Download/Upload Speeds.

[#1]

I have recently transferred from ADSL to Fibre Broadband.

In my introductory email is the following statement.

"We estimate your broadband speed should be between 38Mbps and 40Mbps and your minimum guaranteed access line speed is 34Mbps."

My actual speed is about 30Mbps.

After a bit of research I have found the following for my line:-

"The current Downstream BRAS rate is: 33.42 Mbps
The current Upstream BRAS rate is: 2 Mbps"

and it has not changed since I connected the first time.

So this seems to be guaranteeing that I will never achieve the minimum guaranteed access line speed!

Can someone from PN please comment.

[#2]

Hi there, 

Tests on your line don't show anything obvious but I'd definitely try following the checks here as your next step: https://goo.gl/tu2WWu let us know how you get on so we can follow things up with you.

[#3]

Hi Adam,

Thanks for the reply.

Those checks are all fine, in fact the connection seems solid as a rock, it has stayed connected since I first fired up the new router (3 days).

It just seems that the bRAS setting is acting as a limiter.

Here is the Helpdesk info

1. Product name: Plusnet Hub

2. Serial number:

3. Firmware version: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.237.2.2 Last updated 07/10/17

4. Board version: Plusnet Hub One

5. DSL uptime: 2 days, 21:10:13

6. Data rate: 1999 / 34530

7. Maximum data rate: 9391 / 35068

8. Noise margin: 18.4 / 6.2

9. Line attenuation: 31.9 / 20.8

10. Signal attenuation: 22.3 / 19.6

11. Data sent/received: 471.1 MB / 17.8 GB

12. Broadband username:

13. 2.4 GHz Wireless network/SSID:

14. 2.4 GHz Wireless connections: Enabled (802.11 b/g/n (up to 144 Mb/s))

15. 2.4 GHz Wireless security: WPA2

16. 2.4 GHz Wireless channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)

17. 5 GHz Wireless network/SSID:

18. 5 GHz Wireless connections: Enabled (802.11 a/n/ac (up to 1300 Mb/s))

19. 5 GHz Wireless security: WPA2

20. 5 GHz Wireless channel: Automatic (Smart Wireless)

21. Firewall: Default

22. MAC Address: b8:ee:0e:f0:3c:b2

23. Modulation: G.993.2 Annex B

24. Software variant: AA

25. Boot loader: 1.0.0

[#4]

So no one from PN seems interested.

I checked my bRAS just now and it is now 32.11 Mb/s.

Can someone please explain how my bRAS speed (which I understand to be a maximum) is set to a level LOWER than my guaranteed minimum line speed.

[#5]

Hi, really sorry no one has come back to you yet. 

If you can report a fault at http://faults.plus.net as your next step please. 

Feel free to send me a PM when you have and I'll make sure that gets picked up and worked on. 

[#6]

So I followed Adam's advice, reported a fault, and subsequently got a visit from an Openreach engineer on 3rd Nov..

He connected his magic box to my master socket, said he measured a speed of 36Mbps and said he would report to PN.

Quite how he got 36Mbps with the BRAS set to 33Mbps I don't understand.

I am still getting maximum speeds of about 31 or 32Mbps.

I have heard nothing from PN since.

[#7]

There are 3 speed figures relating to a VDSL connection

1) The sync speed, this is the speed negotiated by the modem and the DSLAM in the cabinet. Its the "headline" speed that the BT Wholesale ADSL Checker references. It is also the speed which the Plusnet estimated speed range and minimum guaranteed line speed is based on.

If you want to check your what you estimate is, look on the BT Wholesale website here: https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/adsl.htm?s_cid=ws_furls_adslchecker

On your modem diagnositcs your sync speed is: 34.5 Mbps, this is just above your guaranteed line speed. The engineer got a sync speed of 36 Mbps, this could simply be down to the chipset of his modem performing better with the cabinet and is not uncommon.

2) The next speed is the IP Profile which is always lower than the sync speed, this is because there is an overhead on the connection for error correction.

In your case the IP Profile is 33 Mbps, this is normal given your sync speed. This is the maximum theoretical speed you can get. However this does not include overheads of the communication protocols used on the internet and can also be impacted by congestion on the internet.

3) The third figure is the real world speed, this is the speed you get when connecting to servers on the internet and can be impacted by congestion. OOKLA (speedtest.net) and BT Wholesale speed tester report this speed. In your case you measured  30Mbps per second using a speed tester which is to be expected given your sync and IP profiles.

Looking at your router stats, your attenuation is quite high, which is probably due to your distance from the green cabinet being 800-1000m. This is the main factor which is limiting your connection speed.

If you want a point of comparison, I am about 900m from my cabinet. My modem syncs at 34.9Mbps and my IP Profile is 33.84Mbps (according to http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/). BTW Speedtest reports 29 Mbps download and OOKLA gives me 31.76Mbps download.

This is normal for my line conditions and from the information you posted on here, I would say that your line speeds are normal too.

[#8]

If you want to get a better understanding of how this works, Kitz has written an excellent guide on the subject.

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/IPprofile.htm

[#9]

I was just about to explain the profile vs sync speed and how the MGALS is applied, however @mikelahey has already provided a very good explanation.

As he mentioned, the MGALS is compared against the sync speed, which from your router stats posted is 35068.

[#10]

Thank you all for your replies.

Unfortunately none of your comments are able to address the original question which is why is my speed below the guaranteed minimum access speed (MGALS).

PN agree there is a problem because they did there own tests which concluded there was a fault and called in BTW.

I have just had 2 messages from PN one saying further investigations are required and one saying the problem is solved.

Adam I have sent you a PM hoping you can clarify the situation

[#11]

Unfortunately none of your comments are able to address the original question which is why is my speed below the guaranteed minimum access speed (MGALS).

It isn't below the MGALS.

The MGALS is the sync speed of the router, not the speed you get on a speedtest. Your router is connecting at 35068 (35Mb/s) and you've advised the MGALS is 34Mb/s.

[#12]

To chris & mikelahey

The synopsis of your two replies appears to be saying everything is normal.

If that's the case

Why does the dsl checker quote 58.9 Mbps high, 40.1 low and 35.5 handback

Why did PN estimate 38 to 40 Mbps, when I requested an upgrade (they have been supplying me with ADSL for the last 10 years so they should know the line quality).

Why did PN conclude there was a fault and involve BTW.

Why did PN say further diagnostics were required.

I am not clear as to how issues are progressed these days, I raised this issue on this forum, but PN have been replying to me via the "question" pages, which should I be using, this or the "question" page or are they one and the same these days?

[#13]

unfortunately estimates are estimates and they are never spot on, ISPs are usually conservative with estimations too... just so this sort of thing doesn't happen, your MAX DATA RATE and NOISE MARGIN suggest you can not coax more speed out of that line using your current router.

Im not sure if plusnet uses 3db Noise Margins, if so that would give you a few more MB's but this is down to the DLM (Dynamic Line Management) and not something (im aware) that PN can go in and set, most ISPs on ADSL can but on VDSL the ISP usually doesn't have remote control of the DSLAM in the cab as it belongs to BT Wholesale, so its a case of sit and wait and see if it drops.. I know BT have been trialling sub 6db Noise Margins too success and started rolling it out to the DLM, this meant that if your line would be stable at 3db , 4db or 5db then it would lower it with the net result being more speed.

you could change the router too a Broadcom chipset based router, these seem to have a better time on FTTC than Lantiq chipset, I switched as speed was dropping from 38Mbps to 20Mbps every 5-6 days (just the throughput and only a reboot would fix it - second PN hub done the same), so I swapped it for a BT Home Hub 5B which has a Broadcom chipset and my MAX DATA RATE shifted from 66MB to 73MB, wifi was stronger too and gone was the speed issues...

PN hub is just a BT Home Hub 5A but white with PlusNet printed on it

• BT Home Hub 5 (Type A) - CPU: Lantiq PSB 80910 (XWAY VRX268!)
• BT Home Hub 5 (Type B) - CPU: Broadcom BCM63168 @400MHz (BCM63268!)

might be worth a try, not always the case, also if your on a Huawei (Broadcom) cabinet then your missing out on G.INP which helps increase speed, ECI (Lantiq) cabs are not compatible with G.INP as is the Lantiq chipset in the PN Hub... so there are many ways you might be able to benefit by changing router

Im on an ECI cab (Lantiq chipset) and using a Broadcom chipset router massively increased my speed by about 7Mbps

best of luck