Sync Speed v Download Speed

[#1]

I accept that these are never equal and the sync speed will always be higher then that achieved during a speed test due to real world overheads such as handshaking etc. However:

Does the BTw ADSL checker https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/adsl.htm?s_cid=ws_furls_adslchecker advise the sync speed or the range of download speed that will be achieved using say the BTw Speedchecker http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/ assuming of course that the router is plugged in to the test socket with a computer connected via an Ethernet cable to the router and there are no other users on the system?

Is the Plusnet MGAL speed referring to the Sync or real world speed?

Which is being quoted on a GEA Test report for:

Downstream Speed?

Downstream Min, Max and Av Line Rate?

Profile?

Is it obvious or am I just just being difficult by asking awkward questions?

[#2]

The Speed test is Download speed, the rest are Sync Speed.

[#3]

So the minimum guaranteed speed is not the published figure. which can be measured using the official BTw.speedtester, but an undisclosed figure that will be a few Mbps slower?

is it me!?

[#4]

I think I know what you're trying to say. If I'm wrong, then ignore the following and carry on;)

However, your first link, that used to work, now gives me a 404 error

Anyway, using the phone line number method https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/adslchecker.TelephoneNumberOutput gives me:
Downstream 32(high) 21.8(low)
Upstream 5.3(high) 3.2(low)
Handback 19.1 Mbps

Yet, the address checker (using next doors address) https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/ADSLChecker.AddressOutput
Downstream 33.7(high) 22.4(low)
Upstream 6(high) 3.8(low)
Handback 19.4 Mbps

http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/ gives me the following:
Speed (download) of 29.12 Mbps
Range 20-32.15 Mbps
Speed (upload) 5.39 Mbps
Range 10 Mbps

But, PN, via the account, shows a range from 19-29Mb (download) and 3-4Mb (upload), though the minimum download is 17.3 Mbps
(found via product change)

Obviously they took the data transfer speed away

My latest GEA results were:
27.2 Mbps
6.3 Mbps
My min, max and avg are all the same
27.2 and 6.2

The Plusnet Hub One did show:
dl 29583
ul 5771

The BTSH6 shows:
d/s sync 35.00 Mbps
u/s sync 6.25 Mbps

(so none of my figures match and the phone line checker and address checker differ too).

So the minimum guaranteed speed is not the published figure.

In my case no.

[#5]

It looks like the DSL checker is down. Both of our links are giving me a 404 error.

Anyway, foolish me thought that there would be logical correlation between all this BT data. I suspose that I should have known better.

[#6]

I have to disagree

You (we) are being made to look foolish.

How can we 'suss it all out' when nothing matches.

Also, imho, there must be something wrong with their systems, how is it others spot anomalies (ie profile rates) and PN manually give things a nudge - the 'system' should do this surely?

Take my results above for example, the PNH1 clearly can't match what the BTSH6 shows

And take my speed issues. For as long as I can remember I've often had issues with my download speed, but always had issues with my upload being around 1.8Mbps (max). It took multiple engineers to finally get decent speeds (around 30 down and 5 up). It proves that my connection data is now out of date. There must be a point when either a human or the system catches up and starts to show the better results.

Weird stuff is all this internet!!

[#7]

I reckon that the root cause is this analogue multi frequency FTTC bodge to which most of us are connected. With this technology the truth is time varying. Think how easier things could be, and cheaper in the long run, if instead the street cabinets being full of electronics trying to compensate for varying lengths of generally old and often flaky telephone cable it held a fibre multiplexer and we all had a fibre connection to our homes.  But then, that would be logical and future proof our telecoms!

[#8]

I don't see the problem.

The DSL Checker shows a range of sync speeds you should be able to get for a clean line, and one impacted by noise of something else. Alas unless you are very close to the cabinet, or exchange for ADSL you will not get the max 80/20 speeds.

You can however make sure you get the best speeds your line can support by using a filtered master socket, and so being plugged into it, and the best router/modem you can. As can be seen by DS's figures, the HH6 has a better modem, so a cheap upgrade would be to use one of them. Short modem cables, and even better quality cables are available which can also help.

Speed tests can vary wildly depending on many factors, not least other devices on your network, and even other programs on the machine you are using to test speeds - hence a directly ethernet connected PC/Laptop, with no other windows/tabs or other programs running, and WiFi turned off if you can't be certain that something might be using the internet when you are testing.

As for MGAL's I had thought they were linked to the Handback speed, but I am sure mine is much less that what the DSL Checker says.

In theory profiles are set automatically, but sometimes after a line fault it need a nudge, but in most cases they would have caught up overnight anyway. PN have not helped themselves by previously offering a 40/20 product, which needed a BTW 80/20 product, then then used profiles to limit the customers line. They then offer many of those customers a switch to 55/10,but from what I have seen a few examples of, they did it by use of a profile, rather than switching them onto a BTW55/10. 

All simples really 😉

[#9]

Boy, did you start me digging!! (I didn't mind though:))

Hmm, "bodge".....

https://www.plus.net/features/network/index.shtml

Unlike many ISPs, PlusNet own and manage their broadband platform.

https://www.plus.net/features/network/technical_info.shtml

We closely monitor our network capacity, investment is made to to provide both extra bandwidth and network resilience as customer numbers and demand requires.

The network is linked to the following transit providers: Tiscali and British Telecom.

https://www.plus.net/features/network/additional_platforms.shtml

https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/about-broadband-allowances/#internet-caching

The Plusnet Internet Cache has got me thinking (from last link above)

is a way to bring Internet content that users regularly request closer to them within our network, so that you can more easily and quickly access the content you need.

...

We do this by hosting the content on the Plusnet network, rather than you having to request it from servers further away over the Internet.

You wrote:

Think how easier things could be, and cheaper in the long run, if instead the street cabinets being full of electronics trying to compensate for varying lengths

Openreach did tell me the other week that others will be running their own FTTP around the country. This will not be BT owned. I have no further info on dates etc.

often flaky telephone cable

I know first hand, what implications this has

(hoping this isn't diverting this topic, but I think all of the above is relevant)

[#10]

It's not diverting the topic at all. This was just something that was niggling me and I now realise from your data that the real world situation can be so different to the published figures that it's not worth the energy even thinking about it

[#11]

I really do understand your thinking and I too often spend ages on stuff like this - I do, not really wanting to, over process most things. I'll hold my hands up, I get it wrong more times than I do right, but often learn from those mistakes. All this internet trickery is something I've had to teach myself, with snippets gleaned from here and there. Most of it has come from my fellow customers (of those ISP's I've joined).

Valid comments like those in this thread, if things were working right, with correct figures, would not need us to start thinking about it. The answers should be there already.

In a way you've put me on a new path, are we really going to the destinations we thought we were going on (internet related), when we could actually be staying inside big brother (being Plusnet in this case). Were all the issues I've had previously the fault of the web site owner(s), we are often told it must be at their end are we not? Now I find the content could well be in house. I was of aware of other websites using CDN, but never thought my ISP could be hosting this stuff too.

I could be wrong on the following too, but doing tracerts etc could now well be a waste of time, as (I assume) that goes via the 'normal' route, whereas the content could already be within the Plusnet network. How do we verify where the issue actually is?