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[timh]

Hi,

For the last 3 months I have been suffering intermittent drop outs on my broadband connection - whereby the downstream SNR drops to virtually zero and after a period of time say 1-2hrs it recovers again (but usually with a much lower connection speed).

BT engineers have visited twice, the first engineer believed he found a fault with the wire pair coming into my house (underground connection), but although he remade the connection the problem still occurred.  The second engineer to visit, basically ran some checks and said he couldn't detect the issue (to which I had already said it was intermittent and was not occurring at the time of his visit).  He then had the cheek to report that it was my equipment at fault! and they are planning to charge me, although I have disputed this.

I tend to notice the problem after heavy rain (about a day after), and although I have informed my ISP/BT of this, they seem to ignore that fact and keep stating their checks pick nothing up and therefore it must be an issue caused by my equipment or interference from something in my property.

To disprove this I have done the following tests:

1.  Used a completely different router (Billion 5200G rather than Netgear DG834GT both known good routers) - same issue in that the router drops the connection when the issue occurrs.

2. Connected directly to the engineer test socket on the BT socket - hence removing all internal phone wiring) - same issue.

3.  Tested different cables from modem to socket.

4.  Finally due to them stating it was possibly interference from something in my property, I turned off all power in the house and ran the router from a car battery via a mains inverter (i.e. a UPS) - the issue still occurred.

I can't think of any further tests to prove the problem is not at my end, but they are still threatening to charge me for the 2nd visit and a quoting charges if they visit again.

Can anyone offer advice in how to deal with this? Certainly I think part of the problem is that my ISP is a reseller, so I speak to them, they speak to the actual ISP who then speaks to BT - an I'm sure an element of 'chinese whispers' occurrs because of this.

For reference the attenuation on my line is about 58dB, and prior to this issue occuring I had a stable 2.5 - 3Mbps connection, although currently I am stuck down at 576kbps (my upload speed is in fact higher than that!).

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Tim.

I have attached a screenshot showing the issue.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[roseway]

It does look as though you have done everything possible to remove your own equipment and wiring from suspicion. It could still be local interference from some nearby source, but the fact that it tends to happen after heavy rain does tend to point the finger at a poorly sealed connection in the telephone line, or something similar.

When the problem occurs, have you tried listening on the phone for any spurious noises such as crackles or hissing? You could use the quiet line test to make sure (dial 17070 and choose option 2).

[timh]

Hi Roseway.

I haven't noticed any noise on the line when occurring, but will try the line check you mention when it next occurs.

Regarding outside interference - I've spoken to my neighbours and they don't seem to suffer the same issue (which I assume they would if it was local).

I have asked if they could bring and leave their own monitoring equipment for a few days, so they can capture the issue for themselves - do you know if they possess such equipment ?

The main thing is I'm very worried about BT making all these charges if they revisit (and supposedly already have one hanging over my head), although I have hopefully collected enough evidence to challenge them in the small claims court.  It just seems an immense struggle to get anything done, and my trust in BT has long gone.

One other thing, could I ask they switch me over to another cable pair at my property and at the cabinet - surely this would be a logical thing for them to try ?

[roseway]

Changing to a different cable pair would be grasping at straws at best, because the other pair would be part of the same cable and very possibly subject to the same problem.

You really shouldn't have to be thinking about the small claims court - your ISP should supporting you here. In reality, if your ISP is not interested, then the best option would be to change to a different one, if you can do so without incurring a charge for terminating a contract early.

[Azzaka]

G'Day timh,

Are you on the BT 21CN Network?