PlusNet Pro - 300kbps download speed?

[#1]

Hi there,
Please can someone give me a hand with my download speed. About a month or so ago I was getting speeds of about 0.7-1.3Mbps, depending on the time of day I went on. Towards the end of August, this speed dropped to 0.3Mbps. The speed is constantly like this, all day, every day.
I signed up to PlusNet Pro earlier this month, yet this has had no effect on performance.  At 0.3Mbps, using the internet is pretty frustrating. I'm shooting in the dark here, but I'm guessing this isn't traffic shaping; surely it wouldn't be this severe all the time?
I ran the Speedtester at BT and the results are below:
Download speedachieved during the test was - 251 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 1000-7150 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :8128 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 7150 Kbps
The throughput of Best Efforts (BE) classes achieved during the test is - 29.17:22.56:48.27 (SBE:NBE:PBE)
These figures represent the ratio while sententiously passing Sub BE, Normal BE and Priority BE marked traffic.
Upload speed achieved during the test was - 360 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 448 Kbps
I submitted a question (#35176410) to PlusNet to try and resolve the issue, and was advised that the matter had been escalated to the correct team on 14/09 at 14:39. I've yet to receive a response.
Any help on solving the above is much appreciated.

Many thanks
B25

[#2]

There are some problems with the BT Speedtester at the moment, though I read that it works for ADSL1 connections (but not for ADSL2).
If the DSL connection rate (aka sync speed) reported is correct, then it looks like your line has a very good connection, albeit on ADSL1 at the moment. But whatever type of connection you're on, with that sync speed and that IP profile you should be getting much faster throughput.
Can you post the following:
a) the results of a speed test here: http://www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk/
b) your upstream and downstream  DSL connection rates/sync speeds & noise margins and your line attenuation as shown by your router, along with the type of connection your router says it has (ADSL1 or ADSL2+ on some routers; G.992.1 or G.992.5 on others). Depending on the type of router you have,  all these figures may be on the same page.
Graham

[#3]

and also post the current line speed from https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed

[#4]

Quote from: grahamt

There are some problems with the BT Speedtester at the moment, though I read that it works for ADSL1 connections (but not for ADSL2). If the DSL connection rate (aka sync speed) reported is correct, then it looks like your line has a very good connection, albeit on ADSL1 at the moment. But whatever type of connection you're on, with that sync speed and that IP profile you should be getting much faster throughput. Can you post the following: a) the results of a speed test here: http://www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk/ b) your upstream and downstream  DSL connection rates/sync speeds & noise margins and your line attenuation as shown by your router, along with the type of connection your router says it has (ADSL1 or ADSL2+ on some routers; G.992.1 or G.992.5 on others). Depending on the type of router you have,  all these figures may be on the same page. Graham

Hi Graham,
In response:
a) From mybroadbandspeed:
Date            Download Speed      Upload Speed 
Today 20:12   309 kbps (38.6kB/s)         349 kbps (43.6kB/s)
b) Router stats:
e Mode ADSL2+   Line State Show Time
Latency Type Fast    Line Up Time 00:03:28:36
Line Coding Trellis On   Line Up Count 4

Statistics         Downstream Upstream
Line Rate         574 Kbps         443 Kbps
Noise Margin 17.3 dB                 23.5 dB
Line Attenuation 39.0 dB                 19.6 dB
Output Power 0.0 dBm         12.5 dBm

[#5]

Quote from: Oldjim

and also post the current line speed from https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed

Hi Oldjim,
The speed from that page is:
Estimated line speed:
    2.5 - Checked on 2010-08-28 02:16:13
Current line speed:
    350

[#6]

Something is horribly wrong with your connection and your initial statement that "About a month or so ago I was getting speeds of about 0.7-1.3Mbps" shows that it was up the spout then as well.
With that attenuation you should be getting speeds of more than 7000kbps
Looking at the results from your router you are probably on ADSL2+ and have been banded due to line stability problems.
The next thing to do is to connect your router to the test socket and report the stats
If it is your wiring we should see a much higher downstream noise margin.
If it doesn't change then you would need to raise a speed fault with Plusnet
Before doing anything can you check if there is any crackles etc on the telephone line (dial 17070 option 2)  both in your normal socket and then (if there is noise) in the test socket

[#7]

Thanks Oldjim. I'll try and hunt down that test socket in my house (not entirely sure which socket it's actually on!).
I've dialled up the quiet line test with BT using my normal socket (the one I have my router plugged into), and I can hear a slight hissing noise. This has always been there whenever I use the phone, though the hissing noise disappears the moment I switch my router off. Not sure if this is normal, I'd always assumed this was the way it was supposed to be  ???.
jim:quote

[#8]

No it's not normal and usually indicates a dodgy filter

[#9]

I had a reply back from Plusnet last week about my connections. It appears as though my connection has been banded. I was advised to leave my router on continuously (previously, I had switched it off whenever I wasn't going to use the internet for more than 2 hours).
It's now been on continuously for over 8 days, and my speeds are still appalling (2 weeks after submitting a question to customer service). Can someone let me know how I'm supposed to get this banding taken off? Does it happen automatically, or do I have to call someone?
Also, is banding a new thing? I've been turning off my router in the morning before I go to work for 3 years, yet I've never seen anything like this happen.

Thanks

[#10]

Hi BlueOrange25,
The banding has been lifted and your profile has increased a little. Have you tried another router, tried plugging into the test socket? Because you sync rate isn't that high and if you can raise that then your profile will lift too.
Jojo