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Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

MikeBz
Rising Star
Posts: 196
Thanks: 17
Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

When I last changed product, to Fibre Extra almost 2 years ago, the estimated speed was quoted as 49Mbps to 63Mbps.  These days I consistently get 36Mbps download and 8Mbps upload speeds using the BT Wholesale Broadband Performance Test (yes I have rebooted my router).  This makes me wonder why I am paying for Extra.  How can I find out:

(a) What the estimated speeds would be if I were a new customer taking out a Fibre Extra conract now.

(b) What the estimated speeds would be if I switched to Fibre (i.e. drop the Extra).

 

What is the supposed upload speed on Fibre (not Extra) these days?

21 REPLIES 21
RichardB
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Registered: ‎19-11-2008

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Hi MikeBz

 

You can check the estimated speeds for your line at:  https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

Enter your phone number in the top box.

If you take a screen shot of the result (remove your phone number in a picture editor) and post the result in this thread, I am sure the community will be able to advsie if your speeds match the estimate.

Re speeds:

(a) Fibre extra maximum synch speeds are 80/20 - "your line" I.E. The Openreach line length and condition is often the limiting factor.

(b) Fibre maximum synch speeds are 40/10

Regards

Richard

 

 

 

 

MikeBz
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Posts: 196
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Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Thanks Richard, that's very helpful.  Given what I am actually getting on Fibre Extra I wonder what I would actually get on Fibre (36/10). As I recall the main reason I went for Extra is that at that time the upload speed on the 36MB product wasn't 10MB (I think it was 1 or 2MB).

BT Broadband Availability Check.jpg

VileReynard
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Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

I get 18Mb upload on Unlimited (or whatever its called nowadays) (upper limit would be 20Mb).

Perhaps Plusnet have limited your profile?

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

RichardB
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Registered: ‎19-11-2008

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Hi MikeBz,

Your observed speeds seem very low compared to the A and B estimated speeds.

If you have a NTE 5 master socket (with the removable face plate), I think you should remove the face plate and plug the router into the test socket (normally hidden behind the face plate).

Using the test socket should bypass all telephone wiring within your house.

Any internal faults are the home owners responsibility to fix and Openreach will charge to rectify.

External faults are Openreach's responsibility to fix (unless you damage their cable etc!) 

If the synch speeds do not substantially improve, I would raise a fault with PN.

Regards

Richard

MikeBz
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Posts: 196
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Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Thanks again Richard.  I tried that - I get exactly the same speeds from the BT Wholesale test before/after and again when reverting to plugging the router into the DSL socket on the faceplate.

When I first switched to this product I was getting ~54.96Mbps down and 12Mbps  up.  The performance has gradually degraded over time which I put down to the network getting more & more loaded over time.  But now it's degraded to the point where I don't see why I should be paying for the Extra package - the performance I have now is all I need hence the question about what I might expect to see on the 36/10 product.  TBH I'm struggling to see why I shouldn't halve my monthly cost by switching to another supplier as a new customer - I can always come back to PlusNet on a new customer deal when that contract runs out.

I suppose I should file a fault report first though ☹️

 

MikeBz
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Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Fault report completed and details of BT Wholesale Performance Test and Diagnostic test included.  Oddly although the Performance test (along with every other speed test out there) consistently reports 8MB upload speed, the diagnostics say the upload speed is 14Mbps:

BT Wholesale Diagnostic Test Results.jpg

VileReynard
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Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

It also says your maximum download speed is 38Mbps - which isn't extra.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

MikeBz
Rising Star
Posts: 196
Thanks: 17
Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

😮😮😮  well spotted @VileReynard . And yet it says my maximum upload speed is 20Mbps which is Extra.  So the downstream IP profile is wrong!  I wonder how long it's been like that?  Anyone from PN care to comment?

Gandalf
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Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Hi Mike, 

Sorry for the delay and thanks for your post. I've looked into this for you and I can see your router is getting a download speed of 44mbps which is artificially restricted by the DLM(Dynamic Line Management) software at the cabinet so I've arranged for a DLM reset which should go through within the next 3 working days.

The upload speed your router is getting is 8.6mbps so that's also below where we'd expect although it doesn't appear to be restricted by DLM so there may be an underlying issue present. 

Can you connect your router to the test socket as per the above advice? This will rule out any internal wiring from causing the problem which includes the faceplate itself.

With regards to the BT speed test showing odd results, can you try a third party speed tester to compare?

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
MikeBz
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Posts: 196
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Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Thanks @Gandalf Gandalf. I have already tried the master socket (see message 6 in the thread), it made not a scrap of difference.

I've tried various speed checkers, they all give around 36Mbps down and 8Mbps up.  The odd thing about the BT one is the result of the "Further Diagnostics" test.  The normal Performance test (speedtest.btwholesale.com) consistently gives 36Mbps down and 8Mbps up as per other speed checkers, but when i run the 'Further diagnostics' offered at the bottom of that result it reports 36Mbps down and 14Mbps up (see the pic I posted in message 7) - this is consistent behaviour.

I have included all of this info in the fault report.

RealAleMadrid
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Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

@MikeBz  Have you connected to the TEST SOCKET which is behind the Master Socket faceplate, removing the faceplate disconnects any extension wiring. You will need a filter to connect the modem lead to the test socket. The modem sync speeds reported by @Gandalf are extremely poor considering you should be getting speeds of 70Mbps or above so something is seriously wrong.

Gandalf
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Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Thanks for getting back to us @MikeBz 

I've read your posts and I can't see where you've said you've tried plugging your router into the test socket, in fact you've specifically advised you've tried the DSL socket on the faceplate.

Sorry if there's a misunderstanding and you have tried the test socket. With regards to the upload speed test result you've got of 14mbps on the BT further diagnostics speed tester I'd personally put that down to an error on that site.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
MikeBz
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Posts: 196
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Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

@RealAleMadrid @Gandalf  in post 5 RichardB suggested:

If you have a NTE 5 master socket (with the removable face plate), I think you should remove the face plate and plug the router into the test socket (normally hidden behind the face plate).

Using the test socket should bypass all telephone wiring within your house.

In post 6 I replied:

Thanks again Richard.  I tried that - I get exactly the same speeds from the BT Wholesale test before/after and again when reverting to plugging the router into the DSL socket on the faceplate.

By 'before/after' I meant I did a speed test before removing the face plate and plugging into the test socket, and then another one after removing the face plate and plugging into the test socket (for which I did use an inline filter). And finally for good measure I put the faceplate back in place and plugged back in to the external DSL socket (without using an inline filter) and ran the speed checker again.  In each case before unplugging the router I told it to disconnect before pulling the plug.  In each case the speed checker gave the same results.

Gandalf
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Re: Fibre Extra speed not worth the extra?

Thanks for the clarification @MikeBz 

Let's see what your speeds look like once the DLM reset has gone through and if they're still below the current estimates of your line, we'll arrange an engineer visit to investigate further 

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