Print

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

[drmrbrewer]

Thanks for your further input, kitz et al.  I spoke again to technical support, and they claim that they would be requesting BT to look into this.  Let's hope that it actually happens.  They said it would be about a week.  Is it possible to tell what the exchange is set up for, without actually being at the exchange?

The guy did also seem to be suggesting at one point that an 8 Meg service could be provided over the old lines without any upgrade at the exchange -- this isn't true though is it?

I certainly won't be best pleased if I've been paying for an 8 Meg service and receiving only 0.5 Meg for the last year!  Not that I've actually noticed for a whole year!  Or rather, I've not actually needed any more speed than I'm getting.  It was only last week I noticed when I tried for the first time in a while to skype a distant relative that I noticed it wasn't coping with two-way video and barely even audio.

Cheers,

Mike

[jeffbb]

Hi
Looking at your stats I would think you would have no trouble getting at least 8 max type  connection say about 8000Kbps  maybe better .So if they cannot /wont sort it out  then you know that if you have to go to another ISP you would have a good connection. You will need to keep pushing try to get beyond first level script readers(oops!! I mean help desk ).With Ti...ly I managed it ,I got to their top level help . Took the guy 15 minutes to sort (yep minutes not hours not days ).

Regards Jeff

edit   still left them as throughput was terrible !!

[drmrbrewer]

jeff: curious to know what they could do in 15 minutes in this case to fix it -- if it truly is an issue with the BT exchange then isn't this something that I might reasonably expect to take at least a week -- or am I naively falling for the script provided to the first level script readers?  :-)

Mike

[jeffbb]

Hi
I don't know what they did . I had similar problem synch only 0.5 Mbps for 6weeks after going to 8 Max. Anyway when I finally got to the guy who knew what he was doing  he told me he would phone BT and sort it  AND HE DID  literally in 15 min I had a connection of 6 Mbps . Somewhere there is a long post about my woes in 2008 . I would guess its something that could be done remotely ??
Regards Jeff

[roseway]

I don't know what's involved in switching a user from a fixed-rate connection to Max, but it's probably just a simple matter of changing an entry on a computer and pressing Go.

[jeffbb]

Hi

@ Roseway Must be something like that.

 Mike see link below .Its exactly what happened to me.

http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=2839.msg77582#msg77582
Regards Jeff

[kitz]

>>> They said it would be about a week.  Is it possible to tell what the exchange is set up for, without actually being at the exchange?


The request to process the upgrade in most cases normally takes about a week (it can be expedited but its a different method and iirc may cost the ISP). 
The ISP simply places a request to BTw to upgrade the line to maxdsl.
These are then queued and processed 5 working days later.  In most cases its done remotely - a script runs to trigger the changes via the NCAS system at the RAS.  So no work physical work needed at the exchange.

Switch over normally occurs in the wee small hours (after midnight), when the automated script runs.


>> that an 8 Meg service could be provided over the old lines without any upgrade at the exchange

All exchanges (aside from a few remote one in the Scottish highlands) were upgraded and completed by March 2006, this allows the NCAS system to remotely configure any line speed and profile changes.


Basically all your ISP has to do is request BTWholesale to apply the change.. and one week later it should be done.

[drmrbrewer]

OK, the latest advice from Virgin is to try the following to see if the "profile" can be reset to the higher speed: each evening go to router status part of router, then connection status, then click Disconnect.  Leave in the disconnected state, but leave the router on overnight.  Try this for four nights running.  They seem to think that the profile might somehow be forced onto a different configuration by this.

Is this ever likely to help in my situation?

Mike

[roseway]

>> Is this ever likely to help in my situation?

No.

With Netgear routers, all that the Disconnect button does is to close the PPP session (the connection to the ISP) but leaving the ADSL connection still running. So it won't have any effect at all on the IP profile, which is controlled by the ADSL connection speed.

[drmrbrewer]

Hmm.  Yes.  I was going to add that it looked like the 576kbps connection was still open, despite having disconnected, but I was hoping that they knew what they were talking about... for example maybe closing the PPP connection alone would allow some magic to occur...

The saga continues,

Mike

[drmrbrewer]

OK,  eventually Virgin passed this issue onto BT to investigate. 

Now Virgin have come back to me with what BT have told them...

BT say that the line is limited to a fixed 576 k -- that much we knew -- but they also say that they cannot do anything to increase the speed!  When I questioned why (of Virgin, not BT), the tech guy said that it must be something to do with distance from exchange, line quality, or something along those lines.  He was basically saying there was zip I could do about it, and it would require BT to get around eventually to upgrading all the lines in my area. 

Thing is, the BT speed checker itself says that my line is capable of up to 8 meg:

Broadband checker results
For Telephone Number xxxx on Exchange yyy
We've just tested your line and can confirm your line supports the UK's most complete broadband package, BT Total Broadband. We estimate your maximum download connection to be up to 8.0 Mbps (Megabits per second).

So, what gives?  Is someone spinning me a yarn?  I said that it was my understanding that, although I might not be able to get the full 8 meg, with a properly configured but poor line I should be able to get more than 500k, and shouldn't be connecting at a *maximum* and *fixed* speed of 576k.  If my line was absolutely rubbish, perhaps I'd be getting even less than 576k, but at least it would be trying.

Virgin's answer was that BT must have determined that to give me a *stable* connection I have to be limited to 576k.  To try for more, I'd end up with an unstable connection.

Now, where I go next?  Sounds like a complete load of balderdash to me.

Thanks,

Mike

[waltergmw]

Hi Mike,

I think you have to be doggedly determined to sort this problem.

If indeed your line is so bad that, even with a length of say 1 km, it's so unstable that it won't support more than a fixed 576 speed,
I'd be surprised if a 17070 quiet line test wouldn't show something.

Have you any BT friends who could tell you what's actually wrong with the line - perhaps aluminium ?

You could try getting a modem that will tell you a lot about the line characteristics, even when it's been capped.
E.g see the 2wire diagnostics example below which is on a very long line and is properly capped.

You might also try pretending to want to migrate to BT but you've been told .... can you please tell me if the line quality is really that bad?

Kind regards,
Walter

[attachment deleted by admin]

[jeffbb]

Hi
quote @walter  :Have you any BT friends who could tell you what's actually wrong with the line - perhaps aluminium ?

If the line was the problem would this not show up on the attenuation ?
Just a thought ,maybe I missed something  What are the errors like  
    
SF Errors:        
RS Un-Corrected:  
HEC:              
Errored Seconds:
Severe ES:      

CRC:  
LOS:  
LOF:  

Regards Jeff

edit   time to jump ship find a decent ISP . hint starts with last letter in alphabet.

[drmrbrewer]

Yep.  That's what I would have thought -- the router stats (see OP) apparently show a decent line.  So it would seem surprising to me that BT say the line will be unstable if taken any higher.

I am very very tempted to switch.  However, I don't want to switch and find the same issue with the next provider.  Not least because I'm now paying only £14.63 per month for unlimited calls and unlimited broadband with Virgin.  If I could get a decent broadband speed where I am -- or if it will be the same with whoever -- then I don't think I can really better this package.

Mike

PS which ISP starts with a Z -- or am I being thick?

[jeffbb]

Hi
it also ends with n and only has 3 letters .They might be able to test your line and tell you what to expect . 1 month contract and uk help line

regards Jeff