FTTC Questions and Feedback

[#1]

Had the engineer round to install today, very pleased with how quick and painless it was. However, he said and showed me that we were connected at 39mb at the cabinet, and 9.9mb upload. Confortably reaching 9mb on upload, normally 8mb, but the download is nowhere near. Maximum of 15mb, but around 8mb normally, which is slightly annoying. Better than the 1.5mb I was on!
Also, what are people's opinions on the default plusnet suplied router? Had drop out issues, wondering whether to upgrade to a better one. I take it a Wireless N card isn't needed for my wireless computer, as its below 54mb, which is the max speed of my Wireless g card.
Thank you.

[#2]

Quote

Maximum of 15mb, but around 8mb normally, which is slightly annoying.

That's probably down to using a wireless connection. You will often get interference from adjacent networks, sometimes that can be reduced by changing the channel on your router to avoid conflict. The only truly non-overlapping channels are 1,6 or 11. The only way to get a realistic assessment of the maximum speed is to try a wired connection to the router.

[#3]

I get the same or even worse on my plugged in computer. Its on channel 1, the BT homehubs arround me are set to 6, so I am all clear.

[#4]

In that case is it the same at all times of the day ? I'm not sure if FTTC is affected in the same way as ADSL by exchange capacity but I guess it is in some way.
Also what speedtester are you using ?, the BT one is notoriously inaccurate on throughput.

[#5]

I always use speedtest.net many because Bt speediest is unreliable and stuff. The first speed test we ran with the engineer started at 39.9mb but then went down to around 4mb, never seen that kind of speed again. It's randomly 12mb, and randomly  8mb and sometimes slower. I guess Bt are averaging it out, but I was on a trial that let plusnet control my speed, which was much better. See if plusnet respond to this.

[#6]

hi
I have had my connection to FTTC in the last 24 hours, I can report various line speeds from a peak of 35Mbps to down to around 10mbps!! I was on a 2mbps adsl service before so a lot faster.
I am only under 100m from cabinet, but would like to see a stable conenction ion the mid 20's mbps if possible, wondering there is a period of adjustment?
I used speedtest.net as it seems to be the most accurate and consistent also, other sites vary a lot!!
regards
James

[#7]

Hi,
Something we've seen for quite a few people is that the day 1 speeds aren't always as fast as they could be. We think it's down to the fact that you'll connect before the order closes off so the backend systems haven't caught up properly with the new speeds. For about half the customers I've spoken to the speeds increase later in the day or early the day after install and for the vast majority it only takes a couple of days. In theory it could take up to 10 days the same as ADSL.
The best thing to do is if you are seeing slow speeds in the first few days, reboot both the BT modem and the router once a day as that will recalculate the BT speed profile on the line.
It will be normal to see big fluctuations in speed in the evening from what we've been seeing. If it gets below 12Mbps more than 10% of the busiest times (on the BT speedtest on the final test) then BT consider it to be a fault.

[#8]

Hi Dave
thanks for the update, i thought as much i will monitor for the next few days and for completeness i am connected via ethernet as oposed to wireless to get the correct speed check. But I have found certain speed checkers, the speed dial stops a 10Mbps and because of that gives and in accurate report? Speedtest.net in my opinion seems the better one unles you can recommend an alternative?
regards
James

[#9]

Hey, this is my thread
Thanks for the response. Being the muppet I am, I forgot to reboot the modem, and only the router...
Any suggestions on an improved router?
EDIT: Just tried the BT speedtest, and am getting fin results for Upload, but pretty poor for download:
Test1 comprises of two tests

> Download speedachieved during the test was - 11063 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speedsis 12000-38717 Kbps .
Additional Information:
IP Profile for your line is -38717 Kbps

>Upload speed achieved during the test was - 7168 Kbps
Additional Information:
Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 10000 Kbps
This test was not conclusive and further testing is required.This might be useful for your ISP to investigate the fault.
Also, I cannot get the Third test to work.

[#10]

Any help? Also, would a homeplug be good to invest in or not? Since my Sons computer is on wi-fi, would it make a difference speed wise? There always seems to be a delay of half a second before anything loads.

[#11]

We need to give it a few days to see if it changes, we've seen a few where the speeds take a couple of days to increase, most are straight away and some a day. Make sure you've tested wired as well as wireless as that can make a big difference if you're using wireless G.
Home plugs I've seen mixed results, the 85Mbps or lower speed ones don't seem to be fast enough for FTTC but I think the 200Mbps ones are fine.

[#12]

I have tested wired and wireless. Just thinking whether a 200mb homeplug would be beneficial instead of getting a wireless N card.

[#13]

I'm sorry, but the provided Netgear router is woefull. Had connection constantly on and off all day today. Been ok during the week, but now its always on and off. When plugged in, its fine, but the wireless is bad. Its even been doing it whilst writing this. My other netgear router that I bought was fine, may have to sell that to buy a better one. Also, still get around 8-15mb wired or wireless.
Just a question, but how long does this trial last for, and will it be likely that i can transfer straight to the proper product at the end of the trial?

[#14]

Hmm, that's odd. Have you tried downloading the latest firmware for the router? There's an option in the router conifg.
The trial is currently scheduled to last into the new year. We've not set an actual end date yet as we've not finalised our fibre product offering yet. When we launch our fibre product then yes you would be able to switch across to it once it goes live.

[#15]

Great news about the trial. Just think that Netgear firmwares have all ways been a major problem, this one is no different. They just aren't generally done well, and I keep checking for new updates with all my netgear products because of this. I may get this router though: http://bit.ly/bmlnA5