I think my broadband should be going faster...

[#1]

Hi,
I'm a new customer but have come from O2 where i've been used to much faster speeds, albeit in a different house!
We're more than 10 days in, and our broadband speed has crept up from an almost unusable 2Mbps (oh how expectations have changed!) but I still think it can be higher. O2's prediction for this phoneline is 14Mbps, and PlusNet said something similar before I joined.
I had an email the other day from PlusNet saying:
Estimated line speed: 15Mbps
Current line speed: 5Mbps
Is there anything you can do to speed things up? Why am I getting 5Mbps if I should be on 15Mbps? I understand there's some dynamic speed testing so that it settles on the best speed for the line - is this artificially limiting us?
I ran the BT Speedtest (http://speedtester.bt.com/) and got the following:
Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
Download Speed - 4040 Kbps
Max Achievable Speed - 7150 Kbps
Download speedachieved during the test was - 4040 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 2000-7150 Kbps.
IP Profile for your line is - 5000 Kbps
The throughput of Best Efforts (BE) classes achieved during the test is - 12.05:24.47:63.49 (SBE:NBE:PBE)
These figures represent the ratio while sententiously passing Sub BE, Normal BE and Priority BE marked traffic.
My router (Belkin F5D8633) says:
ADSL
  Type Interleave Path
  Status SHOWTIME
 
Downstream Upstream
  Data rate(Kbps) 6200Kb 444Kb
  Noise Margin 24 29
  Output power(dBm) 120 198
  Attenuation(dB) 32 11
Many thanks,
Andrew

[#2]

Going by your speed test I'm wondering if you've been provisioned on ADSL1 not ADSL2+
The other thing is your noise margin is ridiculously high. Can you try a reboot and post the router stats again please.

[#3]

I think that on ADSL1 you get an upstream of 448kbps - I do
I suspect that the line is on ADSL2+ and has been banded due to perceived instability

[#4]

Thank you for your quick response!
I unplugged my router and then plugged it back in again and woooooo - big change!
I now have these figures from my router:
Type Interleave Path
  Status SHOWTIME
 
Downstream Upstream
  Data rate(Kbps) 16964Kb 444Kb
  Noise Margin               5 30
  Output power(dBm)   128 200
  Attenuation(dB)             32 11
I did a quick speed test with http://www.speedtest.net/ and it's still at under 5...
Any idea what's going on?
Many thanks
Andrew

[#5]

As a follow up, the internet has been dropping in and out a bit... I've just checked what the router is saying and the stats are below. It looks like the speeds are decreasing and the noise margin is increasing. Any idea what this means? Why is the noise increasing?
ADSL
  Type Interleave Path
  Status SHOWTIME
 
                                Downstream Upstream
  Data rate(Kbps)   10661Kb        444Kb
  Noise Margin             17           27
  Output power(dBm) 123         203
  Attenuation(dB)      32         11

[#6]

Sorry, one more reply from me!
I had a look at http://www.farina1.com/adsl/ and input the details from the router which I posted above. It says
If your service provider uses ADSL2+ the maximum line speed likely is: 15650Kbps
With ADSL2+ the maximum IP throughput (result from a speedtest) is likely to be around: 13850Kbps
Your ADSL2+ speeds are likely to be in the range 12000Kbps to 15700Kbps
Andrew

[#7]

The farina estimates will be based on a 6dB target noise margin and the stats posted in reply #3 confirm for that noise margin your sync speed exceeded that estimate.
As you've noticed the noise margin is now much higher and it looks like the DLM might have increased the target noise margin to 15dB to try to stabilise the line (stop disconnections). Unfortunately increased target noise margin goes with reduced sync speed.
Does following up the checks on this dropping connection support page help?

[#8]

Now you've got a faster sync don't do any disconnects. The DLM will need to see that your line is stable at the higher speed and will then raise your IP Profile (shown in the BT speed test), following that Plusnet will raise the current line speed shown on the portal and you will then see the higher speeds. This can take a few days.

[#9]

Hi everyone,
Many thanks for your help, we will see what higher speeds we get.
Before I read the email saying me not to do any more disconnects (!) I unplugged the router and put it in the other phone socket to see if it makes a difference (I'm not sure which is the master socket)
I got a slower speed, so I guess the previous one was the master! And I've checked all the microfilers, we have a quiet phone line etc etc
Type Interleave Path
  Status SHOWTIME
 
Downstream Upstream
  Data rate(Kbps) 7250Kb 444Kb
  Noise Margin 19 20
  Output power(dBm) 99 205
  Attenuation(dB) 32 11
I put it back into the previous phone socket, give it a week and see what happens
Thanks again
Andrew

[#10]

Hi abathgate,
Your BT profile is 14000 at the moment so I've just matched ours to it. You should see the difference soon. If not, then if you reboot the router via the router interface you'll see it pick up.
Jojo