Broadband Speed Issue (BT)

[WayneH]

For some unknown reason, my house has always suffered from slow internet connection. We used to be on bulldog and we were running at about 1.5Mbps. We are now on BT again, and receive less than 0.5mbps. I have just ran a speed test (at Top 10 Broadband » Broadband Speed Test - Test Your Broadband Internet Speed) and it has come up at a pathetic 0.13mbps.

What can I do?!

BT say that the line cannot take anymore than this speed, but if we pay more money they will be able to supply us with higher speeds! This just doesnt sound right to me. Also if this is as fast as we can get, why were we receiving more speed on Bulldog? (All-be it still slow).

Does anybody have any advice for me? Alot of the time I cannot even connect to the internet and it is driving me mad!

All help welcome and appreciated

Good day

[Tezcatlipoca]

Well, do bear in mind that ISPs sell packages as 'up to X' for a reason. There are many factors involved in actual broadband speeds, and only a few of them are actually under the direct control of your supplier.
If you understand exchange distance and line attenuation (available from your router), then you should be able to get a pretty accurate idea as to the exact speed(s) you can expect on average.

On a more general front, however, 0.13 is exceptionally low. So low, in fact, that are you - with respect - not confusing the download and upload speeds? Upload speed will be a fraction of your download, and may often be in the region you mention.

If you're not, and the 0.13 is your reported download speed, then you have a problem.
The first thing I'd do - assuming your home still has some level of internet access - is to run a few more tests.
Broadband checkers are fine, but it's wise to try a selection to get an overall average, rather than relying on one alone. For this, I recommend the following:

1. Weald Checker
2. Broadband Checker
3. Broadband Speed
4. Speed Test
5. Think Broadband

I especially recommend link 5, since it will generate comparative results for you, based on your postcode.

Once you've run these links, you should have a rough idea as to an average for your connection. The next thing to do is find out which telephone exchange you're on, and how far away it is. For this, go here:

Exchange Checker

and use the Exchange Checker box on the right. This will tell you which exchange you're connected to, how far it is from your property, and the average speeds you should be able to receive.

The reason for all of this is you are then better equipped to write a letter to BT, informing them of the exchange in question and the average line speeds of others in your postcode area. You conclude the letter by giving BT however much - or however little - time you wish to resolve this issue, or you take your custom elsewhere. Unless you are unlucky enough to live in an area where all linespeeds are hideously low, BT will do all they can to hang on to your money- ah, I mean, valued custom.

Personally, I'd swap from them regardless, but that's your personal choice.

[WayneH]

Hi Tez, thanks alot for your reply.

I know, it is shocking that these speeds are what we are receiving. I am 100% certain that there is a problem, please see below my results from the BT Speedtester.....

Your DSL connection rate : 384kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 135kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during this test was - 85kbps

The first issue that jumps out and bites me is that our download speed is lower than our upload! Surely this indicates an error.

On the subject of the overall area, and exchange distance, I have just moved back to this house (Family home), after living on a very nearby street. We have found out what exchange we are on before, and this house is infact CLOSER than my other house (In the other house we received speeds of 6.0+mbps). Due to this I honestly do not think this is the cause of the issue.

I will go through the links you gave (Very much appreciated) and arm myself with information to send to BT. The problem is that we are tied into a contract with BT for another 11months. I am aware that they only specify "up-to" speeds, and from what I have heard, receiving a slow connection is not due cause to terminate the contract.


We have talked about the issue, and decided that we do not mind paying for an engineer to come out to inspect the lines etc, run tests and hopefully pinpoint the problem so that it can be fixed.

Thanks for all help.

Wayne

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by WayneH

Hi Tez, thanks alot for your reply.

I know, it is shocking that these speeds are what we are receiving. I am 100% certain that there is a problem, please see below my results from the BT Speedtester.....

Your DSL connection rate : 384kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 135kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during this test was - 85kbps

The first issue that jumps out and bites me is that our download speed is lower than our upload! Surely this indicates an error.

Absolutely it does. On ADSL lines - which are asymetric - your upload speed (up-stream) should not only be lower than its counterpart, but, on average, about ten percent of the download speed. SDSL lines should be about the same for both speeds.

There are a number of reasons why you're experiencing the problems you are, but, suffice to say, you do have a problem. Interestingly, are you running any firewalls, either hardware or software, as these can throttle your speeds sometimes. A good test is to go to a broadband speed checker page (use any of the links I've given), turn off your firewall, then run the test and see how it compares to a test when the firewall is on.

Originally Posted by WayneH

The problem is that we are tied into a contract with BT for another 11months. I am aware that they only specify "up-to" speeds, and from what I have heard, receiving a slow connection is not due cause to terminate the contract.

This is only true to a degree. You are tied into a contract, BT's part of which is a legal agreement to supply you with a service. It's a grey area in law, but I would argue they are failing to supply this service, since the speeds you are getting render the service being supplied unfit for purpose.
Realistically, it doesn't hurt - or cost anything - to assert this to BT and also raise a complaint (very often, simply asking a company for its complaint procedure is enough to spur it into action).

Originally Posted by WayneH

We have talked about the issue, and decided that we do not mind paying for an engineer to come out to inspect the lines etc, run tests and hopefully pinpoint the problem so that it can be fixed.

That of course is your choice. It is entirely possible that there is a physical problem with your specific line, which would obviously have a detrimental effect on any service you acquire, regardless of supplier. I personally would be in contact with BT first, and by all means suggest they they send an engineer at their own cost to investigate.

Sorry I can't be of more practical help, but there are so many factors involved in broadband speeds that it's tricky to pinpoint problems sometimes. What is overriding, however, is that you definitely have a problem, and have every right to raise a fuss with your current provider.

Best of luck.

[beavis123]

Originally Posted by WayneH

For some unknown reason, my house has always suffered from slow internet connection. We used to be on bulldog and we were running at about 1.5Mbps. We are now on BT again, and receive less than 0.5mbps. I have just ran a speed test (at Top 10 Broadband » Broadband Speed Test - Test Your Broadband Internet Speed) and it has come up at a pathetic 0.13mbps.

What can I do?!

BT say that the line cannot take anymore than this speed, but if we pay more money they will be able to supply us with higher speeds! This just doesnt sound right to me. Also if this is as fast as we can get, why were we receiving more speed on Bulldog? (All-be it still slow).

Does anybody have any advice for me? Alot of the time I cannot even connect to the internet and it is driving me mad!

All help welcome and appreciated

Good day

BT are liars. I was with them for ages and when i questioned it they claimed they were giving me the fastest possible speed my line was capable of which was about 6.4mbps so i told them i wasn't happy and i requested a MAC code from them to move to another provider. I was put on hold and eventually put through to what i assume was their customer retentions department simply because the operative was polite, courteous and very keen to keep me with BT. As part of her efforts to persuade me to stay with BT she offered to increase my speed to 16mbps!!! When i pointed out that i had been arguing for a better speed for months and was told that i had just been told that my line was only capable of 6.4mbps she just gave me some bull about contention ratios etc....
Anyway, when i refused BT's offer and joined 02's 16mbps service i got exactly that and still do.
BT are overpriced, underperforming and deceitful. Avoid at all costs in my opinion.

[daz1981]

I'll try to cover a few of the points raised in here and see if I can help clarify the issues the OP has had.

Firstly in regards to the download speed, can you confirm your hardware is connected to your master BT socket? If so try to connect to the test socket behind this, which will remove all the internal wiring which could be causing the issue. The speeds you receive on a rate adaptive service (such as those sold as upto 8Mbps by BT) vary depending on the quality of the telephone line. While a general rule of thumb is the longer a line is the slower the speed, that's not totally accurate. The speed is dependent on the amount of noise lost along the line, and the longer the signal travels the more noise is lost. However there will be cases where a long line of a high quality can outperform a short line of poor quality.

See here for more info:

thinkbroadband :: RADSL / Max ADSL / up to 8Mbps FAQ

If you're able to log into your router can you try and get the line details from this. The information you need are the attenuation and SNR (noise) margin. It's the SNR which determines the speed of the line, as the line circuit speed increases the SNR decreases, up to a stable connection at about 6bps. The BT network will automatically adjust the speed to allow you to achieve the fastest stable connection. However if your router is constantly disconnecting, or if there are other issues within the house such as unfiltered sky boxes etc they could cause the SNR to drop and the BT network will think the line can't support that speed and lower this accordingly. This could explain why the download speed is lower than the upload speed as that often shows theres an issue somewhere, but that could be related to your own cabling rather than any problems with BT directly.

The differing speed offerings are dependent on whether the ISP uses BT Wholesale, which a lot of them do, but at present this only offers upto 8Mb (this is likely to change when 21CN starts being implemented next year). ISP's offering speeds faster than this will use LLU, where the ISP's put their own equipment in the exchange, which allows them to offer the faster ADSL 2+ connections. ISP's have more control over these, so they can offer a lower SNR margin for a stable connection, which will improve the speed you receive. It's possible that the person you contacted initially presumed you were on a standard package being provided through BT Wholesale and therefore could only receive upto 8Mb, whereas the second person you contacted could have had access to more information and realised you were able to receive an LLU service, and could therefore offer you a faster connection. This is just speculation as I obviously haven't got access to all the info, but you could find out which ISP's have equipment in your local exchange by putting your phone number or postcode into Sam Knows, link below:

Samknows Broadband - Exchange Search

Hope that helps

[WayneH]

Firstly, thanks for everybodies input. Received and greatly appreciated.

I have already tried everything, ranging from master resets on hardware, disabling firewalls, changing routers, filters, connecting through master socket, connecting through test socket (behind the master socket) and kicking the router. All to no avail.

I am at work at the minute, but I have put my SNR into a calculator which says I should be receiving 4+mbps - I know this isnt an accurate figure but it also points out that there is a problem.

Anyway, even though my dad has already gone through the motions with BT, I rang them up and began the process again. I decided to let them run it through their "esculation process" to assign an engineer to it. The indian lady on the other end of the phone ran through all the normal routine asking me to check this and that blah blah blah. I managed to remain calm as thankfully she was quite understanding and didnt make me carry out the tests whilst she was on the phone.

She took a look at the past log on the account and immediately esculated it to an engineer, who will call me back within 48hrs. I asked for her name and a reference number just "in case" I dont hear back from them.

Fingers crossed I can manage to sort it out. Will keep all informed.

[WayneH]

*Update*

I have received a phone call on my mobile - MUCH to my surprise.

The engineers have carried out work on my line to eliminate a fault they detected on it when they ran their line tests. they have said that I should notice significant speed increases within a 24hr time period. They also said if I do not notice a satisfactory increase, to ring them back and the reference number will allow them to do yet more work.

I'm not holding up my hopes, but its a good sign that they have actually gotten back to me. I will report back when I get home to test the connection.

Fingers crossed.

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[WayneH]

Well as expected I got home and the broadband is no different.

I rang up BT and they told me that there is "no record of any line test being carried out before (ie last night)". We have to go through all the motions again, doing the line test and then waiting for BT to get in touch within 48hrs.

The guys is now saying that my line can take no more than 560kbps (0.5mbps). This is unacceptable to us, but furthermore we are being "perminently throttled" by our IP PROFILE to a measly 135kbps (although it does sometimes go up to 250kbps).

Does anybody have any idea of an agle I can approach this to get out of this contract? Is it even possible?

Help!

[WayneH]

They have upped my IP Profile to 750kbps. Even though I told them I still wouldn't receive over the DOWNSTREAM rate.

I am now hitting 350kbps.....Unnacceptable .

[foolishgirl]

I do so sympathise with you Wayne.

I have had similar problems with my Broadband since we moved here some years ago. I kept getting pathetic excuses from my ISP who just kept saying it was a BT supply issue. I eventually escalated it to senior level & badgered them on a daily basis until they sent an engineer from BT with proper Broadband training & experience - I was told that most of their engineers haven't got either & there are only a handful in the whole country who have, which probably explains why so many people report so much trouble!

In my own case I was told it was basically a long line issue although there are other problems re. adquate repair & maintenance of the phone cabling system. I am in a rural area & I guessed it came with the territory of open fields & cows as neighbours but apparently not - a number of recently built houses on a local estate have more problems than I have because of the way in which the cables were laid when the houses were built.

Anyway the BT engineer 'tweaked' the system until I now have acceptable though by no means glorious speed of connection most of the time though when it suddenly rains hard it still cuts out - can only assume it's water in the works somewhere along the line of old cable that should have been replaced but BT won't find the funding for it because they don't receive enough complaints! Of course they don't - cows are not great users of Broadband.

My advice - complain, complain, complain & demand compensation (always focuses their minds!) until they get so sick of you they do something.

Hmm...I can feel my next campaign coming on; perhaps I'll drive a stampede of cows to my local exchange .....

[WayneH]

Well alot has cracked off since my last post, alot of lying and extremely poor customer service on their part to be vague.

They Finally booked me an engineers call for Saturday morning, and told me to expect them between 8am and 11am.

Great! I rang my boss and told him I will not be nipping into work on Saturday (Not a huge deal, it was only overtime).

11am saturday morning came and no engineer Rang them up and apparently there was never any engineer booked for my account! (extremely annoyed by this stage).
They kept trying to persuade me to let them book an engineer for next week but I was having none of it. I had already taken a day off work so I demanded one for today, to which they kept saying there are no spaces. I told them I would hang on the line untill they found one!

I logged a formal complaint through their Official complaints proceedure and finally made it to the "complaints manager" (-yeah right). I remained on the phone with this person for nearly 2hours demanding that my problem be sorted out today. They do not seem to be allowed to put the phone down on you, and I think I was annoying them quite alot!

At the end of it, they changed their story and told me that they can infact see that an engineer was booked, but he went to the exchange, and not my house. They said that some work will be carried out Saturday afternoon and to see what it was like tomorrow.

I am now receiving a connection speed of 2mbps with which I am VERY happy (its not great but coming from 0.3mbps it feels fast)


It saddens me that I had to take such action but I was not standing for their lies and ill tactics anymore.

Winner!

[foolishgirl]

Originally Posted by WayneH

11am saturday morning came and no engineer Rang them up and apparently there was never any engineer booked for my account!

This seems par for the course!

I am now receiving a connection speed of 2mbps with which I am VERY happy (its not great but coming from 0.3mbps it feels fast)

Congratulations - it pays to be persistent! And you're now getting twice the speed I get - def. sending in that herd of cows!!

FG

[worriedunemployedandindeb]

Results


Download speed : 2.39Mbps
Upload speed : 0.34Mbps


Postcode Results


the maximum theoretical speed achievable on your line via ADSL Max is 6.35Mbwhich is 168 percent faster than this test shows you are getting.


The fatest is showing AOL as I can't get a lot of the providers you get down south

[worriedunemployedandindeb]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Your DSL connection rate: 6016 kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 4000 kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2664 kbps

Speedster results