cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Performance getting worse

jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Performance getting worse

Just had a look at my SamKnows report stats - there's a very clear pattern of it being worse over the last month. I'm still syncing at full speed, error rates are unbelievably low, nothing has changed on my side.
Attached is the Download speed (multithread) graph since the beginning of December.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
59 REPLIES 59
AndyH
Grafter
Posts: 6,824
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎27-10-2012

Re: Performance getting worse

It might be your VP - seems to be a common theme at the moment...
A number of them have breached the planning thresholds on your exchange.
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Performance getting worse

That's what happened to me at the end of March last year   Cry
I always used to get download speeds of 5.5 to 6.8Mbps,  then March/April 2014 my exchange became congested and the spread of results changed as shown below -

Fortunately my router's caching proxy overcomes the effects of peak-time slower speeds and increased latency, while browsing and gaming, so I'm not overly bothered to do anything about it (yet) as it rarely causes me any problems.
Roll_eyes
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Performance getting worse

Quote from: AndyH
It might be your VP - seems to be a common theme at the moment...
A number of them have breached the planning thresholds on your exchange.

With FTTC not that far away I bet they won't do anything about it!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
AndyH
Grafter
Posts: 6,824
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎27-10-2012

Re: Performance getting worse

I think that's a given unfortunately.
In purleigh's case, it seems like they've given up all together  Sad
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Performance getting worse

... and to really rub it in, not only have BT given up maintaining my exchange's VP capacity, but there is no prospect of ever being upgraded to FTTC or 21CN either.  Cry
Oh, and have I ever mentioned that paying the 'Market 1' premium for BT's lack of maintenance on a congested 20CN connection is very unfair !  Angry
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Performance getting worse

Do you have the option of using a TalkTalk Wholesale provider*? If so, would you be able to manage on up to 100GB per month? If the answer to both those questions is yes you would get getter service and possibly save money by moving to AAISP!
Plusnet Unlimited on 20CN with Max Premium to get decent upload speed, 12 month contract: £17.49 + £7.83 = £25.32
AAISP via TalkTalk Wholesale, ADSL2+, 100GB allowance, 6 month contract: £25
As I'm close to the exchange I'd expect 15Mbps or more with AAISP - do I really need faster than that? I've never used more than 40GB in a month. Tough decisions to make.
*It's worth running AAISP's availability checker even if SamKnows says no LLU - SamKnows said no LLU for my exchange but it is available.
http://www.pulse8broadband.co.uk also do TalkTalk Wholesale - £19 for ADSL2+ unlimited!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Performance getting worse

If I am forced to leave Plusnet because of BT not upgrading my exchange to 21CN or FTTC in the next couple of years,
then the obvious choice for me would be the new 'Ultra' package from FibreWifi -
       ISPreview - FIBREWiFi Unveil New Superfast Wireless Broadband Packages for Essex
Not only are the speeds faster than the BT copper connection, being wireless there is NO monthly LINE RENTAL charge !
I don't need an analogue telephone connection, as I already use VoIP for all outgoing calls,  so if I were to switch my broadband from BT wired ADSL to FibreWiFi's wireless then I could ditch the phone line completely.
Wink
By not maintaining or upgrading my telephone exchange, BT are likely to lose -

  • My BT telephone contract.

  • My BT line rental charges.

  • My broadband contract (via Plusnet).

  • and the totally unfair £7/month rip off 'Market 1' premium charge for obsolete and inadequate 20CN broadband.


Sad
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Performance getting worse

Quote from: jelv
It's worth running AAISP's availability checker even if SamKnows says no LLU - SamKnows said no LLU for my exchange but it is available.

I get -
[quote=http://aa.net.uk/broadband-availability.html]TT availability checker response
Estimated standard ADSL download speed 11,554kb/s to 20,204kb/s.
Estimated Annex-M speed 2,100kb/s Up, and 15,688kb/s down.
Ethernet services are also available, click here to check prices and availability.
Sorry TT is not live on this exchange yet
Cry
That's a shame, all I want is 21CN uncongested ADSL2+,  I'm not interested in having fibre on my EO line.   Crazy
For now, the exchange congestion doesn't often give me much of an issue (it just shows up on my line metrics), however the absolute upper speed restriction of 7.15Mbps of a 20CN connection will increasingly be a problem as my household's bandwidth requirements forever expand.
I'm not looking for much of an upgrade, just 12Mbps or 15Mbps would be enough, based on my projected requirements.
I suspect this 7.15Mbps limitation will reach breaking point if BT don't upgrade the exchange to 21CN or FTTC within the next say two years.
For now, I'm not in any hurry to move away from Plusnet,  but I always like to know what my options are if I did.  Wink
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Performance getting worse

I've been thinking about this, and it occurs to me that on exchanges that are not going to be upgraded beyond 7.15Mbps 20CN ADSL -

  • OFCOM should eliminate the 'Market 1' premium charge - as it serves no purpose.

  • On request BT should install second "broadband only" phone lines, so existing broadband customers who require additional bandwidth can fit additional modems and use a load-balancing router to seamlessly make use of the extra capacity.  In many cases a second phone line would cost BT almost nothing (other than the installers time) as the existing phone cable between the customer's home and the cabinet will already contain additional twisted pair wires - so it should simply be a matter of connecting a new master socket and terminating the other end in the cabinet.  It also follows, that because no additional cable has been installed, then the second broadband line should NOT be subject to a line rental charge, as the customer is already paying for the existing cable.

  • It then logically follows, that ISPs should be able to bundle these additional load-balanced connections into existing broadband contracts, as the connections would all appear as a group belonging to the customer on the BT management system.  Therefore as far as the ISP is concerned there would only be one customer broadband account, and the customer would be charged the same for the 'group' as it would be regarded as a single connection.




AndyH
Grafter
Posts: 6,824
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎27-10-2012

Re: Performance getting worse

@ purleigh - Contact Openreach here http://superfast-openreach.co.uk/faq/contact-us-form.aspx for 'Privately Funded Broadband' and see what they come back with (even if it's just for interest). There have been cases where the level of interest has suddenly made it economically viable in some areas.
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Performance getting worse

@jelv
Can you open a fault ticket for us? We can see if there are any less congested VPs and try to get you moved to one.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Performance getting worse

Just trying to work through reporting the issue.
When you say it's a performance issue could there not be a question asking if it is all the time or just at certain times of the day as these obviously have to be looked at in a totally different way. I'm now being asked to check things on the router which are totally irrelevant!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Performance getting worse

There's something wrong with the journey - I think I answered the questions correctly and got
Quote
Thanks for confirming that your broadband is working
If you have a problem with your broadband in the future, please come back to report it again.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Performance getting worse

There's something wrong - why when I've said it is performance is it asking me to check username and password?
First time I clicked Yes, my router connected and it closed the fault with the response above.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)