Banding

[#1]

Thanks for the clarification @Junkman 

I'm going to keep an eye out for this and flag this up internally if this happens again.

No need to complete a BT speedtest as we can see your speeds are slow. The email you've received is a standard one when a speed fault is reported on an account as it 'starts the clock' on the 30 day timer where if we pass this and the fault isn't resolved assuming your speeds are below the minimum guaranteed you'd have the option to leave without penalty.

I've booked the engineer for tomorrow morning between 8am and 1pm, and left those notes for the engineer.

Let me know how the appointment goes.

[#2]

Update for you.

The banding dropped again last night to 24998.  I just ran a BTW test and the connection is now below the MSG.  My router still showing attainable speed in excess of 37000.

Engineer arrived 10ish and had not received your notes - said his worksheet was blank.  Initially seemed disinterested in a speed fault - actually said he didn't know what banding is.  I tried to explain what had been happening but not sure if it went over.

He did some testing though and found there is a 'small high-resistance fault' on the line between us and the cabinet.

He was unable to find this, however, because there is also a fault on the fibre line between the cabinet and the exchange which needs clearing to allow him to find the fault on the copper line.  He was unable to switch us onto a different fibre line as there are only 4 spare lines in the exchange and all of those were also faulty.

So he says he has organised for a different engineer (PCP?) to come out and sort the fault on the fibre line, at which point he or someone else will return to try to sort the fault on the copper line.

So it rolls on.  Appreciate your thoughts on his comments about not knowing what banding is (if appropriate). 

Thanks,

Stuart

[#3]

Thanks for the update @Junkman

I'm sorry to see the engineer couldn't see the notes we left, that may have been a communication issue within the various supplier systems as we definitely put notes on the fault report.

Although from reading the engineer notes they've left and what you've said, it sounds like they've carried out a thorough investigation and it's possible that the engineers have a different term for banding.

They've passed this to a different type of engineer as you've said, what's known as a precision testing officer to investigate the lines at the E-Side between the exchange and the cabinet.

When a fault is resolved, an engineer would then normally carry out a DLM reset themselves. We should hopefully get an update on the progress tomorrow, I'll check back then and let you know when I know more. 

[#4]

Hi @Junkman

I'm happy to see that following further work on your line on Friday, your speeds have improved to 30mbps however they're showing to be artificially restricted at this level so I've submitted a request to reset your line to lift this restriction.

This should go through within the next 3 working days. Due to the festive season I'll check back a week on Friday.

I hope you have a good Christmas and New Year.

[#5]

Thanks for the update @Gandalf.  I had noticed that the banding level was increased from 27399 to 29999 2 nights ago and I look forward to another reset lifting it altogether.

Not 100% sure this is a full resolution though.  The engineer told me that there were 2 faults on the line, one on the fibre side and one on the copper side.  He said that the one on the fibre side wouldn't be impacting on our broadband but needed sorting before he could sort the copper side fault.  He gave me the impression that he would have to visit our property again in order to trace the copper fault.  He hasn't been here again - hence my concern.

I'm happy to wait and see if we do have a final resolution but wanted to lodge this in case the problem recurs after the next reset.

Compliments of the season to you, too 

[#6]

Thanks for getting back to me @Junkman 

No problem. From what I can see while the engineer from the 20th has left no notes they've closed the fault on their systems as completed/fixed overall, but if the problems keep on occurring after your line is reset we'll arrange another engineer visit.

[#7]

Morning @Gandalf.  I'm afraid it doesn't look as if my problem has been resolved.  The banding level was once again reduced from 29999 to 27399 at 0415 this morning.  Screen shot of router stats is attached.  Please advise.

Thanks, Stuart

[#8]

Afternoon Stuart,

I'm sorry to see your speeds have been reduced further. Our testing is still showing the banding at 30mbps although that's up to date as of yesterday so it's likely the system will catch up tomorrow.

Definitely worth another engineering investigation to try to stop your line from erroring causing this. Could you add a reply to your support ticket Here with when you'll be free for another visit?

Due to the weekend and obvious bank holiday's next week, I'd personally start from next Friday as it'll give us time to escalate this with the engineers on the ground and mention the notes from the previous engineer.

[#9]

Good morning. Just to let you know that another adjustment last night took the restriction down from 27399 to 24998kbps once again. So the problem is definitely still there.

[#10]

Happy new year!

Let me know how the engineer visit goes tomorrow.

[#11]

Happy new year to you too @Gandalf .  Here's my report on the engineer's visit today.

Engineer arrived about 1310.  Router still synced at 24.998Mbps

Showed him a BTW speedtest from this morning at 19.5Mbps (MGS is 21.1Mbps)

Nice guy but immediately started making noises about 19.5 being an acceptable speed and that his notes say that Plusnet are asking them to supply me with a minimum of 14Mbps not 21.1Mbps.  That the problem was that you are suggesting I could get unrealistic speeds not that my connection was bad.  He speed tested at 23 down and 9 up and said that was an OK connection at my distance.

Nevertheless he did some testing.  Found a fault on the copper line but said it was a small one and he doubted if it would affect my speed.  Said the only other thing that could be awry would be the cabinet not delivering what it should be – if so he may be able to perform a ‘lift-up’(?)

He left around 1355 to check these out.  At around 1415 the connection went down for 20 minutes.  When it came back up again my router was connected at 35Mbps but BTW still showing only 20.04 i.e. still less than the MGS.

Arrived back 1605.  Said he had found that the cabinet was only putting out 24Mbps not 40.  All OR wanted to do was do a reset but he said no it would just come back down to 24.  So they moved me to a different port.  Also went to the exchange and said ‘so all sorts of things have been changed’

Now did some testing from us.  15 mins later said all OK.  He now tested at 35 down and 7 up.  Which my router stats agreed with. 

Parting shot was that he had basically put us a new line in, so it would take 10 days or so to stabilise.  Said it wouldn’t stay at 35 but hope it would settled at about 28.  I’ll be happy with a stable 28Mbps  

BUT - whilst router now synced at 35.8, BTW still showing a download speed of only 20.19 which I don't understand.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,

Stuart

[#12]

Hi Stuart, thanks for the overview, it's a lot more detailed than the engineer report we've received.

Although apart from the engineer notes which advise that no fault was found and the 'optimal speed already achieved', there are notes from Openreach which say a lift and shift was carried out to move you to a different port.

I can't see any notes we've given about what your speeds should be, just that your line is erroring a lot causing speed restrictions and I can see the estimated speed range Here that our suppliers deem for your line is between 25mbps and 41mbps. It sounds like the engineer carried out a thorough investigation though.

With regards to your download speed of around 20mbps this is capped by a profile on your account that's still set at an old sync speed, I've increased this for you now to match the new sync speed of 35mbps.

Could you reboot your router and then retest your speed? Let me know how it goes and fingers crossed the new port is better than the last one and your speeds stay stable. 

If your speeds do continue to drop down, we'd likely need to arrange another engineer and I'll get this escalated further through our suppliers escalation team for another investigation into the problem.

[#13]

Thanks @Gandalf.  Of course Windows 10 decided to do a massive update as soon as I got your message.  But I just rebooted my router and BTW now showing 30.13 against a sync speed of 35.  So close but still not quite where is should be?

[#14]

No problem @Junkman There's nothing else restricting your speeds this side so there'd be something more at play. Are you able to retest your speeds on a different device to see how that compares?

[#15]

Just tested on a different laptop at 30.37.  Router still synced at 35.  Both tests were laptops ethernet cabled to router.  So we may still not be there?