Anyone else been affected by the BT Outage?

cepheus

I'm not with BT, I'm supposed to be with one of the best providers in the business (Fast) but its no good if they are limited by the BT exchange

Mark_In_Hampshire

cepheus wrote: »

Well a few questions. I still don't understand the physical mechanics; are these lines entirely seperate from BT? In other words, would 02/Be and Sky not be limited by the distance to the BT exchange, and could I be any more certain these won't suffer from the same problems as my present provider

Do 02/Be and Sky throttle (Fast don't, so they claim)

What does this mean

You currently have your broadband supplied down a telephone line. Telephone lines are useless for broadband when they're too long or when they're poor quality (e.g. made of aliminimum), the speed drops off sharply and so in your case the most you can get is 1.6Mbps.

If you change to an LLU provider that doesn't use BT Wholesale then your line is connected to different equipment. LLU supplier equipment doesn't use the same profiling system as BT Wholesale's and so can make more of phone lines sometimes.

However it's unlikely that you'll see any substantial jump in speeds from moving to LLU.

To get decent broadband without an extremely short good quality line, which you don't have, you need a fibre optic connection. (Strictly speaking only part fibre)

You don't have access to fibre via cable on your list, but you may be able to get the FTTC service. That, like cable, is part fibre.

The "up to" remains. No broadband service short of something called a leased line will supply at the headline speed to everyone. O2/BE is still restricted by the phone line.

The FTTC service replaces the knackered old phone line run from the exchange to the street cabinet, so while the remaining stretch of phone line to your house will hugely restrict what can be supplied, by shortening the distance, the speed finally becomes worthy of the title "broadband".

The actual infrastructure still belongs to and is maintained by BT. The phone service still comes all the way down the same old phone line.

The FTTC service runs from 5Mbps to 40Mbps. So even the 5Mbps worst case would be an upgrade for you if it's available. BT don't want their performance figures dragged down so they will only supply if 15Mbps is possible else nothing (just what you have now)

Sticking with telephone line based solutions is pointless.

The FTTC service can be had from a number of suppliers e.g. AAISP, Aquiss, IDNET, Zen etc (all 12 mo contracts I think) - even BT (18 mo contract).

cepheus

Thanks for that, actually Be is included

Be Value
Free Wireless Modem and 1.3Mb upload speed.
12Mb Unlimited 12 monthsFree £14.08 a month for 12 months contract with £0.00 connection fee.Unlimited Downloads
£168.96£14.08

macman

cepheus wrote: »

I'm not with BT, I'm supposed to be with one of the best providers in the business (Fast) but its no good if they are limited by the BT exchange

But you are on a BT Wholesale service simply resold by Fast.
If you are interested in Be then look also at 02 (same ownership, and using the same LLU network).

cepheus

I have just checked this site and typed my number in

http://www.timico.co.uk/fttc?_kk=fttc&_kt=fc7d464b-e1f9-4776-95aa-1619b1ceaa42&gclid=CITwl-6w_qcCFQgjfAod_EDztA




You can find out if the service is available in your area by entering your telephone number below.

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Upload speed: 7.8 Mbps
Download speed: 33.5 Mbps

Our test indicates that your line currently supports fibre broadband.

The actual stable line rate supportable will be determined during the first 10 days of use. This rate may change over time, to ensure line stability is maintained

Just checked Zen same result, but the fibre is too expensive starting at £30 per month!

RuthnJasper

Not yet, poppet. But search on Youtube for "Marcus Brigstocke BT Broadband" to find out why I won't touch them with a VERY long pole... ;-)

Mark_In_Hampshire

OK then - so, pick your supplier, and off you go

http://www.robertos.me.uk/html/isps_offering_fttc.html

cepheus

My present provider (Fast) does it for £22!

Won't get rid of BT though.

Mark_In_Hampshire

It won't entirely get rid of BT, no. FTTC is not a LLU unbundled service. You have a choice of who supplies the connectivity, but it's still routed via BT Wholesale I think.

To get away from BT Wholesale you need LLU (but dismal speeds over ADSL), petition Virgin Media to cable your street, or move home

There is talk of an "LLU FTTC service" but that's some distance away.

macman

Switch to one of the available LLU providers, it's not going to be any slower, and everthing else (including the price) will be much less. you could get 02 'The Basic for about a third of what you are paying now, with the mobile discount and any available free months and cashbacks.