Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[LudaLuke]

Evening all!

I've been lurking for a few days reading articles trying to work an answer to my question, that included reading a lengthy 37 page thread to no avail (although I learnt many things in doing so )... I've just literally signed up on my iPad so apologies that I've not updated my profile with any info as of yet - limited by what my iPad will let me do! But from browsing various forums here seems to have a really good collection of knowledgable gurus (as well as thinkbroadband too)

Anyway, as the title suggests, I'm looking to get the most out of my line...

I've got BT Infinity 2 getting 33-34Mb down and 6Mb up on roughly about 400-500m line (from what I know), connected to Reading Abbey Cabinet 40 (confirmed this evening on my drive home it's a Huawei cab)

Currently I've got the HG612 3B (as issued by BT/BTOR several years ago when FTTC went live for me) in situ connected to a NetGear WNDR3200 acting as my router, of course running ddwrt, connection is pretty stable and had been for around a year until last Tuesday when I decided the BTOR Mk1 faceplate needed replacing so picked up a BTOR Mk3, to my astonishment (totally didn't believe it'd make any difference!) it gave me around 1.5Mb download extra and around 0.5Mb upload, which then got me thinking... I'm happy with the routing side of my network and everything that sits behind it.

The modem, what options do I have? I've read tirelessly for around a week around the options, and have a couple of questions.

Does the HG612 3B support g.inp and/or vectoring?
If not what's a suitable replacement that does? Or is better at it (if that's such a thing)

What I'm looking for is a modem that will maximise the speed I'm able to get (if possible more so than the HG612), and supports g.inp and vectoring as I see this as the way to get the most out of my line until g.fast comes out.

Some of the different options I was looking at from ispreview's annual VDSL router options 2016 are;

TP Link Archer VR900 AC1900
Cost (Est.): £100-130
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1900Mbps combined
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 1 x 1000Mbps WAN, 3 x 1000Mbps LAN, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 30a + Vectoring + G.INP)

Thomson / Technicolor TG589vac AC1300
Cost (Est.): £70-80
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1300Mbps combined
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 1 x 1000Mbps WAN, 4 x 1000Mbps LAN, 2 x USB 2.0
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 17a + Vectoring + G.INP)

NetGear Nighthawk (AC1900)
Cost (Est.): £130-150
Wi-Fi Type: 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHZ) – 1900Mbps
Ports: 1 x RJ11 DSL, 1 x 1000Mbps WAN, 4 x 1000Mbps LAN, 2 x USB 3.0
IPv6 Ready: Yes
ADSL2+ Support: Yes
VDSL2 Support: Yes (up to Profile 17a + Vectoring + G.INP)

I'm a bit partial to TP Link which is why is the top listed option (don't know why but probably I've had the least hassle with their kit!), and I also have a couple of managed TP Link switches installed, but peoples knowledge and experience is what I seek!

I don't currently have an unlocked HG612 but if people thinks it's worth getting prior to picking happy to do so, I'm technical (not so much with DSL technology however) so happy to discuss or fiddle where needed!

Thanks in advance,

Luke 

[loonylion]

HG612 with latest howlingwolf firmware supports g.inp in both directions (though only huawei cabinets actually have g.inp at this point)

vectoring seems a bit of a enigma

[Bald_Eagle1]

Personally, & for zero cos I would simply unlock the HG612 that you already have & start monitoring/recording your connection's stats.

In 5 years, I have not heard/read of a single case of BTOR taking action against anyone that has unlocked theirs.

If your 37 page read was the thread I started back in 2011 when I knew absolutely nothing technically about broadband matters, you will be aware that it was only the use of an unlocked HG612 modem & the HG612 Modem Stats scripts that I created with much assistance from members of this forum that demonstrated & recorded actual performance issues that eventually led to my intermittent line fault being repaired.

Your speeds over only 400-500m seem rather low, even when taking likely crosstalk into account (especially if these are actually sync speeds & not just throughput speeds).

[LudaLuke]

Thanks both for the replies, and I thought that might be the case.

Bald_Eagle, you are correct sir that was the very thread! And yes that was my concern that should I switch provider or something I'd be required to return it - which looking at it could just be a case of the modem being reflashed back to stock firmware, so I'll go ahead and unlock mine later/tomorrow when I have 20mins to do so.

The line length is a guess based on looking at a map and using a point to point tool, the cabinet is at the top of my winding hill and I'm at the bottom, and yes I was expecting a bit more when it got installed several years back - they are throughput speeds however, and not as of yet having a way of checking my line stats but hopefully I should do later/tomorrow. I was hoping for closer/over the 10mb upload mark.

Thanks for the speedy replies already, and hopefully I can make the most of my line prior to g.fast being released, the exchange I'm connected to seems to get the new products pretty shortly after their released, I think I've had Infinity not since the end of 2010 maybe.

Luke

[LudaLuke]

I've had a brief look around and sorry if this is a daft question and its been right infront of me all the time, could someone provide me a link to most recent version or recommended version please?

Also since last week when I swapped out the faceplate the line hasn't dropped - if I get the chance later to flash the HG612 obviously I'm going to have to take the router offline, will I be slapped in the face by DLM? (as I've read different things, some say 2 disconnects in a day is fine, others say once reconnected leave it for 7-10 days before disconnecting again)

Thanks,
Luke

[Dray]

http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/hg612unlock.htm

http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,14262.0.html

[LudaLuke]

http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/hg612unlock.htm

http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,14262.0.html

Thanks Dray, appreciated, I knew I was just being dumb.... I am a noob to Kitz so please forgive 

[Dray]

Absolutely no problem. Ask anything and I will answer if I can. 
Good luck with the unlocking

[LudaLuke]

Absolutely no problem. Ask anything and I will answer if I can. 
Good luck with the unlocking

Sorry for further questions Dray, the linked forum post for the unlocked firmware, do I need this as a base before using the newer version that supports g.inp (this is sometimes the case with ddwrt), or am I being dumb again and that version does include it?

[Dray]

Just select the 3rd one in the B030SP08 folder, which is called
bcm96368MVWG_fs_kernel_HG612V100R001C01B030SP08_webgui
That's the one I used.

[LudaLuke]

Perfect thank you! I'll try and get it done this evening, but the girlfriends over and that may scupper that plan, but I'll certainly take a look!

[LudaLuke]

Ok so I've just unlocked my modem, and the restart has instantly given me a further 3Mb download, and upload has stayed about the same, the most shocking thing for me was that my ping WAS averaging 17-19ms and that's now dropped to 4ms.
Another thing that's interested me is that my attainable download is 42564 but my line rate is exactly 40000, and my attainable upload is 6983-7006 (as it keeps changing) and line rate of 6972.

Is it normal for the download line rate to be locked so specifically? Looks (to a noob) like it's been locked at Infinity 1 speed?

(Sorry am on my iPad but will throw up some photos from one of my machines shortly)

[burakkucat]

. . . my attainable download is 42564 but my line rate is exactly 40000, and my attainable upload is 6983-7006 (as it keeps changing) and line rate of 6972.

The "BT Infinity 1" service is the retail of the Openreach 40Mbps DS / 10Mbps US synchronisation product.
The "BT Infinity 2" service is the retail of the Openreach 80Mbps DS / 20Mbps US synchronisation product.

Your VDSL2 circuit is capable of 42564Mbps DS and somewhere about 7Mbps US. That is maximum attainable speed, determined as the DSLAM - modem performed their parameter interchange at the moment of their synchronisation.

Your ISP/CP (BT) have capped the circuit to 40/10 Mbps (i.e. "Infinity 1" service) and should be charging you at the current rate for that service.

[Bald_Eagle1]

BT hasn't capped the US to 2Mbps for a 40 Mbps DS service like PlusNet has it?

I'm with PlusNet, unable to get anywhere near to 40 Mbps DS, but as a longstanding customer, I'm 'fortunate' to be still on a legacy (cheapest) up to 20 Mbps US FTTC product & achieve around 4 Mbps US in reality.


As I occasionally work from home & need to connect to the office over VPN, uploading quite large files etc. US speed is important for me.

If PlusNet ever put me on their 2 Mbps US speed, I would have to find a different ISP that wouldn't make me pay for 80/20 just in order to get more than 2 Mbps US (e.g. a 40/10 service would suffice for me - or even 30/5 if it existed).

[Dray]

No, his upstream could be capped at 10

my attainable upload is 6983-7006 (as it keeps changing) and line rate of 6972.