Your internet BB speed ?

[AndyH]

I've had ADSL since around 2000, when it was 1/2Mb downstream and rather less upstream. When we moved from Poole to Blandford 4 years ago I had to tell talk talk to limit my connection to 2Mb downstream because it fell over every time the router tried to connect faster.

Just ran the test a few times and am now getting 7032Kbps downstream and 758 up. More than fast enough for us and really quite pleasing for our location  Still with talk talk, and never have a problem.

[MSeries]

. One of the selling points of infinity is that families with 2-3 computers can all enjoy fast BB however the website suggest that wireless connection of these to the hub would prevent full benefit. Thus Ethernet from the PC to the Hub is their chosen method of connection which rather misses the point.

I suspect what they are trying to point out is that currently (without Infinity) the slowest part of the link from wireless PC to website is not the wireless but probably the broadband. As broadband has improved, the speed of the wireless is becoming a governing factor. In any scenario, they whole thing is always going to be no faster than the slowest component, it seems they are implying that the slowest component is now not the broad band but the wireless.

[Biggsy]

[Biggsy]

The broadband availability checker at Sam Knows is a very good place to get info about what's available to you at your exchange:

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker

Handy, thanks.

It says for me: "However, there is another service on your phone line (e.g. ADSL, LLU, DACS, etc) that would prevent you from ordering a new ADSL connection".

Is that just because I currently have an ADSL connection - that needs unlocking (or whatever they call it) before I can sign up with another provider?  The BT phone line is currently just used for the phone and Virgin broadband.  I hope it doesn't mean I have no choice besides Virgin.

[pcolbeck]

It just means you already have an ADSL service connected. You can switch to whichever ISP you want.

[Gruff]

It says for me: "However, there is another service on your phone line (e.g. ADSL, LLU, DACS, etc) that would prevent you from ordering a new ADSL connection".

Is that just because I currently have an ADSL connection - that needs unlocking (or whatever they call it) before I can sign up with another provider?

Yes, i think so.  You can only have one *dsl service on a line at a time, so I guess there's a flag against each database entry showing if someone is already providing a service on each line.

Wouldn't stop you migrating to another provider though.

Incidently, if anyone is thinking of moving to O2, you can get £50 cash back (in addition to the first 3 months free) by going via Quidco.com.

[Biggsy]

Thanks.

Actually SamKnows doesn't list Virgin Media as being available for my area - but that's my current provider - so it looks like Sam doesn't know everything.

I'm thinking about changing because Virgin's customer service has been appalling for me.  The final straw was a bloke from the complaints department ringing me up to explain a cockup.  He wasn't interested in suggestions for improvements and several times used the words "that's just how it is".  It's ironic that presumably his job is to make customers feel better about the service, when actually he made me feel shit.

[Gruff]

Actually SamKnows doesn't list Virgin Media as being available for my area - but that's my current provider - so it looks like Sam doesn't know everything.

Well, you've indicated you're using Virgin's adsl service, so I assume you're not in a Virgin *cable* area, which would explain why Samknows doesn't list it as available to you. If you're getting Virgin dsl it's just a repackaged version of BT wholesale, and Samknows doesn't attempt to list all the isp's in the land who can offer that on each phone line.

[Biggsy]

Oh I see, thanks.

[ian]

Maybe someone with a technical hat can explain why, despite my exchange (Sydenham in SE London) appearing to have suitable cabinets with an appropriate number of flashing LEDs that in theory can provide 20 Mbps, I'm perpetually wallowing through the doldrums of 3 Mbps? I mean, I peeked through the window and they have all sorts of different colour flashing lights. If Captain Kirk had that many flickering lights, we'd be breathing dilithium fumes and he'd be so far thataway that he'd be in the next galaxy but one charming some suspiciously human looking space lady out of her dress. Me, I'm struggling, watching talking kittens buffer. Shiny techno-future, my arse. I don't need sunglasses for this shit. Still waiting for my hover car too.

All seems to come down the string cheese telephone line, which allegedly is copper, and I'm 2 kilometres from the exchange. Possibly the electrons in the wires are scared of the concrete wrong-o-saurs at the bottom of Crystal Palace park. I'd ask BT, but you know how that goes.

In fact, the following should be available.

BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
BT Wholesale WBC (21CN)
BT Wholesale SDSL
AOL LLU
O2 / Be LLU
Bulldog LLU
TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU
Tiscali LLU
Tiscali TV (via Tiscali LLU)
Orange LLU (Formerly Wanadoo)
Virgin Media (Cable)

[hellymedic]

Samknows rattled me off a list very similar to ian's above.
Despite paying for BT Total, I get less than 2.3 here in NW London.

I'm holding out for Infinity...

[Andrij]

I forgot to check at home before I left, but I've just run the test here at my parents' place here in Yankland.  I'm using my laptop, wireless:


 

[Dez]

Shame the cable modem is flakey. It seems Virgin anticipated it being flakey as they've conveniently supplied a switch on the power cable to make it easy to power cycle.

[Kim]

Shame the cable modem is flakey. It seems Virgin anticipated it being flakey as they've conveniently supplied a switch on the power cable to make it easy to power cycle.

That's handy.  If you moan at support, will they provide a watchdog monkey to frobnicate it when the connection goes down?

[Polar Bear]

Apart from Chris S and Hugo,
I HATE YOU ALL!
I'M GOING TO THKWEAM AND THKWEAM AND MAKE MYTHELF THICK!

IT'TH NOT FAIR!

I have to say that we got a similarly shite service from BT.   We got truly awful customer service when we decided to change to O₂ which comes through Be Unlimited, but, the speeds have nearly quadrupled to



All that needed to be done was plumbing at the which BT took days to do.   I could never not recommend BT for broadband nor customer service enough.

/Edit:  Oh, we pay £7.50 a month for the 'up to 8 mbit' service, approximately one third of what we used to pay BT for the apparently same service but never ever received.  

[Dez]

Shame the cable modem is flakey. It seems Virgin anticipated it being flakey as they've conveniently supplied a switch on the power cable to make it easy to power cycle.

That's handy.  If you moan at support, will they provide a watchdog monkey to frobnicate it when the connection goes down?

My dad often does it. Does that count?

[ian]

Well, having called every supplier listed as being LLU or somesuch in my telephone exchange, I can safely say none of this fabulous technology will make any difference to me, since the I am doomed until the very end of time to having BT deliver their precious cargo of telephony electrons by horse and cart.

[hellymedic]

Well, having called every supplier listed as being LLU or somesuch in my telephone exchange, I can safely say none of this fabulous technology will make any difference to me, since the I am doomed until the very end of time to having BT deliver their precious cargo of telephony electrons by horse and cart.

Will your area get Infinity soonish?

Here is tonight's gem. You've got to admit my speed is rock steady...

[ian]

Will your area get Infinity soonish?

September 2011. Hot on the heels of electricity and running water.

Of course, as I have noted, the exchange getting another constellation of flickering LEDs may have little effect on me. I won't hold my breath. Not only does it involve upgrading the exchange, but my successful navigation through the Stygian mists of the BT call centre experience, and the confluence of fates that will somehow result in the miraculous appearance of a competent BT engineer on my doorstep.

[mike]

I quite like vispa too, they're nice people when you speak to them. The main frustration is when the network dies over the weekend or at night, as their helpdesk is only available daytimes and half day on saturday (I think - it might be a bit better now)

[spesh]

Since Tiscali got Borged by TalkTalk, my download speed's gone up to a claimed 8Mb/s give or take 0.3Mb/s maximum, which drops by around 1Mb/s during the evening.

I say "claimed" because speedtest.net returns a download speed around 1Mb/s lower than what the DSL monitoring stuff in the systray reports.

The flip side of getting faster intertubes is that the connection appears to have got more flakey since the assimilation. This first manifested itself as the modem dropping the connection at around 7pm, regular as clockwork, but it's now happening at random intervals... 

[Dez]

I say "claimed" because speedtest.net returns a download speed around 1Mb/s lower than what the DSL monitoring stuff in the systray reports.

That's entirely normal - the speed being measured by speedtest.net is that between you and their server. You might get better results from a different speedtest.net server.

The speed being reported in the systray will be the speed at which the ADSL device has synchronised with the exchange.

[hellymedic]

Will your area get Infinity soonish?

September 2011. Hot on the heels of electricity and running water.

Of course, as I have noted, the exchange getting another constellation of flickering LEDs may have little effect on me. I won't hold my breath. Not only does it involve upgrading the exchange, but my successful navigation through the Stygian mists of the BT call centre experience, and the confluence of fates that will somehow result in the miraculous appearance of a competent BT engineer on my doorstep.

I'll probably try to brave this in the spring and report back here.
If things get out of hand, we might prevail upon Brent Cyclists OpenReach engineer member, but we try to avoid mixing business with pleasure.

[Mrs Pingu]

My mentor at work has been telling me the sorry tale of how he only gets 0.25Mb download. He phoned BT and they said that was about all he could get. I suggested mobile broadband might be a better option for him - true?

[hellymedic]

Most mobile broadband is S-L-O-W and enormously dependent on the precise area.
The telcos have maps showing coverage of GPRS (akin to dial-up in speed) and 3G (a lot better but sometimes flaky). These are optimistic unless you prefer to surf outdoors, which must be delightful in an Aberdonian winter...