Contention ratio on fibre vs value

[#1]

This may have already been asked but I couldn't find it in the FAQ's or on here. What is the contention ratio on Fibre Broadband compared to Value ADSL?
I believe Value ADSL is 50:1 and we are currently experiencing very slow traffic rates in the early evenings, we're in a fibre area (Bicester) so I was wondering if it was worth upgrading.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
David

[#2]

Don't forget there could be quite a difference between maximuim contention and actual contention depending on uptake for fibre compared with copper, also useage habits of others on the same technology.  For my money, plusnet fibre is brilliant - more than fast enough for our needs (often 4 PCs connected at the concurrently in the evening) and excellent for gaming (low latency), and that's without any 'pro' add-on.

[#3]

I thought contention ratios went out a long time ago, at least as an official number.
Obviously the backhaul can't cope with everyone using the line at full speed, so there *is* contention (and you're experiencing it), but there is no longer an official amount. Instead, I *think* BT aim to monitor for congested backhauls, and add capacity where needed (and possible). These are known as Red virtual paths (or VPs), and the status of your exchange can be found on the usertools page
As @walker23, I find fibre is rather good. No obvious problems with speed or contention at all, any time of the day (although I'm on the fibre-Extra package. Be aware that the traffic management of both fibre packages is more tightly "controlled" than the non-fibre packages - in that there are more specific speed limits throughout the day. They haven't yet interfered with the way we use the line though.

[#4]

Hi David,
As WWWombat says there aren't any official contention ratios now. It maybe that you still see slightly slower speeds when the network is busy. It may be that they move you to a different VP during the process but as it's a shared network there are no guarantees, sorry.
Jojo

[#5]

Thanks Jojo, went ahead with the installation on the 2nd March. Currently getting slighty erratic speeds, sometimes up to 32Mb/s, sometimes no better than standard ADSL. But it's early days yet and could settle down.

[#6]

HI David,
I've popped a reply over here about that.
Jojo