have had about 20 Emails in total with NO answers to why it should. No real attemptto take ownership of the problem.
20/08/08 sent mail to complaints (Richard Lawrence). he replied with a phone number to ring  . I rang ,problem he was not available.
22/08/08 he has gone on holiday

received another Email from support staff a couple of days ago 29/08/08  told me that my line supports 2Mbps.That I should regrade to 2Mbps package . what???  I did that 07/07/08
4hrs later another Email from technical staff told me that my line only supported 0.5Mbps There is more but enough is enough.
I have done some checks using your site  and this is the information I have found .can anyone help.

MY stats   Using DR TCP

WANCommonInterfaceConfig
 ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 33
ReceiveMargin_dB= 30
RxOutputPower_dBm= 0
 SendAttenuation_dB= 18
DownstreamMaxBitRate= 576000
UpstreamMaxBitRate= 288000
WANAccessType= DSL




ADSL Exchange and Line Checker           using (Kittz.co.uk)
 
Estimation of your maximum rate adaptive adsl speed
               
Downstream
Attenuation    33 dB    (this is from Dr Speedtouch)

ApproxLine Length    2.39km   (calculated from attenuation)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dslMAX 7680   kbps    IP Profile 6500   kbps              this is what could be expected
               
adsl2+ (21CN)13088    kbps    IP Profile 11000   kbps                                    not enabled
               
adsl2+ (LLU) 13088   kbps    Throughput 11583   kbps                         not enabled
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------
Exchange information

Exchange: Amlwch.     BT Code: WNAML
Location: Mona Street,    LL68 9AN.
   ADSL enabled :    March 9, 2005
   dsl Max enabled:    March 31, 2006
   SDSL enabled :    Not Enabled
   21CN due :    no info
Distance:-    Direct:          1.19 km
     (appx)*    By Road:    2.09 km


-----------------------------------
RAG Test Results


Fixed:     1Mbps and 2Mbps not possible                             Why not I was on 2MBps connection  till 25/07/08
   radsl:    512Kbps and 256Kbps available
   MAX:    ADSL Max is available
   SDSL:    Exchange Not Enabled
   TPON:    TPON/Fibre not recorded
   Check:    
The check identified another service on your line which may prevent you from ordering a new ADSL connection. Examples are : Existing adsl connection, DACs, LLU, TPON

C = Compatibility issue found. This could be several things eg. existing ADSL connection, pending ADSL order on line, ISDN, DACS, TPON, LLU, some alarm systems.
                                                           ______________________________________________________________

               
            IS there a  DACs problem ??       It seems odd  that all my problems originated since my phone was off line on the 25/07/08 the day You/BT carried out my upgrade!!

      Checking my friends number 01407830****, about 50 metres away  ,he has same quoted max speed of 0.5 Mbps yet his download speeds are  >3Mbps.

My 3 other neighbours 2 of which are on broadband have downloads of about 4Mbps, the other one has no internet but her line capacity is 5.5 Mbps .We all share the same pole.and have all had phones for similar time
Regards
Jeffjavascript:void(0);

[kitz]

Hi and welcome

Firstly to eliminate the obvious... Have you tried the test socket behind the master socket?

>> ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 33
>> ReceiveMargin_dB= 30

Your line is good and should be receiving way more than what it is. 7Mb + is not too unreasonable to expect from those stats. 
The surplus SNR Margin very much makes me suspect that tiscali are messing with your profile and are currently restricting your line, that certainly looks like an artificial throttle and youve been put on a fixed rate 0.5Mb account.

>> echnical staff told me that my line only supported 0.5Mbps

Sorry but thats rubbish - your line stats say otherwise although this is weird and hopefully its just the modem reporting wrong >> RxOutputPower_dBm= 0

>> IS there a  DACs problem ??

No - most likely due to existing adsl - I uploaded a new version of the checker today which may tell you a bit more info if you put your phone no and postcode in.

>> Fixed:     1Mbps and 2Mbps not possible  Why not I was on 2MBps connection  till 25/07/08

Not happy about those results - have you ever had an adsl engineer at your premises who would downgrade it?
It could be the BT database thats wrong... but there could be another reason. 
Out of curiousity try just putting your post code in.  That will give you a conservative estimate of what your immediate surrounding area is getting.

[jid]

Try contacting them via the Forums.

They can usually do a lot more, although they take a little while to sort things out.

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=215

I am also on Tiscali with the BBand and Phone. I have a 30dB line and was getting 6.5megs before i went on their phone service.

[jeffbb]

hi
I haven't got a test socket ,its the old type.
Nobody has been anywhere near to check anything .

exchange details  used to give a figure of 5.5Mbps until a few days ago  now no speed is shown

Amlwch exchange details
   
Code:    WNAML
County:    Gwynedd             Now Anglesey, boundary changes years ago
Enabled:    09 Mar 2005
Upgrade Status
Status: Green
Good News, BT have finished enabling this exchange for Max DSL products.
Products will be available from 31/03/06.

BT are in the process of upgrading the majority of telephone exchanges around the UK to support speeds of up to 8Mbit/s.

The status given here is an estimate given by BT on 31/03/06
___________
Everybody around me are having 3 to 4+Mbps actual downloads speeds  no problem
I've had another phone call today from Tiscali  saying there was some discrepancy somewhere and she was going to sort it out and would phone back
When she phoned back It was same story  "line only supports 0.5Kbps." and I should regrade . I refused that and asked her to explain why everything changed after the 25/07/08 when they BT/tiscali updated my connection. She then said she would contact BT and phone back that was about 13:00hrs today .   still waiting

  By the way my sendmarging is 26   missed it some how

Regards javascript:void(0);

[kitz]

>> I haven't got a test socket ,its the old type.

nps - just thought I'd mention it.

>> BT are in the process of upgrading the majority of telephone exchanges around the UK to support speeds of up to 8Mbit/s.

Where did that come from - the vast majority of exchanges were upgraded by BTw in early 2006...  aside from a couple in the scottish highlands eg, then all were done by the 31st of March 2006. 
Thats sounds like a certain ISP typical response that Ive seen several times before :/

>> Nobody has been anywhere near to check anything .
>> used to give a figure of 5.5Mbps until a few days ago  now no speed is shown

Although I cant be certain, its now looking more and more certain that your ISP have perhaps taken it into their own hands to classify your line as unfit themselves to BT without under going the normal procedure undertaken by most other ISPs and letting an Openreach Engineer make the diagnosis.
Unfortunately it would appear that Tiscali dont like sending out an engineer as would be evidenced in jids unfortunate situation where they did anything and everything to avoid proper procedure and instead spent months messing around with profiles.

>> I've had another phone call today from Tiscali  saying there was some discrepancy somewhere

It does appear that there is - from your stats you are capable of so much more and neighbouring houses are..  it perhaps looks like tiscali have taken the easy option and took it upon themselves to downgrade the line without investigating the problem properly 

>> said she would contact BT and phone back that was about 13:00hrs today .   still waiting

Keep on at them - theres a mistake somewhere and your line shouldnt have been downgraded.

[Ezzer]

firstly on a fixed speed 0.5mb connection, the fact you have a connection means no dacs issue, dsl simply will not work through a dacs, even if it's just the remote unit near you.

33db attenuation loss with a snr of 30db. thats excellent, on rate adaptive you should have a very fast connection, close to if not at 8mb

"1 & 2 mb not avalable" Huh? I've come across this many a time where the end user has been told this and yet I know of dsl services currently running from the same exchange and mux/dslam.

[jeffbb]

Hi 
back again .
Tiscali tech phoned a few minutes ago ,telling me that the line would only support 2Mbps I questioned her saying that yesterday she told me it would only support 0.5Mbps . She then said " that' s right I meant 0.5Mbps.". She then told me that the line was changed by Bt and I should contact BT . I told her BT would not talk to me as  Tiscali was the broadband supplier . I also pointed out that the line stats showed clearly that my line attenuation and margin figures  would support  7MBps + . I am not sure that she understood that bit . I then  told her that if  they could not resolve the issue and a get me back to at least my previous set up I would might as well move to BT  and deal with one company. She then said she would speak to her supervisor  and ring me back. waiting and not expecting much . I am going to try and get hold of Richard  Lawrence .
What a game hey  ???javascript:void(0);
 

[jid]

Hi 
back again .
Tiscali tech phoned a few minutes ago ,telling me that the line would only support 2Mbps I questioned her saying that yesterday she told me it would only support 0.5Mbps . She then said " that' s right I meant 0.5Mbps.". She then told me that the line was changed by Bt and I should contact BT . I told her BT would not talk to me as  Tiscali was the broadband supplier . I also pointed out that the line stats showed clearly that my line attenuation and margin figures  would support  7MBps + . I am not sure that she understood that bit . I then  told her that if  they could not resolve the issue and a get me back to at least my previous set up I would might as well move to BT  and deal with one company. She then said she would speak to her supervisor  and ring me back. waiting and not expecting much . I am going to try and get hold of Richard  Lawrence .
What a game hey  ???javascript:void(0);
 

Tell them you used to sync at 7500kbps and they will understand, the Foreign call center works in kbps and doesn't know mbps.

If you get called from anyone else, saying 7.5megs is fine.

[jeffbb]

More update
 I have spoken to Richard  Lawrence  . His explanation was that I had a good connection before but now it was bad because of different technology ?? .If that is the case One of my neighbours has no internet access and yet shows  When I pointed out that all my neighbours were on broadband  and no problem he did say that he wasn't sure why. Anyway at he has arranged for the Tech people from Stevenage to ring me tomorrow at 4PM to try and resolve the issue. What are the chances of that ?

Can anyone explain when I run a line check using BT or other line checkers like Plusnet exchange checker  what is actually checked ? is it just a data in a database or do they actually run some data and time it? .Ist it the just a check on the line between me and th exchange ?. This is Plus net data  acessing the BT details and   BT test


for my line
 
Upgrade Status
Status: Green
Good News, BT have finished enabling this exchange for Max DSL products.
Products will be available from 31/03/06.
Speeds: Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL Max broadband line rate of 500Kbps or greater.

Bt test
 We estimate your maximum download speed to be 0.5 Mbps (Megabits per second).

next door but one with the post office

Upgrade Status
Status: Green
Good News, BT have finished enabling this exchange for Max DSL products.
Products will be available from 31/03/06.

Speeds: Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL Max broadband line rate of 8Mbps.

BT test:  We estimate your maximum download speed to be 8.0 Mbps (Megabits per second).

Next door with BT

Upgrade Status
Status: Green
Good News, BT have finished enabling this exchange for Max DSL products.
Products will be available from 31/03/06.
Speeds: Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL Max broadband line rate of 5.5Mbps up to 8Mbps

BT test .We estimate your maximum download speed to be 5.5 Mbps (Megabits per second).


next door other side no internet connections

Upgrade Status
Status: Green
Good News, BT have finished enabling this exchange for Max DSL products.
Products will be available from 31/03/06.
Speeds: Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL Max broadband line rate of 5.5Mbps up to 8Mbps

BT test We estimate your maximum download speed to be 5.5 Mbps (Megabits per second).

my mate  50 yards away

Upgrade Status
Status: Green
Good News, BT have finished enabling this exchange for Max DSL products.
Products will be available from 31/03/06.
Speeds: Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL Max broadband line rate of 500Kbps or greater.

Bt test   We estimate your maximum download speed to be 0.5 Mbps (Megabits per second).

This one above I know downloads  at 3 to 4 Mbps  as I have checked using a broadband speed tester (Dan Ewells speed tester)

The 2 sets of data do not match .
thanks  Jeff
 

[roseway]

The excuse about different technology is plain nonsense. It's certainly the case that high-attenuation lines can giver poorer results with ADSL Max than with a fixed-speed connection, but your attenuation is quite low, and you should be able to get close to the full 8 Mbps.

The estimates don't really mean a lot - they just read data from the BT database, and the data for your line has presumably been downgraded because of the recent problems. Your router should connect at the best speed it can, unless your connection has been deliberately capped. I think your best bet at this stage is to wait for tomorrow's phone call, and be ready with the data about attenuation and sync speed which you've given us here.

[jeffbb]

Thanks  Roseway
What he said did not make sense to me . I will wait and see what TMO brings 
  I am also thinking of connecting up directly to the bt socket for tomorrow ,it will be a pain but at least it will be one less "have you tried this " when they phone .
Do you know what a normal figure would be for TxOutputPower_dBm and RxOutputPower_dBm both of mine are 0

regards  jeff

[roseway]

I'm not sure what normal figures for those items are, but my router currently shows 12 dbm and 20 dbm respectively. I don't know why your router reports zero, but they can't be correct figures.

[kitz]

>> Do you know what a normal figure would be for TxOutputPower_dBm and RxOutputPower_dBm both of mine are 0

If your line is running at its theoretical maximum achievable speed, then it should be somewhere in the region of around 20dB.  Some lines will be lower due to cross-talk when its perhaps turned down a bit (by the dslam? ).
The fact that theyre showing as 0 I should imagine is a reporting error.  If it was at 0 then it wouldnt be working at all.

[jeffbb]

Hi
thanks  to you both forthe replies
Ref TxOutputPower_dBm and RxOutputPower_dBm at 0 . Ok I wiill mention this to these guys from Stevenage  if they ring today , they were due to ring at 4oclock. waiting in hope . what are the odds ?
regards

[jid]

Hi
thanks  to you both forthe replies
Ref TxOutputPower_dBm and RxOutputPower_dBm at 0 . Ok I wiill mention this to these guys from Stevenage  if they ring today , they were due to ring at 4oclock. waiting in hope . what are the odds ?
regards

They can ring up to 7pm.

I am also expecting a call from Tiscali so...

Mention the Output power to them, that could be the problem?