Broadband speed at 0.2meg

[#1]

I have a major issue with my broadband in that the speed has been inconsistent for the last three months - sometimes I got 6meg and other times got 0.2meg, but I've worked around it.
In early August I went on holiday for two weeks and switched all the electrics to the house off including router and digital phone.  Upon return I switched everything back on and was amazed to see figures of 10meg for a week,  but now I'm back down to 0.2meg and stuck there despite changing router, filter and plugging directly into engineers socket.
Router (TP-Link TD-W8960N) stats say:
mode: ADSL_2plus
Traffic Type: ATM
Status: Up
Link Power State: L0

Downstream Upstream
Line Coding(Trellis): On On
SNR Margin (0.1 dB): 61 60
Attenuation (0.1 dB): 335 149
Output Power (0.1 dBm): 0 126
Attainable Rate (Kbps): 15372 1152

Path 0 Path 1
Downstream Upstream Downstream Upstream
Rate (Kbps): 12551 1147 0 0

I reported the initial intermittent drop in speed to PlusNet a few months back but they said the fault wasn't their end so it was mine or BT's who would charge me if it was my fault.  Well I've had enough and am ready to book a day off work to wait for BT and be dammed with the charge if they can pinpoint the fault even if it is on my side, but I wondered if the above stats would shed any light on the situation first?

[#2]

1) Have you exceeded your usage allowance for this month?
https://portal.plus.net/view_my_broadband_usage/index.php
2) What is your "Current Line Speed"?
https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed

[#3]

I'm on an unlimited product so no issue there.
I've just checked on my estimated line speed which says 2.1meg and speedtest.net which says 0.23meg
Are the router stats OK?

[#4]

The router stats are fine so I would suspect two things
The BT IP profile from the BT Speedtest - but as you are on 21CN ADSL2+ that shouldn't be it
The Plusnet mirror - described as Current Line Speed https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed which can take 3 days to increase after a drop.
Assuming that the Plusnet mirror is the culprit then you need to find out what is crippling your speed.
I suggest installing Routerstats if you router supports it and leave it running 24/7 to try and identify what is causing the problem
http://vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm

[#5]

Hi 3MSW,
I'll check your connection and profile in the morning when I'm in the office and then we'll go from there.
Chris

[#6]

OK so I went on the mirror thing and it says this:
Estimated line speed:
Not recorded (service activated before we introduced estimates).
Current line speed:
2.1 Mb

Then I went on the speedtester.bt and it didn't give me any stats, it ran the test and came up with:
HTTP Status 500 -
type Exception report
message
description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.
exception
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Cannot forward after response has been committed
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.doForward(RequestProcessor.java:1078)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processForwardConfig(RequestProcessor.java:396)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:232)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1913)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:462)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:710)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:803)
note The full stack trace of the root cause is available in the Apache Tomcat/6.0.16 logs.
Apache Tomcat/6.0.16

[#7]

Shut down computer, restarted and re-tested on speedtester.bt.com and got the following results:

1. Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
Download  Speed
1.9 Mbps
 
0 Mbps 21 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speedachieved during the test was - 1.9 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 4 Mbps-21 Mbps.
IP Profile for your line is - 11.14 Mbps
2. Upstream Test:  -provides background information.
Upload Speed
0.96 Mbps
 
0 Mbps 0.83 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Upload speed achieved during the test was - 0.96Mbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 0.83 Mbps

This test was not conclusive and further testing is required.This might be useful for your Broadband Service Provider to investigate the fault.
If you wish to carry out further tests,please click on 'Continue' button.If not, please close the window using 'Exit' button and contact your ISP for further assistance with these results.

Then went on to speedtest.net and got:
1.98mb/s down
0.93mb/s up
33ms ping
This is much better than the 0.2mb/s down it told me I was receiving an hour ago but nowhere near what my router or IP tell me I should be getting?

[#8]

You are being limited by the Plusnet Current Line Speed which, I am sure Chris will sort out in the morning.
But we need to find out what is causing you router to resync at such a low rate hence my comment about routerstats.
However one thing which Chris should be able to post is your connection log which will show when and how often the router loses its connection.
This may give a hint as to what is causing the problem.
I apologise for suggesting this as you have obviously been checking everything but do you have a Sky Box connected to the phone line and if so is the Sky splitter have a filter between it and the phone line

[#9]

Quote from: 3MSW

This is much better than the 0.2mb/s down it told me I was receiving an hour ago but nowhere near what my router or IP tell me I should be getting?

No, because Plusnet it throttling your line speed to 2.1 Mbps despite the fact that your BT IP Profile is in excess of 11 Mbps.  You'll have to ask Plusnet why they are doing that because I have given up trying to get them to admit that their system is broken..

[#10]

I've looked over your connection, you are not currently on an unlimited package. You are on Broadband Plus which gives you 10GB peak time usage(4pm-midnight) and 100GB off peak(midnight-4pm)
You are currently over your peak usage, so at peak times your speeds are currently restricted. I would suggest upgrading your package to our extra package, this will give you 60GB of usage from 8am until midnight and midnight to 8am is a free period. This would be charged at £11.49 per month.
Also your speed profile appears to have dropped due to disconnections on your line. Below is a log of your connection.
<img src="http://ccgi.psmith12.plus.com/visradius/generated/image13468329618589.png" />
I have readjusted your profile so your speed's will now be aligned to your sync rate.
Looking further back at your connection it appears that the disconnections have been a one-off.
Did you turn your router off or change anything internally during the time of your disconnections?
Let me know what you decide.
Chris

[#11]

I'm sure that there was no cap on my usage when I joined back in 2005, is this a recent introduction? is the 10GB peak a monthly limit? How long has it taken me to reach my peak 10GB limit?
Is the 60GB peak upgrade an extra £11.49 a month on top of the £14.50 I pay for broadband and the £14.60 I pay for line rental as if it is, I'll be giving TalkTalk a call to discuss their offer of line rental and unlimited broadband for £17.25 all in?

[#12]

The Extra package 60GB is £11.49 and the line rental is £12.99 or £9.49 if you pay 12 months in advance giving a total of  £24.48 or £20.98 if you are on a Market 2 or 3 exchange
On a market 1 exchange the broadband cost increases to £17.99 per month - check here http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/
Regarding your usage - have a look here https://portal.plus.net/view_my_broadband_usage/index.php
Looking at your line rental I assume that you are with BT for your phone/line rental and then the only cost from Plusnet is the broadband charge
Regarding usage cap - when you joined it was probably on Broadband Plus which had a 10GB limit and when exceeded the speed was heavily throttled http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/products/archive/broadband_plus_archive.shtml

[#13]

OK, I've checked my usage and I do appear to be going over my 10Meg limit, but I just wish Plusnet support had told me this four months ago when I raised the first of two tickets.
I've logged into my account an 'upgraded' my £14.50 10meg Broadband Plus to £11.49 60meg Broadband Extra (saving me £3.01 per month) but it says that my new plan won't kick in until 15th September!
Any chance of a goodwill gesture raising me up to 60meg straight away so my girls can watch their programmes on iPlayer & LoveFilm? - a small ask considering I am a customer of 7 years who's currently paying more for 10meg than anyone on 60meg anyway?

[#14]

Quote from: 3MSW

Any chance of a goodwill gesture raising me up to 60meg straight away so my girls can watch their programmes on iPlayer & LoveFilm? - a small ask considering I am a customer of 7 years who's currently paying more for 10meg than anyone on 60meg anyway?

If you don't get a reply from a staff member before the morning  then post again after 8pm  - no guarantees but Plusnet always seem to treat good customers well in my experience.

[#15]

Quote from: 3MSW

OK, I've checked my usage and I do appear to be going over my 10Meg limit

Plusnet send a warning email before you go over the limit.  Log on to your account and check your email communication preferences - perhaps you no longer use that email address?

Quote from: 3MSW

I am a customer of 7 years who's currently paying more for 10meg than anyone on 60meg anyway?

If I went for the 60 meg package it would cost me £17.99 a month - you are going to pay £11.49 which is less than i pay for my 10 meg "value broadband" package..  Same is true for anyone else on a Market 1 exchange.  All goodwill gestures gratefully received.