Loss of connection

[#1]

Since moving from the Metronet fixed 1mb to the Plusnet max I have usually achieved speeds of just over my previous 1mb however the line sometimes drops in the evening.
Yesterday my old Speedtouch 330 just gave the message that it had no dial tone. I changed filters reinstalled Speedtouch etc and by lunchtime gave up after ringing the helpline as there was a 25 minute wait. I thought the modem had failed and I should finally move to a router
A friend in the village in the afternoon asked was I having any problems with Broadband and it transpired they had the same problem (ISP Eclipse). This seemed unlikely to be a coinicidence. They live about 500 metres away  My service came on sometime after 19:00 hours but was at 135k.
This morning again no service for either of us and when I phoned at 12:00 I was reconnected. The BT Speedtest reported Download of 135K but didn't complete the test. I don't know if my neighbour has any service.
I do disconnect the service when not online and switch the computer off at night and wonder if BT has reduced my speed because of that?
Ping details this afternoon
Pinging portal.plus.net [212.159.8.2] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.159.8.2: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=247
Reply from 212.159.8.2: bytes=32 time=109ms TTL=247
Reply from 212.159.8.2: bytes=32 time=62ms TTL=247
Reply from 212.159.8.2: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=247
Ping statistics for 212.159.8.2:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 60ms, Maximum = 109ms, Average = 77ms
The ticket 25677025 says that the inital Broadband check has passed and I should do the the Broadband fault test. However I was going to put it off until tomorrow but may do it this evening in case as I have just realised I may not connect tomorrow (unless I can find my old dialup modem!). However i suspect it is a local problem. If so is it likely to right itself?
Wuz

[#2]

It sounds very likely that it is a problem with the line. It could be something wrong at the exchange. Have you checked the BT site to see if there is a problem at your local exchange?

[#3]

Sorry its been a long day. I have read the tick reply and I have wait to see if the problem recurs within 48 hours. So may have to find the old modem!!
current speed test

Wuz

[#4]

It took me a while to work out what a "tick reply" is.

[#5]

Its been so long ticket lost the end!! Sorry
The village Exchange showing Green as it always does but I have just checked the main exchange for the area and that is showing red since 2/6/08 but with a fix ETA of 16/7/08!! Could that be the cause?
Wuz

[#6]

Sounds like a distinct possibility. Fire off a mail to BT asking for an update on the situation and listing the events you have experienced. It might shed some light on things for both you and BT.

[#7]

Dear all,
Morning all,
Having slept on the problem I realised that the number of disconnections I have made must have been much more than normal. I like many others had problems with Zone Alarm and I also had problems with Comodo and ie7. On another day I had the death of XP and had to do a new instal for the first time since Windows 95!!
All this didn't work cleanly and involved booting and rebooting on some days almost continually. Could this have caused the change?
Still at 133k download.

I left it on all night for the first time as I still can't find my old modem!
Thanks
Wuz

[#8]

Hi Wuz,
I presume you are looking for your old dialup modem (which connected to a serial port?) in case your broadband goes down.
Booting/rebooting your computer won't make any difference unless your router happens to reboot at the same time in which case I'd disconnect the computer from the router if you are going to do a lot of that. Turning the computer off won't matter, it's turning the router on/off a lot or losing sync a lot in a short space of time that can cause problems.
Speed tests aren't going to help a lot in diagnosing your problem, posting your router stats will be more beneficial.
As you live in a rural location do you have overhead phone line, or underground, with all the bad weather of late it's also worth checking you don't have any crackling or other noise on your phone line. And as a final thought, you haven't gone over your usage allowance by chance?

[#9]

Yes still not found the dialup  modem!! It is somewhere!! I use an old Speedtouch 330 broadband modem. The line is overhead but only to the road. Not over my limit and may have opted for too much by pre buying at 75p. May be simpler to pay a £1 when and pay if I go over basic amount.
I have intended to buy a wireless router modem for some time but as the old 330 was working I didn't fix it . The master socket is difficult to use and has never shown a difference but I could instal a router there. This has made me decide to buy one next week. Based on "Which" mag. I am thinking of a Belkin N1 but haven't researched it.
If all else fails I will try beg to get back to a fixed 1mb connection.
A year or so ago Billbow on the old Metronet forum said he was sticking to a fixed 1mb and it wasn't until the price difference between Plusnet and Metronet became a couple of quid that I risked max at the end of Feb 08.
I await the reply to my ticket as I think it is probably related to the large number of reboots recently causing BT to stablise the connection. 
Many thanks for everyones input.
Wuz

[#10]

Dear all,
I reverted to normal and closed down last night to see what would happen. No connection this morning so forced to really look for and find the modem. Currently on dialup so will await reply to the ticket I raised. Its a lot easier to set up dialup under XP than Win95. So thats one good thing.
Will let you know if I have to revert to a fixed 1mb package as the old one I was on with Metronet doesn't seem to be available any more and I might need ideas.
Thanks for help.
Wuz

[#11]

Can you ask a 3rd neighbour (on the same BT exchange) to confirm if they are experiencing ADSL problems?  It seems more likely than not that BT are doing work at the exchange.  When is yours being converted to 21CN?