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Author Topic: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate  (Read 1686 times)

HaitchFace

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BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« on: November 07, 2019, 08:08:27 PM »

Greetings all. Long time lurker, first time posting.

I had g.fast installed recently, Zen's unlimited fibre 3 synced at about 150mbps which is a capped service. DSL line checker has observed a maximum observed speed of 240mbps since installation. Am I correct in thinking that if I went onto the next package I would receive 240mbps?

Tried talking to Zen about it earlier but all they had to say was that their figures estimate 145meg which is what I'm currently on.
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re0

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2019, 08:19:29 PM »

Welcome to the forum!

In theory, yes. The maximum observed speed is attainable, as in this case your package caps you to 160 Mbps sync. but the checker shows a speed greater than. Your sync speed could be approx. 240 Mbps if you upgraded, but due to the nature of G.fast and its Seamless Rate Adaption (SRA)/Fast Rate Adaption (FRA) it could vary a bit to keep stable - probably no more than 20-30 Mbps deviation, however.

What are your current estimates on the DSL checker?

The estimates Zen have provided you with seem like the typical estimates they give you on sign up...
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ISP: Gigaclear - Hyperfast 900 (up to 940 Mbps symmetrical)

HaitchFace

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2019, 08:25:07 PM »

Thanks for the warm welcome.

My current estimates are:

Down (clean) low: 152 and high: 195. Strangely they've altered recently, high has increased from 185 yesterday.

I was also estimated to get 11.2 on upload and I get 29 which indicates to me that my line is performing a lot better than the checker thinks is capable.
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re0

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2019, 08:39:13 PM »

There was a change a few months back to the G.fast Bandplan that reduced the starting frequency (a bit of context here) - I do not know if it is completely nationwide yet, but the DSL checker still is not reflecting the improvements from it. The estimates for G.fast downstream are pretty conservative at the moment, though the upstream has always been a worry for people on the edge looking to upgrade from FTTC. At least you are above those estimates. :)

This may be a misconception of mine, but I have a feeling that new installs that are on an "Amber" status line may have ISPs holding back on allowing for the 330/50 Mbps package. I personally did not have this issue, but I have been reading about people wanting to sign up for the 330/50 and only being presented with 160/30. Perhaps you will need to bug Zen a little since it seems you can go a bit faster - at least on the downstream. Just depends whether it is worth the extra tenner for upto ~90 Mbps more.

Oh and I should note that you can upgrade without issue but you will not be able to downgrade while in term.
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ISP: Gigaclear - Hyperfast 900 (up to 940 Mbps symmetrical)

HaitchFace

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2019, 08:53:30 PM »

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up on being unable to fall back onto the capped service. I'll keep an eye out on the checker for now, it's only been installed for 3 days and it has already started to correct the estimated figures. I'm always on the hunt for more bandwidth haha. I'll check again in a month or so and go from there.
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re0

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2019, 09:08:56 PM »

No worries. If you upgrade anyway, the estimates they provide and minimum speed will apply. Even if the observed speed is showing 240 Mbps, the line may not be able to sustain that speed and you don't really have a leg to stand on if it's within or above the range they give.

In my case, starting from before I had G.fast installed, at least one part of my estimates has risen, I had it installed and it has dropped and risen again (DSL checker, not from the ISP).
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ISP: Gigaclear - Hyperfast 900 (up to 940 Mbps symmetrical)

spudgun

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2019, 09:36:52 PM »

I'm on Zen G.Fast and my connection speed (according to the Zen Portal) is usually in the region of 15 to 20mb lower than the max observed speed on the BT checker, so I'd guess you will connect in the region of 220 to 225 on a max observed 240 from BT
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HaitchFace

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2019, 10:14:48 PM »

Yeah, that's what I thought to be the case, but try telling that to customer services when all they can see is the estimated speed. Like I said I'll wait to see if my estimated speeds increase and then at least I'll know for sure and it'll appear on their end too.
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re0

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2019, 10:27:57 PM »

The estimated speeds on the DSL checker may not change by much over time.
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ISP: Gigaclear - Hyperfast 900 (up to 940 Mbps symmetrical)

HaitchFace

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #9 on: November 07, 2019, 10:33:28 PM »

Duly noted. Either way I'll probably end up upgrading and giving it a whirl, I just can't help myself forever chasing the best connection :D :fingers:
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re0

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2019, 10:48:41 PM »

330/50 is great an' all, but in hindsight I wish I went with 160/30 because I rarely download big stuff - although it is helpful when there is a huge new game released. Though even 50 Mbps upstream (~48 Mbps with overheads) is not enough for extremely speedy uploading of large files via SFTP. :( Though it is a lot better than when I had 0.8 Mbps up... uploading took forever.

I would send an email to Zen sales dept. if you haven't done already. If they are telling you it's not available, you could request to escalate it. The DSL checker estimates suggest there is a chance the speeds could be upto 38 Mbps faster, and the observed speeds are saying up to 80 Mbps. No guarantee it would be stable at those speeds (the DLM may intervene to increase stability at the cost of speed), but you are the bill payer after all.
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ISP: Gigaclear - Hyperfast 900 (up to 940 Mbps symmetrical)

Postal

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Re: BT's DSL line checker max observed downstream rate
« Reply #11 on: November 08, 2019, 12:01:51 AM »

Remember that all ISPs have an incentive to hold back from selling a service that may not be achievable for a customer.  Under the Advertising Standards Authority rules they can no longer just advertise a service as "up to  . . . .".  They have to give the figure based on the download speed available to at least 50% of customers at peak time and described in ads as “average”.  So if a customer signs up to a 330 service and ends up getting 160, that drags down the average speed attained by users of the 330 service and reduces the impact of the advertising.
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