PlusNet speed checker

[#1]

Brian,
Try it overnight and see if you notice any change.  If not, give me a shout and I'll get a fault raised in the morning.

[#2]

Hello James.
I'm in correspondence with PlusNet about this matter via the "My Questions" section of my account. After they said I should leave it connected for a few days, they now say dis-connect and re-boot at least once a day for the next few days. It was a few days ago they said this.
So I've been doing that for a few days now, but still the speed is about 1800 kbps and, looking at my profile in the BT Speedtester, it is still set at 2000 kbps.
I have asked PlusNet, via the "My Question" section  [ID: 22574355], to resolve the matter with BT, but if you are the chap to do this, I would be very grateful if you would.
Many thanks
Brian

[#3]

Hi there,
I've replied to your ticket and raised the fault to BT for you.

[#4]

Thanks James.

[#5]

Well James! Something's happened!
BT have reset my profile to 6500 kbps, and the download throughput speed is 5853 kbps...
An improvement, but they still haven't set my profile to the proper 8000 kbps.
What are we dealing with here, a machine? or a person determined to thwart the legitimate objectives and reasonable expectations of a fee-paying customer?
What now?
And when I dial the helpline number which PlusNet told me to dial, [0845 1406000] the machine wants to know what number I dial to get connected. I don't dial any number!
I just switch on and it finds the line itself!
However, what number should I tell them? (We seem to be reaching an impasse here!)
Regards
Brian

[#6]

If you put in the number for the phone line that the broadband is on, that should be fine. Apologies for the badly worded message.
Hope this helps,

[#7]

Ok. I've left an answerphone message with whoever!
It seems that the number is a BT 'fault' reporting number.
I don't think it's a fault with the line, just some incompetence on someone's part in not setting my profile to 8000 kbps. It's as simple as that!
I've bought a Ferrari, and I've taken onto the superhighway, but it only goes at the speed of a moped! I complained to the suppliers and, after much bluff, mis-direction and obfustication, they have found that they had set it to only run at moped speed! I know that moped speed is faster than my old bicycle, but for goodness sake!!!
They have now 'corrected' the fault, and I've taken it on the superhighway again. Hmmm. It still doesn't run like a Ferrari! I checked the engine settings,.. and see that it's now set to run like a family saloon!
The garage has now told to report the 'fault' to someone else!
Should I take the car back?

[#8]

Quote from: Brian

… just some incompetence on someone's part in not setting my profile to 8000 kbps. It's as simple as that!

As has been said a number of times in this thread you will never get an IP profile of 8000kbps.  The maximum IP profile is 7150kbps and that is available only if you achieve a sync at 8128kbps.  With your sync at 7616kbps the appropriate profile value is 6500kbps and that is what you have.
The relationship between sync speed and IP profile  is given in the table on this page.  The relevant entries are:
Sync speed        IP profile (Throughput speed)
from 6816kbps    6Mbps
from 7392kbps    6.5Mbps <<<<<< this line applies in your case
from 7968kbps    7Mbps
      8128kbps    7.15Mbps
The reason IP profile (maximum throughput - data payload - speed) is less than sync speed is due to the packet overheads needed to make the system work, approximately 13% for ATM and another 3% for TCP.  If you work it out 7616 times 0.87 comes to just over 6500.  So nobody is being incompetent, you have the maximum IP profile (throughput) speed that you can get for your sync speed.
Perhaps a detailed reading of the information on Kitz's website might serve to provide an independent opinion on this matter.  You will find the same sync speed/IP profile speed table given there.

[#9]

Thanks, Spraxyt.
No-one from PlusNet staff has told me that! (see above replies to my contentions from PlusNet staff.)
Here I am going on about expecting my profile to be set at 8000 kbps so I can get, say 7500. ...
But if my DSL connection rate is only 7616 kbps, then my profile is set to 6500, and a throughput of about 5830 kbps is perfectly reasonable? Have I got that right?
Hmmm. I'm not sure I follow the logic of this.
Doubtless PlusNet will advise me in due course. i.e. that, on a line that connects at 7616 I can only expect 5830 (on a good day?)

[#10]

What may be confusing people is when they change from one of the fixed speed products to ADSL Max.
With the fixed speed products, a 2Mbs product (IPstream home 2000) actually synced at 2272Kbs, a 1Mbs product (IPstream Home 1000) synced at 1178Kbs and a 512Kbs product (IPstream home 500) synced at 588Kbs. The additional sync rate catered for the ADSL protocol overhead thus getting a closer data rate speed to the product description (2Mbs/1Mbs/512Kbs). With Max the max sync rate is 8128Kbs and with the ADSL protocol overhead this makes the max data throughput around 7150Kbs thus you never get the equivalent 8Mbs speeds with Max, its closer to 7Mbs. To get an equivalent 8Mbs speed you would have to actually sync nearer 9000Kbs.

[#11]

Thanks folks.
Mine is a brand new account (opened 07/08/07) and is the My Way Option 1. It is not the MAX variety, it is the 'up to 8Mbps' package.
So what download speeds can I reasonable expect?
[PlusNet staff have notified me that there is only a problem if the speed drops below 400Kpbs !! (Yes, four hundred kbps!)]

[#12]

Thanks folks.I think I'm getting there!
In fact, I think I'm there!
I have just read the PlusNet page  "Get Ready for High-speed Broadband" page which says, (halfway down the page, and in the middle of a lot of other information!):-

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"What speeds can I expect?
8Mb is the theoretical maximum speed available. Due to a number of reasons you are unlikely to see actual 8Mb speeds. The average speed during trials of the service was 5.5Mb"

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I think this should be given much more publicity!
                            IT IS KEY INFORMATION!
And this is the key to my situation. If I had had this info presented much earlier in my PlusNet broadband experience, rather than it being buried in the abundance of semi-technical 'small print', I would not have expressed the dis-satisfaction which has been the substance of my questions/contentions since my 'stuck' IP profile was upgraded from the 'faulty' setting of 2000 kbps a few days ago.
As avid readers of this thread will have noticed, I couldn't understand why an 'up to 8Mbps' service was profiled at only a max of 6.5 Mbps by BT, resulting in actual achieved speed of 'only' 5853.
To help newbies like me, I think PlusNet should also give, on its own page, or clearly prominent, some simple figure comparisons so that we can see the direct relationship between all the data.
e.g.
They could give an example in a simple one row, four column table which shows the inter-relationship between (1) 'up to 8 Mbps',(2) 'actual sync speed  xxxx',(3) 'Autoset BT Profile xxxx', and (4)  'actual achieved  this test xxxx'.
In this way we (I!) could see/calculate whether or not what we get is within normal tolerances.
PlusNet publishes several long two-column tables in their technical/advanced pages etc, but we need to see the significant data relationships connecting these tables toeach other.
In my case, I think that the important points here, for me, are that 'up to 8Mbps' on a line that syncs at 7616 is automatically profiled by BT as 6500, and, given that  ..(whatever reason)..., then an acheived throughput of 5853 would be good and perfectly reasonable under those circumstances.
As I say, perhaps something like that could be given it's own page, with a few relevant hyperlinks so that people can get more detailed explanations on other pages if they want it.
Many of us users are not too concerned with the technical side. We just want to know what we can reasonably expect! And then we can see if we are getting it!
I don't need to know about electromagnetic forces and semi-conductors and frequencies and wavelengths and the ionosphere, before I switch my TV on!

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Summary:
Having opened an 'up to 8Mbps' a/c with PlusNet on 07.08.07 my BT profile was 'stuck' at 2000 kbps for longer than the indicated '10 days', consequently speeds no higher than 1800 were being achieved. The remedy was to conscientiously leave the sytem connected for a few days, but during this time to dis-connect and re-boot at least once a day. (but not too often as this would be interpreted by BT as a fault!).
Then do some BT speed tests, copying the results to PlusNet in the My Messages section of my PlusNet account. (Also copying the essence of this corrrespondence to the community forum!)
This resulted in PlusNet Staff reporting the appropriate 'fault' to BT.
BT immediately corrected the 'fault', and the results are now within normal tolerances.
Situation now:  Mis-direction corrected. Misunderstandings clarified. Expectations modified. Matter resolved.Thanks everyone!
I only wish PlusNet had published the above noted 'key information' in a more explicit way.
However, perhaps this thread, assuming that readers have stuck with it to this point, has been helpful to new customers, community forum contributors, and PlusNet Staff.
Regards to all.
Brian

[#13]

Thanks Bright Spark.
I've looked again at the signup pages.
The options to 'select' buttons are at the top of the page, and I selected my option there.
Little did I know that there was an  'up to 8mbps = 5.5 mbps' on a good day'' disclaimer' including in the small print of the 'Features' section which is at the at the bottom of the page much further down and out of sight of the first view! This info is well below the screen view where the 'select' buttons are!
Given the importance of this data, the 'select' buttons should be placed at the bottom of the page, so that people can make an informed choice after reading the technical info.
The other pages you mention are all in the Help & Support section. When I signed up, the matter of help and support was not an issue. Do new users normally want help and support before they sign up?

And back to the  faq 'What should I expect?'  This buried in the middle of of one of the Help & Support pages! It is not actually brought to people's attention before they sign up. It should be given greater prominence, not in a paragraph in the middle of a (three page?) section dealing with all sorts of other things.

However. Thanks for taking the trouble to point these things out. Perhaps you should be on the PlusNet Website Design advisory committee!

[#14]

Brian,
Max IS upto 8Mbps.  This link may also help you with your quest for faster profile speeds.   It'll show you what sync speeds apply to which BT profiles.

[#15]

Quote

* Actual download speeds can reach a maximum of 7Mb, with an average speed of 5-6Mb. BT Wholesale estimates that 78% of customers will achieve download speeds of 4Mb and above.

This would make the point far better if it said BT Wholesale estimates that 22% of customers will only achieve download speeds below 4Mb.