30Kb/s slow download speed for all http downloads during peak times

[#1]

I'm on the PlusNet Broadband Plus up to 8Mb package and well below the downloaded data limits.
In peak times (after 4pm) for more than 3 months now,  the HTTP download speed from any website drops to 30 Kb/s.
Although the speed checker always says 3-6 MB/s.
If I pick any file from microsoft's site (e.g. vista SP2), download the iTunes setup file, etc,  all downloads are always at a constant 30 Kb/s, never higher or lower, so it looks like i'm definitely being throttled to 30 Kb/s during peak times.
At the moment it's took me 30 mins to download 50 MB of a file from Trend Micro's website.
In off peak times (morning) http downloads are back to normal at 850kb/s.
I raised ticket 28892960 on 24 May but got back the following response which I don't agree with.
My NetGear DG834G router is constantly up and there hasn't been any problems accessing websites.
The router log files and stats for the connected time show no disconnections.

Quote

We checked through your connection logs and noticed a very high number of disconnections. BT's DLM (Dynamic Line Management) system can lower and raise the profile applied to your line due to the results it sees from ongoing assessments it carries out on your line. If the DLM sees stability issues this will cause the profile to be lowered with the intention of stabilising the connection. In the same way if the DLM sees a stable connection at a higher synchronisation rate it will usually raise the profile accordingly. Unfortunately because of this if you have a lot disconnections it will cause a speed fault as an unfortunate side affect.  If you are using a router you may not notice the disconnections as the router will reconnect automatically for you. For the fault to be looked into further please go to http://faults.plus.net and complete the fault checker for tests to be performed.

I'm not happy with constantly being throttled to 30kb/s HTTP downloads during peak times and I hope Plusnet can resolve the issue before I have to resort to requesting my MAC.

[#2]

My stable rate according to https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=stable_rate is:
Estimated line speed:
    Not recorded (service activated before we introduced estimates).
Current line speed:
    8000
My current router stats are:
System Up Time 03:50:01
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 141291 167628 0 1199 11191 03:49:34
LAN 10M/100M 40098 31617 0 2398 384 03:49:57
WLAN 11M/54M 140262 120840 0 9049 925 03:49:47
ADSL Link  Downstream  Upstream
Connection Speed 8128 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 22 db 5 db
Noise Margin 9 db 27 db
http://www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk/ Speed Tests results from 2 Sept (today) and 2 August:
Today 19:44  5286 kbps (661kB/s)  361 kbps (45.1kB/s)  Share
Aug 2, 21:16 6513 kbps (814kB/s) 372 kbps (46.5kB/s) Share
Aug 2, 21:15 6460 kbps (808kB/s) 369 kbps (46.1kB/s) Share

[#3]

Your downloads from Microsoft and iTunes, are they 30Kb/s or 30KB/s? On Broadband Plus we do restrict the bandwidth for download servers to 512Kb/s (just over 60KB/s) have a look here for details: http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/products/archive/bb_plus.shtml

[#4]

30 kilobytes per second.
It just took over 1 hour to download a 102 MB file from Trend Micro.

[#5]

what package are you on?, some download sites are heavily throttled at this time of night on some packages

[#6]

PlusNet Broadband Plus up to 8Mb

[#7]

results from here below http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/plusnet_shaping.htm so if it is classed as a download site it would be 500kb/sec max

[#8]

should be geting 64kB/s max wen rate limited.
did try jumping on to a diffrent gateway to see if things was the same

[#9]

I'm having severe slowness just browsing to normal websites after 4pm each day on Broadland Plus up to 8 Mb.
It's taking 1-2 minutes for all websites including the BBC home page and even Plusnet's home page to appear, as it just hangs for ages on the title of the web page before eventually rendering the page after a long wait.
It's unacceptable when I can't even get to any website in less than 2 minutes due to traffic shaping.
Before 4pm everything is fast, so I know it's not my internet connection.
I notice to switch products to a current one without traffic shaping I have to sign up for a new 12 month contract, which I'm reluctant to do since I've been a plusnet customer since 2004.
The severe traffic shaping only kicked in on Broadband Plus at the beginning of this year and wasn't as bad as this when I switched from the Anytime package to Plus in 2006.
I've had enough now so I'm requesting my MAC tomorrow and i'm off to O2.
Dave Green

[#10]

Hi Dave,
I'm sorry you have been having problems but there are several factors that may be affecting your speed.
Firstly the absolute maximum you can get is dependant on you line and how far you are from the exchange, that's why ADSL broadband or maxDSL as it may be called is described as "upto" 8Mb. Unless you are close enough to the exchange you will never get 8Mb. This is explained in various help pages and the like.
Secondly, if you have a fault on your line this can reduced the sync speed (your connection speed) with the exchange - nothing to to with PN's network - this will affect you which ever ISP you use, and will limit the maximum speed.
Thirdly, you are on an older package which may/may not be appropriate for your needs. If you exceed your usage allowance your speeds will be restricted in addition to any traffic shaping, at different times of day.
We may be able to help identify any line problems if you can do the following -
First please check your phone line - can you hear/have you heard any crackling or other intermittent noise on the line? Dial a 1 to get rid of the dial tone. If you need more time before the NUT (number unobtainable tone) dial the quiet line test 17070 option 2. (Don't use any ringback or other test). Who is your Telephone Line Rental provider?
What Modem/Router are you using? Do you know to access your Modem/Router ADSL line stats?
If you can post both Downstream and Upstream - Sync/connection speed, Attenuation, NoiseMargin (SNRM) and Power.
Try here - http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php - if you need guidance for many Modem/Routers.
Login to https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed and advise what it says for your current profile/line speed (delete the last 4 digits of your phone number if present).

[#11]

Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear you're not happy with the service you've been getting.

Quote

I notice to switch products to a current one without traffic shaping I have to sign up for a new 12 month contract, which I'm reluctant to do since I've been a plusnet customer since 2004.

If you'd like to switch to one of our new products you can do so on a monthly contract basis unless you opt to take any new hardware when you make the switch.
With regards to your low speeds on Broadband Plus, that's due to you reaching the usage allowance on the account, on BB Plus once you reach 4GB your speeds are heavily restricted as per the information on this page: http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/products/archive/broadband_plus_archive.shtml