9Mb vs 20Mb confusion

[#1]

Hello,
I'm clearly missing something and would appreciate an explanation: why is PN offering me speeds of only up to 9Mb/s if I switch to the 'up to 20 Mb/s' Premium service? (I'm close to the Western exchange and currently achieve >6Mb/s MaxDSL speeds and the likes of Be are offering an estimated 19Mb/s on the same line.)
Thanks

[#2]

ADSL2+ - different technology.

[#3]

Welcome to the forums
It's only an estimated not a guaranteed rate, you won't know how you'll really get until you switch.
You could put your stats in here http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/max_speed_calc.php and see what that says you will get.

[#4]

Thanks for the quick replies. I understand that I would be switching to ADSL2+. But when I go to change to the PN 'up to 20 Mb' Premium service some red text reads that I will receive an only 'up to 9Mb service', i.e. at best not much better than currently. Be's line checker is consistent with them actually offering a faster service. Is this because they are an LLU op?

[#5]

Different estimation methods.
Post some stats (attenuation, noise margin, speeds) from your router and we'll try to give a better guesstimate.

[#6]

Alas all my modem says about ADSL line status is: Operation Path Fast; Operation Mode G.DMT; Upstream 448 Kbits; Downstream 8128 Kbits. According to an on-line speed checker I'm currently getting 6554 kb/s download. Could ADSL2+ really be proportionately so much worse?

[#7]

Presumably that my exchange is Market 3 and PN charges therefore discounted is nothing to do with this?
Curiously bashing my line number into the BT broadband speed estimater returns 'up to 9Mb' as well.

[#8]

If you get 8128/448 on ADSLmax you should get AT LEAST 16mbps on ADSL2+ whoever supplies it.
So Be's 19meg estimate is entirely plausible, but remember it's only an ESTIMATE.

[#9]

What make and model router do you have? The page at http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php provides help for getting line stats - attenuations and noise margins as well as the sync speeds you already have. Then as others mentioned earlier putting the attenuation into the calculator at http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/max_speed_calc.php will give an estimate of capability.
Putting your phone number into the BT checker should give exactly the same estimate as PN since that is the source of the value they supply. BT's estimates tend to be on the low side to ensure user expectations are not set at an unrealistic level.

[#10]

toodeep I'd expect your line to have sync speed between 15 and 17 Mbps. BTW your exchange is FTTC enabled.

[#11]

As others have said, the line checker is simply an estimate (albeit quite a conservative one at times).
I was going to run a quick line check to see your attenuation and SNR to give an estimate of ADSL2+ speeds, but your router is off.

[#12]

Thanks Chris, it's on now.

[#13]

Line test shows you're currently in sync at 8128 with a loop loss of 15dB and an SNR of 12dB
Which roughly translates into a speed of 16-20Mb on ADSL2. That's a very good line

[#14]

Indeed, and thank you. This thread has been much more helpful than raising a ticket as I did before.  Is the 'up to 9Mb' warning simply shown to everyone as a matter of course for expectation management reasons?
Also - changing topic slightly - is the Thomson 585v7 modem/router that apparently comes with the up-grade to Premium a sensible choice or should I invest in something else? My existing Apple AirPort Extreme router could continue to provide fast N-wireless, presumably.
Finally, will I retain my existing static IP-address when changing to Premium?
Cheers