FTTC S/N level changes

[#1]

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@RGN01 wrote:

Thank you, turbotippy. I understand that but was under the impression that anything below about 6db was not good, so my 3.3. had me worried but yours seems to hover around 5.5 for long periods - what speed are you getting?

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Providing the noise is constant then 3.3dB is fine. I'm currently running at 2.8 but have seen it drop down to 1.8 and still hang on to the signal with few errors. The rot sets in when there are bursts of higher level noise causing high error rates etc. It all comes down to local conditions.

[#2]

Great, thank you.

We had a power outage today and when the power came back the line speed and noise had both got significantly worse - the Max Rate by nearly 15%. Apart from the power outage, nothing else changed.

Is this to be expected or is it indicative of a potential problem?

Thanks again.

Richard

[#3]

When you say the SNR was ‘worse’ do you mean it increased? It would not be unreasonable for this to reset to 6dB with a corresponding reduction in speed. With a bit of luck this might improve with time.

[#4]

No, I meant that the ratio went from 4.5 - 4.8 before the outage to 2.6 - 3.5 immediately after the outage. It has improved a little and is now hovering close to 3.8.

I have ordered an HG612 so that I can monitor the various parameters over time - right now I'm doing so manually and intermittently.

Richard

[#5]

Ah I see, that’s not good. Hopefully the HG612 will help diagnose what is going in.

[#6]

Hi @RGN01,

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing problems with the speed and performance of your connection.

I've re-tested your line today and can see that your download sync speed is still below the line's estimated speed of 20 to 30mbps but the test isn't picking up the cause of this.

GEA Test Detail
Circuit ID	NA	Service ID	BBEUXXXXXXXXX

Test Outcome	Pass
Test Outcome Code	GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description	GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location	OK
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	17.6 Mbps
Upstream Speed	4.8 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	N
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Pass
Bridge Tap	Not Detected
Radio Frequency Ingress	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Cross Talk	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	1174.8
Upstream Rate Assessment	Good
Downstream Rate Assessment	Reasonable
Interference Pattern	Regular Interference Observed Daily
Service Impact	Retrains Observed
Interference Duration Longest Occurrence	From 07:45 to 08:30
Interference Location	Customer Premise
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate	0.0
Customer Traffic Level	Upstream and Downstream Traffic Detected
Technology	VDSL
Profile Name	0.128M-40M Downstream, Retransmission Low - 0.128M-10M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp	2018-07-03T09:45:00

Parameters	MIN	MAX	AVG
Down Stream Line Rate	17.5 Mbps	22.2 Mbps	20.2 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate	4.1 Mbps	6.1 Mbps	5.2 Mbps
Up Time	617.0 Sec	900.0 Sec	898.3 Sec
Retrains	0.0	3.0	0.0

Current and Last 15 Minute Bin Performance
Parameters	Last Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)	Current Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)
Start Time Stamp	2018-07-16T08:14:52Z	2018-07-16T08:29:52Z
Ingress Code Violation	0	0
Egress Code Violation	33	9
Errored Seconds	17	4
Severely Errored Seconds	0	0
Unavailable Seconds	0	0

From what you've said, it sounds like you've been through all of the troubleshooting checks to rule out any problems with your internal wiring/equipment but I'd recommend that you have a look at the troubleshooting guide here to make sure that nothing's been missed.

If the troubleshooting checks don't resolve the problem, the best way forward would be to arrange for an engineer to visit your property to investigate this further. However, I appreciate that the available timeslots of 8 am - 1 pm or 1pm - 6 pm Monday - Friday may not be convenient for you. It's worth bearing in mind that it doesn't necessarily need to be you that's present for the engineer visit - just anybody over the age of 18 that can be at your property for the full appointment slot. Once you have your availability for an engineer visit please add this to the fault ticket here and our faults team will get this booked for you.

[#7]

Thank you Emily for your response. I must say that it was unexpected but reinforces my decision to move to PlusNet - I don't think that many other TelCos would take this level of interest.

I have run the tests and troubleshooter a number of times, including changing modem / router and microfilters, using the test socket (in fact I'm now using that permanently following advice from one of your colleagues). I've done the quiet line test and can't hear any noise on the line. 

It is extremely difficult for me to arrange anyone suitable to be here for an engineer visit during those hours, unfortunately, so I hope that the logging and stats from the HG612 will help isolate the problems. I have also ordered a UPS to try to eliminate speed drop-offs like I experienced over the weekend.

If it gets any worse I'll have to take a day off work to get it sorted but hopefully it will be OK until I can take some time off or work from home!

Richard

[#8]

No worries Richard, let us know how you get on.