ADSL speed

MoneyMonkey

Greetings fellow techies..! :j

I am currently on a 1Mb connection with Freedom 2 Surf. Over the past couple of months, I got the feeling that the performance of the connection has deteriorated. I have another friend on their 2MB connection, saying similar things.

On doing 3 speed tests (Adsl Guide), the tool responded saying that my download speed was 550, 640 and 790Kbs. Does this sound reasonable, taking into account contention (1:50), or do I need to go ISP hunting?!

Thanks in advance.

MM.

Toxteth_OGrady

They've gone down the pan in the past few weeks due to all the 24/7 leechers they inherited from PlusNet and elsewhere.

Take a look here.

PM me if you want a recommend on where to migrate.

:cool:

TOG

Rex_Mundi

It could also be contention on your local BT exchange (you can suffer up to 50:1 contention there also). You need to do the BT speedtest to determine whether it is or not.

Here's how to use the test..................

Go to your modem or router. Log out of your broadband (make sure you remember your login details). Reconnect to broadband using these details....

Username: speedtest@speedtest_domain
Password: (leave blank)

When you connect to this network. Open your browser (your homepage or any normal web pages wont load) and go to the page http://speedtester.bt.com/ (copy this address in the address bar) You will be prompted for your phone number. Enter this and click Go. This test will show you how your broadband is performing on the BT network before it gets to your ISP. You can do this test only once every 30 minutes.

Once you have finished the test. You need to go back to your modem/router and enter your login details for your normal ISP.

If you are having speed problems, this is a good test to try. If the BT speedtest is fast, and an online speedtest (say at https://www.adslguide.org) is slow. Then chances are that the speed issues lie with your ISP. If the BT test is slow. This would point to contention issues on the BT network. There is nothing your ISP can do for this and no matter what ISP you choose, you will have the same problem.

Toxteth_OGrady

Nah - f2s is having major snags. Just go read the ADSLGuide forum.

:cool:

TOG

Rex_Mundi

Toxteth_OGrady wrote:

Nah - f2s is having major snags. Just go read the ADSLGuide forum.

:cool:

TOG

I'm well aware of the problems at F2s. However, if anyone is having speed issues on a BT line, it's only fair to rule out the BT part of the network. Any decent support team at an ISP would want to know the results of this test before they investigate issues on their own network.

By doing the BT speedtest. If the speeds come back OK, it will also give you more 'ammo' to be able to throw at the ISP when you accuse them of having a !!!!!! network.

Toxteth_OGrady

LOL - don't shoot the messenger :eek: I'm only pointing the OP to another source of information so he can draw his own conclusion. However it's a very fair point you make about the BT speedtest and is indeed advice that I would normally give. I've never been a f2s customer but I did have first hand experience of very similar recent problems at PlusNet.

:cool:

TOG

Rex_Mundi

Toxteth_OGrady wrote:

I did have first hand experience of very similar recent problems at PlusNet.
:cool:
TOG

I watched the Plusnet dispute from the beginning over at the message boards on adslguide. Fortunately, we don't very often have any problems to discuss on the Zen board. The only exciting forums seem to be on other ISP boards when the doodaa hits the fan. A while back it was Plusnet. The latest ISP with massive problems seems to be E7. It makes me appreciate the extra I pay for a top quality service (not even had 2 mins of downtime/slowdowns in the past year).

Toxteth_OGrady

My first broadband ISP was Zen. Went to +net when they brought in much cheaper 2 meg and tbh in those days they were just as good as Zen. Left when they started moving all the goalpost and went to Metronet. Fantastic, better than Zen for speed and ping. Sadly they were bought out by +net. Now with the best ISP I've ever had............and it's not Zen.

:cool:

TOG

Rex_Mundi

I've got to say, I've tried a few, but Zen really are the tops for reliability and service.

They are unbeaten by any other ISP on the compare page at adslguide. They are also the top adsl ISP at ispreview.co.uk They've also just won ISP of the year at PCPro for the second time on the trot.

Although Zen are not the cheapest ISP. I would say they are about the best ISP in the UK at the moment.