ADSL Broadband .

[#1]

Hello! I am experiencing some troubles with the Broadband Connection and I would like to ask you guys a question maybe you could advise us. 

The connection is really really slow. After I ran a Broadband Test it resulted in the following measurements : 

PING: 27 Ms

DOWNLOAD: 5.23 Mbps

UPLOAD: 0.62 Mbps

There are constant crashes, connection outages and I experience a huge amount of ping during online gaming sessions. We are a house of 4 students with lots of connected devices and things can get pretty slow when all of us are working  

I think our connection is the 18.99 a month Broadband & Phone. 

The question I would like to ask you guys is what's the difference between Broadband&Line Rental and Broadband only? 

Which one is better than the other, and if it is possible to set up a Broadband Only with regards to the current location.

In the case of upgrading to a different plan which one should we choose in order for the connection to be faster? 

I could send you guys details regarding the Adress and Other personal info if required. The current service was arranged by one of my housemates using a different account but he is not around at the moment but I can provide the email address.

Thank you very much for your time! Have a great day!

[#2]

The difference between Broadband & Phone and Broadband Only is that the former bundles the line rental and broadband into one monthly payment, while the latter requires a separate line-rental payment to a different company. ADSL and FTTC require a phone line to work, even if you never use the phone.

Your speeds are typical for an ADSL connection. With four users it isn't a lot of bandwidth. It is probably the upload that is causing the stutter - most cheap (ISP supplied) routers suffer from what is often called buffer-bloat. For each download packet the router has to send an acknowledgement. Simplifying things a bit, when the upload gets busy that is delayed in a queue and that in turn delays the next download packet.

You best solution is upgrading to a faster FTTC connection if one is available. Alternatively, check 4G (5G?) in your area - you can get unlimited 4G broadband from several networks, and you can use that as home broadband.

If all else fails get a router than can control the uploads using QoS (Quality of Service) which can prioritize some upload traffic to improve things.

[#3]

Hi @Augustin12 thanks for getting in touch with us via our community forums.

I'm sorry to see you're experiencing speed problems.

In addition to @corringham's advice, could you send me a private message with the address where we're providing the service and I'd be happy to see if there's anything which can be done to improve your speeds.

[#4]

Thank you for your reply! Will send private message in a moment .   

[#5]

Thanks @Augustin12 I’ll message you tomorrow morning when I’m back in the office. 

[#6 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the message @Augustin12 

Looking into this I can see your router is getting a stable speed of around 6.1mbps (Download) and 0.8mbps (Upload) so the speeds you're seeing seem to be about right for the length and quality of your line to the exchange.

The estimated speeds for your line are actually only between 1mbps and 3mbps so it looks like your line is overperforming beyond our suppliers expectations. 

To be honest 6mbps shared between a house of 4 people isn't a lot at all (I also live in a shared house and had about that speed a few years ago before we got fibre, so I know it can be a struggle) 

So I think the best bet if you guys are needing faster speeds is to upgrade to fibre as you should be able to get 70.5mbps to 80mbps on our fibre extra package. If you opt for our basic fibre package, you'd get around 38mbps. 

To upgrade I'd recommend asking the account holder to either call us on 0800 013 2632, or log into the account from Here then click Here to order fibre online via the account.

Let us know if you've got any further queries.

I hope this helps.

[#7]

Thank you very much for the reply !! It was indeed very clarifying. We will upgrade for sure .

I would like to ask you what would be the difference between a simple Broadband and a Line Rental Broadband . I saw that they were quite cheaper(Broadband Only Plans) and I didn't find anywhere information regarding the circumstances in which these 2 operate . I am a computer networks student and I am really curious because where I am from Phone Line Broadband wasn't a thing . I don't mean to bother
Have a nice day and thank you again !

[#8]

Thanks for getting back to me @Augustin12 

No problem, let us know how the upgrade goes.

The difference between Broadband Only and Broadband/Line Rental is that with the first option you'd be paying us for broadband and another BT based provider for line rental.

We're withdrawing our Broadband Only packages from the 3rd December. Personally I'd say that the best deals are when you have broadband and line rental with one provider as you do.

In the UK, the majority of the broadband infrastructure runs down a phone line. In some areas, you'd be able to get fibre straight to your property(FTTP) which is more expensive but you don't need a phone line for it to work.

Feel free to let me know if there's anything else you'd need help with.

Cheers,

Anoush