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FTTC line speed reducing

julianb
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎10-03-2015

FTTC line speed reducing

Prior to my FTTC install the estimated download speed was between 70 and 80 Mbps. I estimate the cable distance is about 200m to the cabinet.
My FTTC was installed in January and after a couple of days the line speed was 74.8Mbps (from PlusNet portal). I was getting speed tests of 74 down 18 up with 10ms ping, very pleased.
However the download speed appears to be gradually reducing. I have not been checking regularly but I noticed last week that the line speed was about 64Mbps. Yesterday it was 57.6Mbps. I did a btwholesale.com speed test late last night and it was below the lower value of the “acceptable range” (that being 60Mbps). The bar was red. I am using the supplied BT modem. I restarted it today, but until then it has been on all the time connected to a UPS.
Fortunately the upload speed has not dropped much, as this was the main reason for changing from cable broadband to FTTC. I’m a little disappointed the download speed has dropped below 60Mbps and that the ping times have increased. I realise that many people would be very happy with the speeds I am getting and they are certainly adequate, my concern is the continued gradual reduction in speed.
How far below the BT estimated impacted low speed (now 61, was higher) does the sync speed have to be before it would be considered a fault?
20 REPLIES 20
joclark
Grafter
Posts: 140
Registered: ‎09-03-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Hi, you can raise a fault on the account based on what you mentioned in your comment
I did a btwholesale.com speed test late last night and it was below the lower value of the “acceptable range” (that being 60Mbps)
You can do this at faults.plus.net
Hope this helps
Jo
julianb
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎10-03-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

I did raise a fault, but it seems there is nothing you can do because since I raised it the “BT Broadband availability checker”  has dramatically reduced the expected speed.
When I took out the service the estimate was 70 – 80 Mbps. I got a sync speed of 74/20 Mbps for a few weeks, and 10ms ping.
BT checker history (I checked at sign-up, before raising the fault and today).
[tt]                High Low        High Low
January:  FTTC A 80  80 ,  FTTC B 80  70
9 March:  FFTC A 80  80,  FTTC B 80  61
Today:    FFTC A 64  45,  FTTC B 54  30[/tt]
I estimate the line length is 200m, it is a new green cabinet in a village. I am using the provided Openreach ECI modem.
Terranova667
Pro
Posts: 1,511
Thanks: 125
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎19-02-2014

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Oh that trick i had that myself , when i signed up my estimate was 67Mb i got 65Mb when fibre was installed, i had my first fault back in June of last year and like you nothing was done because it turned out my Estimate had been cut down to 38Mb so i was still well above their requirement for a fault, funny how even a couple of days before i had the issue and raised the fault it was still stating 67Mb,  it has recently risen a little to 42Mb but still well below what i had originally, it's a very nice way for BTO / BTW not to do anything by cutting the estimate down. 
mlmclaren
Grafter
Posts: 855
Registered: ‎04-12-2014

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

The BTw checker is a joke and very inaccurate....
An Openreach Broadband engineer actually said that Openreach loves to quote the always changing and said that the ranges that they have changed should be criminal!
He said my line shouldn't go any lower than 55mbps (In the worst conditions) but they are told not to do anything major (pair change...ect..) now unless it drops below the lowest impacted speed (My case 35mbps) as that is the lowest figure on the system.
danludlow
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 573
Thanks: 54
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎03-12-2014

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

As I've posted elsewhere, my speed has dropped. Initial estimate was 47Mbps, it did better than that until the last month or so, but now will not support PlusNet Unlimited Fibre Extra (80/20) anymore, and I was downgraded to Standard PlusNet Fibre Unlimited yesterday (40/10). It seems likely that heavy take-up has reduced overall capacity through crosstalk. Hopefully this will be overcome one of these days but until sorted, is it possible that your speed drop is for the same reason as mine?
julianb
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎10-03-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Plusnet did two line tests and the change in estimated speed may have occurred between the two. It certainly happened after the fault was reported and before the second test.
FTTC has only been available in the village since the start of the year. I was probably one of the first on the cabinet. I have no way of knowing what the take up has been like, but I would hope cross talk is not already a problem. I have seen Openreach vans by the cabinet a couple times, in fact I think the speed drop started after such visit. I’m not sure because I had stopped monitoring it as it was working so well.
Maybe the copper multicore is poor. It would be interesting to know what information Openreach now has that caused the impacted low speed estimate to be halved. The installer said the line quality was good.
Despite the drop in speed it is perfectly adequate for our current needs, although I preferred it when interleaving was not required.  I should be grateful I am so close to the cabinet! Hopefully there will, in the future, be some investment in improving the last 200m, but I’m not holding my breath!
AndyH
Grafter
Posts: 6,824
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎27-10-2012

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Quote from: julianb
It would be interesting to know what information Openreach now has that caused the impacted low speed estimate to be halved. The installer said the line quality was good.

Once you have FTTC installed and it's running, the line data is reported to DLM and this is used for the line estimates.
If you have a problem on your line, it will be more 'noisy' and this in turn means the estimates will be lowered. All the estimates are based on the performance of a line of similar characteristics. So the upper number is what 20% and the lower number is what 80% of people should get on a line of similar performance.
julianb
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎10-03-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Quote from: AndyH
If you have a problem on your line, it will be more 'noisy' and this in turn means the estimates will be lowered. All the estimates are based on the performance of a line of similar characteristics.

Interesting, thanks. So if I understand correctly my line performance/noise level could influence the estimate for my line. If this is so and if there was a line problem these estimates could go down and therefore it seems a little unfair to quote the new lower values when doing a line check.
Anyone know what characteristics are used for a “line of similar characteristics”?
AndyH
Grafter
Posts: 6,824
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎27-10-2012

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Quote from: julianb
Interesting, thanks. So if I understand correctly my line performance/noise level could influence the estimate for my line. If this is so and if there was a line problem these estimates could go down and therefore it seems a little unfair to quote the new lower values when doing a line check.
Unfortunately, this is the case.
Until a line is connected for the first time, Openreach just will not know how it will perform exactly (which is why they produce the estimated ranges).
The pre-installation estimates are fairly accurate though. The only time they are an issue is if someone has a long drop wire.
When you've had the service installed and your line performs lower than your original estimate, then Plusnet should be able to raise it as a fault. Similarly if your line is stable for a long period and then performance suddenly degrades (usually by at least 25% over a two week period), then Plusnet can also raise it as a fault.
Quote from: julianb
Anyone know what characteristics are used for a “line of similar characteristics”?

Sure, it's the line attenuation (noise) measured by DLM at a certain frequency on the speed profile.
julianb
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎10-03-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Update:
I switched to a Huawei HG612 modem. First there was a small improvement in sync speed. The next morning there was a re-sync and the sync speed is back to almost what it was originally. Ping times have dropped back down too.

[tt]23 January 2015
Estimated line speed:
80Mb (Download speed could vary depending on line conditions. Estimates are the maximum speeds that your phone line can support. These speeds are dependent on the package you choose.) - Checked on 2015-01-13 12:32:40
Current line speed:
74.8 Mb
16 April 2015
Estimated line speed:
There's no speed estimate currently held on your account.
Current line speed:
59.4 Mb
Today
Estimated line speed:
There's no speed estimate currently held on your account.
Current line speed:
72.4 Mb [/tt]
Alucidnation
Rising Star
Posts: 310
Thanks: 15
Registered: ‎03-01-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Hmmmm, i'm on an ECI cabinet with matching modem and although my speeds are quite good (time of day very much dependant) may grab an HG612 from ebay and give it a go.
Terranova667
Pro
Posts: 1,511
Thanks: 125
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎19-02-2014

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

@Alucidnation it most likely wont make a difference swapping the modem, It looks like Julianb is on a Huawei cab and upon changing to a Huawei modem gained the benefit of G.INP if your looking for the same you wont get it, the rollout for G.INP on ECI cabs hasn't started even though it was scheduled to do so,  i'm in the same boat ECI cab with ECI modem it's a waiting game for us sadly.
Alucidnation
Rising Star
Posts: 310
Thanks: 15
Registered: ‎03-01-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Ok thanks for the info.
Smiley
julianb
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎10-03-2015

Re: FTTC line speed reducing

Quote from: Terranova667
It looks like Julianb is on a Huawei cab and upon changing to a Huawei modem gained the benefit of G.INP

Yes that is correct. I thought it was a Huawei cab so I decided to try a Huawei modem. G.INP was enabled after the morning re-sync. It appears to have remained stable since.