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[bubblemax]

Recently changed provider from BT to Plusnet and now broadband has slowed considerably! Outlook Express now seems to take ages to fire-up! Could be coincidence of course?
Have been in dialogue with Plusnet who confirm that there are errors(?) on the line. They are prepared to send an engineer, however, if it's our equipment there will be a charge.
What can be done to check our equipment before we agree to a visit from the Plusnet engineer???

[roseway]

Hi and welcome

It's most unlikely that changing from BT to Plusnet will be responsible for the slowdown. You're still using the same telephone cable and exchange equipment.

There's quite a lot of information about troubleshooting here, but in the first instance, could you post your router stats so we can get an idea of the state of your connection.

[razpag]

He won't be using the same exchange equipment Eric, he'll be on Plusnets equipment racks now. I'd say approx 20% of BB faults are exchange equipment, so it's worth pointing out.

[roseway]

Thanks for the correction RP.

[bubblemax]

Thank-you for your responses. I thought I might be asked for router stats. Not something I've attempted before so bear with me.

[bubblemax]

Router stats
Line rate, downstream(D) 1280Kbps, upstream(U) 448Kbps
Line attenuation, (D) 58dB, (U) 31.5dB
Noise margin, (D) 14.4dB, (U) 16dB
Output power, (D) 15.9dBm, (U) 12dBm
K, (D) 41, (U) 15
R, (D) 16, (U) 8
S. (D) 4, (U) 8
D, (D) 8, (U) 4
Superframes, (D) 245, (U) 6
RS words, (D) 60791654, (U) 30405800
RS correctable errors, (D) 41826, (U) 92
RS uncorrectable errors, (D) 1112, (U) 0
HEC errors, (D) 196, (U) 0
RCD errors, (D) 5, (U) 0
Both LCD and ES errors are '0'

[roseway]

The downstream noise margin of 14.4 dB suggests that your connection is (or was) unstable, and BT's DLM system has increased the target noise margin to make it more stable. This would result in a lower connection speed. Noting what razpag said above, it's just possible that this is associated with the shift to Plusnet, or it could just be coincidental.

To eliminate your own wiring from suspicion, you should connect your router to the test socket (if you have an NTE5 master socket) as described in the link I gave you above. If the  router stats are still similar, then your own wiring is almost certainly not at fault, and you should request an engineer visit.

[BritBrat]

Have you joined the Plusnet Forum?

They are really helpfull and one of the main people there visits here now and then.

A few quick thoughts, are you still in line training and you do know Plusnet traffic shape at different times of the day.

[bubblemax]

No, there isn't a NTE5 master socket for the line connected to the router.

No, wasn't aware of the Plusnet Forum, will investigate.

Not sure I understand 'in-line training'. We live in a very rural area so would expect a degradation of service during the early part of the evening. However, my wife would be connected to BB during the day, as she works from home, and suffers from the low speed which she finds somewhat frustrating.

Once again thank-you for interest.

[waltergmw]

Hi BMax,

In the absence of a NTE5 it would be worth disconnecting any extension sockets temporarily, after making a careful note of the wire colours being removed. If that doesn't alter the modem speed then it's very unlikely the fault is within your house so you shouldn't be charged for a BT O visit. If that happens the engineer should probably fit an NTE5 free of charge as well. Note that most broadband fault finding starts with a site visit unless the preliminary tests from the exchange show a fault is present there.

Kind regards,
Walter