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[Jakg]

I've just moved to a new property and unfortunately the broadband performance is very very slow

BT have sent an engineer out but the upshot was that the line is as good as it's going to get and theres nothing that can be done beyond an infrastructure improvement (scheduled for the next couple of years so not a lost cause!). The engineer mentioned that interleaving is off and that the connection has no CRC errors (i.e. is very stable albeit slow).

Because of this I'm now trying to eek every last byte out of the connection that I possibly can.

Current Stats:
Link Rate - 672 Kbps (Down) / 416 Kbps (Up)
Line Attenuation - 63.5 dB (Down) / 31.5 dB (Up)
Noise Margin - 6.0 dB (Down) / 5.0 dB (Up)

Line:
I'm connected to this exchange - https://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/EASTM - which is an approximate 6.13KM (straight line) distance away.

Current hardware:
New BT master socket
ADSL Nation XTE2005 filtered faceplate (I also have a new Openreach MK3 faceplate I could use instead)
0.5m Tandy "ADSL Nation Pro+" twisted pair RJ11 cable
New Netgear modem router (think something like the Nighthawk).

My current modem doesn't support SNR adjustment (i've tried using telnet but it kills the connection no matter what).

I've just bought a Billion 8800NL based on the fact that it looks to be the best (or at least joint, with the same modem chip as the 7800NXL) modem I can buy, and that it supports SNR adjustment.

Is there *anything* else I can do?

[jelv]

Your actual attenuation may actually be higher than 63.5 as this is the maximum reported by some routers. Even if the 63.5 is correct your speed is never going to be that great.

If your modem is syncing as ADSL2+ you could try setting ADSL2 or ADSL1 to see if that gives you a better sync - it sometimes works.

Other than that your only hope is FTTC which is available on some areas of your exchange. Is any information on this available from http://www.betterbroadbandsuffolk.co.uk/

[Jakg]

My modem is set to "Auto" - I'll try tweaking it once the Billion shows up.

I've contacted the Better Broadband Suffolk team but despite the claim of "2mbit everywhere by 2015" it looks like they've had a holdup - they are looking at Satellite later this year as an interim measure (fast, but probably restrictive latency and download limits) with FTTC some time before 2018

[boost]

I don't see how SNR adjustments are going to help you, unfortunately.

Your hope list:

1. Your current modem is actually bollocksed and it's renewal will work wonders (forced ADSL2 mode may help, as above)
2. Your internal wiring is flawed - disconnect everything after the master and never, ever, ever, reconnect it
3. You have local electrical interference close to the master/modem - move everything 1 - 2 metres away from it
4. Your very close neighbours appear to have connection speeds way higher than you
5. You have sympathetic local BTOR techs who are willing to do more than a PQT-and-run

Probably some others I've missed

[Jakg]

I don't see how SNR adjustments are going to help you, unfortunately.

Your hope list:

1. Your current modem is actually bollocksed and it's renewal will work wonders (forced ADSL2 mode may help, as above)
2. Your internal wiring is flawed - disconnect everything after the master and never, ever, ever, reconnect it
3. You have local electrical interference close to the master/modem - move everything 1 - 2 metres away from it
4. Your very close neighbours appear to have connection speeds way higher than you
5. You have sympathetic local BTOR techs who are willing to do more than a PQT-and-run

Probably some others I've missed

ive tried another modem but it's not made a difference, there are no connected extensions in the house and if anything everyone else has a worse connection than me!

[boost]

Dayam!
Order 4G on a new BT contract and see if they'll honour coverage?

[burakkucat]

With a modem/router that allows you to configure the modulation mode, you will probably find that setting it to ADSL2 will be the most beneficial.

(As The Cattery is connected via EABSE, I recognise that EASTM is just three stations to the east, by rail.    )

[tickmike]

Welcome to the forum  .

What do you get from this   http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/adslchecker.php

Set up some router stats and put the graphs up so we can look and see if there are any problems.
 http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/board,46.0.html

On my long line an old Netgear DG834GT does well with DGTeam firmware on it.
Also Huawei HG612 unlocked seems to do well.

Useful tool to find distance, eg. distance your house to exchange.
http://www.freemaptools.com/measure-distance.htm

[tickmike]

With a modem/router that allows you to configure the modulation mode, you will probably find that setting it to ADSL2 will be the most beneficial.

? with that long line ADSL2 would not work !

[roseway]

? with that long line ADSL2 would not work !

Yes ADSL2 should work - it uses the same tones as ADSL, but does so more efficiently.

[burakkucat]

? with that long line ADSL2 would not work !

It is ADSL2+ that is the definite "no".

That is one of the reasons why I stopped using a Netgear DG834Gv5. The modulation choices were (if I am remembering correctly) G.DMT, ADSL2+ & Auto. And with my line length, I wanted to use ADSL2 mode. I moved on to a 2Wire 2700HGV which auto-selected ADSL2 mode and the result was a distinct improvement. Subsequently I have used a Huawei HG612, a Huawei HG610 and a Huawei HG622 (my current modem/router of choice) all in ADSL2 mode.

[tickmike]

? with that long line ADSL2 would not work !

It is ADSL2+ that is the definite "no".

With a HG612 ADSL2 does not work for me, just tried it again and reports ' No Signal'

[burakkucat]

I have a vague recollection of you previously trying that mode -- without success. Clearly there is something quite unique about your line. 

[ejs]

The 63.5 and 31.5 attenuation figures are the maximum values that can be expressed in some ADSL1 initialization/handshaking messages, so I expect the line is currently operating as ADSL1. So it might be worth checking if your ISP has set it to ADSL1 only, and if so you would need them to change it to ADSL2+ (I think BTWholesale based ISPs can only provision a line as ADSL1 or ADSL2+) before you can try ADSL2.

[Jakg]

An update to this.

I bought a 2Wire 2700HGV on eBay - but unfortunately it showed up with the wrong power cable. Not such a bargain after all!
 
Once I get my money back (or maybe even the power cable?) I'll try to pick one up for testing.

In the mean time, my IP profile somehow ended up at 212kbps and my connection is still "recovering". BT did an IP profile reset which got it back up to 544kbps, which was worse than before.

I bought a Billion 8800NL modem router and fitted it, and unfortunately things got even worse - I went to 480kbps (I've been careful to try to make each disconnection "clean" by disconnecting rather than just pulling the plug, and spacing any disconnections more than 3 days apart).

I've since dropped the SNR to 5db (from 6db), reconnected and I've gone up to 576kbps. Unfortunately I don't know how much of that is the reduced SNR vs the effect of just reconnecting to see if I get a higher speed.

Having got a better modem I can now provide some better info:

Router stats (from the modem):


Router stats (the application):




BT wholesale speedtest:


Kitz Line stats:


I've been in contact with BT but theres nothing more they can or are willing to do - after the engineer visit I have a note on my account saying "line works as well as can be expected considering length" and "other properties don't even get broadband" so as far as their concerned thats it. So now I'm on my own!

My next steps are to refit my ADSL Nation filtered faceplate (back on the BT OpenReach one after dealing with BT) and to try dropping the SNR 1db every 3 days.