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Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

anubeon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎14-12-2012

Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

For some time now we've been experiencing abyamal Fibre speeds and having had enough of suffering in silence I decided to overhaul our internal wiring.

Until recently, we were using a rather long length of flat (i.e. not twisted pair, I presume) telephone cable to connect our modem to the BT faceplate's DSL port. Not ideal, I know, but we had little choice given the location of the faceplate and the nearest power socket. When I checked the other day, the then current line speed listed within the Member Centre was a messily 2.0Mbps!

Since then I've replaced the aforementioned telephone cable with a shorter length (5m - the minimum I can get away with) of shielded Cat6A cable, with an RJ45 to RJ12 adapter at the modem end. I figured this should provide the best improvement given the constraints involved.

Checking the line speed immediately after installation of this cable, it was now showing as 4.7Mbps. Regretfully, I neglected to note the line speed immediately before changing the cable, so I can't be sure that this improvement is entirely down to the new cable. However it's still a fairly miserable speed for a Fibre Broadband product advertised with an estimated download speed of 20-37Mbps 'minumum guaranteed speed of 20Mbps'.

Having left it 24 hours, I've rechecked and the line speed remains at a measily 4.7Mbps. The line stats from my BT Homehub 5A look much the same too (see below).

----------
[CODE]
1. Product name: BT Home Hub
2. Serial number: +068343+NQ34538611
3. Firmware version: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.264 (Type A) Last updated 19/08/19
4. Board version: BT Hub 5A
5. DSL uptime: 2 days, 03:38:07
6. Data rate: 723 / 4937
7. Maximum data rate: 4741 / 24811
8. Noise margin: 17.6 / 17.4
9. Line attenuation: 21.3 / 20.6
10. Signal attenuation: 22.0 / 18.8
11. Data sent/received: 1.9 GB / 4.0 GB
12. Broadband username: username@plusdsl.net
13. BT Wi-fi: No
14. 2.4 GHz Wireless network/SSID: MapleNET
15. 2.4 GHz Wireless connections: Enabled (802.11 b/g/n (up to 300 Mb/s))
16. 2.4 GHz Wireless security: WPA2
17. 2.4 GHz Wireless channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)
18. 5 GHz Wireless network/SSID: MapleNET
19. 5 GHz Wireless connections: Enabled (802.11 a/n/ac (up to 1300 Mb/s))
20. 5 GHz Wireless security: WPA2
21. 5 GHz Wireless channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)
22. Firewall: Default
23. MAC Address: 18:62:2c:4c:11:54
24. Modulation: G.993.2 Annex B
25. Software variant: AA
26. Boot loader: 1.0.0
[/CODE]
----------

Ideally I would conduct a BT Speed Test but that'll have to wait until the weekend given that for best results a wired connection to the router is advised.

So what on Earth is wrong with our line? We had issues with Fibre speed a couple of years ago, which I raised at the time and which we never really saw resolved to our satisfaction.

I'm really beginning to question our choice to remain with PlusNET so long, and to recently refer relatives of ours to them (Oh what a joyous cavalcade of miscommunication and easily avoided foul-ups that was!). Quality of Service has been on a downward trend for a while now and even discounting the above as purely down to internal wiring, the best (only) re-contracting offer in the Members Centre is pitiful compared to the veritable golden hello offered to new customers!

We've been with PlusNET one way or another for probably 15 years now. We really shouldn't have to jump through hoops like pushy queue jumpers to get a deal half as good as those available to hear today, gone tomorrow bargain hunters! Why shouldn't we contract with any number of other ISPs?

P.S. I'd have prefered to send this as an E-Mail or via some form of support ticket/issue tracking system (like the one I'm sure PlusNET used to have) but the only contact options available are 'Chat' (which is always offline or unavailable to me) or telephone (which doesn't suit my work hours). What gives? Chat bots may be the 'in' thing, but they can't beat a ticketing system for traceability.

Moderator's note by Dick (Strat): Personal information removed from a public forum (to an area that staff can see).

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6 REPLIES 6
Gandalf
Community Gaffer
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

Thanks for your post @anubeon

I'm sorry to see you're having problems. I'm not in the office today but if you want to raise a fault ticket the option is still there at http://faults.plus.net which is linked from our connection troubleshooting guide Here or found by going to the Broadband tab in your account then clicking on Broadband Troubleshooter.

You can then add to the ticket and track the progress by going to the Manage Account tab then Help Assistant Here.

With regards to discussing a renewal deal with us if the offer we've made you online isn't to your liking then I'm afraid the only way you can discuss this at present is to call our Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632. They're open 8am to 8pm on weekdays, 9am to 7pm Saturday's and 9am to 6pm on Sunday's. Apologies for the inconvenience this causes.

I do hope this helps. 

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
anubeon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎14-12-2012

Re: Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

Thank you for responding.
Things took a turn for the worst on Thursday evening with the phone line itself crackling and intermittent and the broadband periodically disconnecting. So I raised a fault ticket following the link you supplied.

As of this precise moment, there has been ZERO sign of activity on that ticket on PlusNETs part! Not exactly great.

"If you want to raise a fault ticket the option is still there at http://faults.plus.net which is linked from our connection troubleshooting guide Here or found by going to the Broadband tab in your account then clicking on Broadband Troubleshooter."

Why bury this and, more to the point, not include the option to raise a ticket in the contact us section. Especially outside of office hours when Chat and Telephone support are unavailable. It needn't be treated as a line fault from the get go, it's essentially a way of starting an unattended Chat session which can be picked up again in office hours and continued via SMS, E-Mail, etc.

"With regards to discussing a renewal deal with us if the offer we've made you online isn't to your liking then I'm afraid the only way you can discuss this at present is to call our Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632. They're open 8am to 8pm on weekdays, 9am to 7pm"

That is very much my point! We're a nation of meek passive aggressive grumblers, so it's clearly no accident that for existing customers to get a deal even half as good as new customers we've to jump through hoops. You, and to be fair virtually every other utilities or telecoms company out there, take customer loyalty for granted and have structured your offer to milk us for even last penny unless we phone up and threaten to leave. The conflict averse amongst us would be inclined to skip that step and simply leave. Given the above, I'm inclined to do just that and to see whether the grass is greener with any of the many ISPs with better customer satisfaction ratings.

It looks like I'm going to have to make a call anyway however, just to get somebody at PlusNET HQ to notice that our line is operating at pre-Fibre speeds and is about as reliable as a chocolate teapot.


Gandalf
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

Thanks for getting back to me @anubeon 

When you raise a fault ticket the estimated time frame for this to be picked up is within 3 working days as it has always been and we've never had the fault reporting link directly on our Contact Us page, I mean at least for the past 5 years since I've been working here. However the broadband troubleshooting guide is linked from the Contact Us page and the fault reporting webpage is in turn linked from that. I think the idea is to encourage our customers to troubleshoot before raising a fault as you'd be surprised how many problems can be fixed by internal checks.

This fault reporting link is in addition within your account on the relevant tab (Broadband). We're always open to feedback though regarding the ease of use and navigation around our website to find something, if you have any specific suggestions?

With regards to loyalty we absolutely do value this and the points you've made about discussing a new deal has already been discussed in detail Here if you wish to join in. 

Going back to the fault you're experiencing I'll pick this up when I'm in the office this afternoon. 

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
Gandalf
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

Thanks for your patience @anubeon I've checked your ticket 199225278 and I can see you've not completed the broadband troubleshooter to raise a fault to us, there are still quite a few questions outstanding, which explains the lack of contact. On this occasion I've completed the process for you and this has now raised the fault.

I've tested your line and the tests are showing an external fault so I've reported this to our suppliers and an engineer should go out within the next 2 to 3 working days to investigate further. I've also escalated the ticket to my pool so I'll follow up personally when we know more. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
anubeon
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎14-12-2012

Re: Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

"Thanks for your patience @anubeon I've checked your ticket 199225278 and I can see you've not completed the broadband troubleshooter to raise a fault to us"

I thought that first entry in the ticket looked a little odd. To the best of my knowledge I completed all the questioned asked, but perhaps something interupted the questionnaire 'widget'. I added some detail to the ticket for context, but is there a way I can complete the remaining questions on the questionnaire?

"I've tested your line and the tests are showing an external fault so I've reported this to our suppliers and an engineer should go out within the next 2 to 3 working days to investigate further."

Thank you, it's much appreciated. It'll be interesting to know whether the state of some of our local cabinets (some of which look to have been poorly resealed or prized open) has anything to do with it.

"I've also escalated the ticket to my pool so I'll follow up personally when we know"

Again, much appreciated. As is your attention to this thread on what was, ostensibly, your day(s) off.

Regarding the location of the fault ticket raising option, working in a technical service position myself I can we'll understand the utility of making end-user jump through a few reasonable hoops to access this. I often wish we had something similar one in place were I work.

That said, a issue/query based ticket system (perhaps separate from the fault ticket system) would be a welcome addition to the Chat and Call Us options. Especially for out of hours and for those too busy to engage in 'live' support options within office hours and, given busy lifestyles, several hours either side of that.

I confess I didn't use the online roubleshooter, and tried to fault find any potential internal cause for thesw aforementioned issues myself. Having been through the troubleshooter in the past (quite recently in fact, with respect to a relatives line) I'm confident that I'd covered all of the steps anyway though and so, as mentioned, proceeded to rule out the quality of our internal wiring (hence the upgrade to Cat6A).

Thanks again for your attentiveness,

P.S. If you need to get hold of me/keep me updates during the day (pre-18:00) a SMS is probably your best option.


Gandalf
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Re: Abysmal Fibre Speeds!

Thanks for getting back to me @anubeon 

@anubeon wrote:
I thought that first entry in the ticket looked a little odd. To the best of my knowledge I completed all the questioned asked, but perhaps something interupted the questionnaire 'widget'. I added some detail to the ticket for context, but is there a way I can complete the remaining questions on the questionnaire?

No problem, I've completed the remaining questions on your behalf in order to raise the fault. The questions were pretty basic such as are you reporting a speed or dropping connection problem etc. Thanks for the additional information you've added to the ticket. At this stage, we've got all the information to progress the fault with our suppliers.

 

Thank you, it's much appreciated. It'll be interesting to know whether the state of some of our local cabinets (some of which look to have been poorly resealed or prized open) has anything to do with it.

It's possible, if the cabinet's not repaired on the back of the fault report I've raised to restore your service, I'll raise a damage report with our suppliers to specifically send an engineer out to investigate and patch it up if needed. Thanks for flagging.

 

Again, much appreciated. As is your attention to this thread on what was, ostensibly, your day(s) off. 

That's cool, you'll often find me around here on my days off. Cheesy

 

Regarding the location of the fault ticket raising option, working in a technical service position myself I can we'll understand the utility of making end-user jump through a few reasonable hoops to access this. I often wish we had something similar one in place were I work. 

That said, a issue/query based ticket system (perhaps separate from the fault ticket system) would be a welcome addition to the Chat and Call Us options. Especially for out of hours and for those too busy to engage in 'live' support options within office hours and, given busy lifestyles, several hours either side of that. 

I confess I didn't use the online roubleshooter, and tried to fault find any potential internal cause for thesw aforementioned issues myself. Having been through the troubleshooter in the past (quite recently in fact, with respect to a relatives line) I'm confident that I'd covered all of the steps anyway though and so, as mentioned, proceeded to rule out the quality of our internal wiring (hence the upgrade to Cat6A). 

Thanks for the feedback. 

We used to have a full ticket system prior to 2015 which we withdrew in favour of live chat. You can still raise a ticket to us for a few niche topics Here (Manage Account > Help Assistant) but it's not what it once was. Very recently we've withdrawn live chat in favour of getting calls answered quicker, and helping out via Twitter, Facebook and our Community Forums.

I'll be the first to admit while the broadband troubleshooter to report a fault ticket to us is good it's not as intuitive as I personally like to see, especially in instances like with yourself where you've done the troubleshooting already and don't think to go through our troubleshooting guides to find the broadband troubleshooter to report the fault. 

While the broadband troubleshooter is directly linked from your account and when you click on the button it advises "This troubleshooter will help you report the problem to our Faults Team quickly and easily" I agree it could be more prominent before you get to this stage that that's how you report a fault to us online.

I think we've currently got a team looking at the usability of our site including the contact us page so I'll pass this on.

 

P.S. If you need to get hold of me/keep me updates during the day (pre-18:00) a SMS is probably your best option. 

Cheers, noted. Will text you with any updates we receive. Let me know if you notice any developments.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet