Is this true about how broadband speed works??

loofer

I've currently got a BT phone line (on a retention deal) paying roughly £10pm - inc. eve/wkend & caller ID

My broadband is with o2 (again a retention deal) paying £6.95pm with unlimited download - it's an old package they don't offer any more

Anyway got a call from o2 sales team today (it's actually LBM working on behalf of o2) and the chap offered me the o2 phone line for £10 including evening/weekend calls (plus £1.79 for caller ID).

The only good thing is that o2's evening starts at 6pm whereas BT is 7pm. With o2 there's no minimum term contract either.

The salesman however claimed that the technology is different. Apparently BT us ethe same line for voice and data. O2 have something called ADSL2 (he used the anatomy of dual carriageway). He said that my broadband speed would automatically increase as a result if I took a phone line from o2. They wouldn't have to change my broadband package to get the better speed, it's juts as a result of their technology

Can't find anything on their website. Can anybody confirm any truth in this.

espresso

loofer wrote: »

The salesman however claimed that the technology is different. Apparently BT us ethe same line for voice and data. O2 have something called ADSL2 (he used the anatomy of dual carriageway). He said that my broadband speed would automatically increase as a result if I took a phone line from o2. They wouldn't have to change my broadband package to get the better speed, it's juts as a result of their technology

The salesman was talking bo!!ocks! If you are paying O2 £6.95 per month for their old unlimited legacy broadband package you are already on ADSL2. Paying your line rental to O2 won't affect your broadband unless this change means that you will also have to switch to one of O2's new broadband packages, which are not as good due to traffic management see here.

Neil49

Fully agree with espresso.

I'm just guessing here but it sounds as if O2 are installing their own equipment at your local exchange (local loop unbundling - LLU) which enables them to provide a phone+ broadband package.

You can check which services are provided on your exchange with samknows

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_availability

bod1467

O2 are not installing their own telephone equipment. The only unbundled part is the broadband which is ADSL2+. In fact, it isn't even O2's equipment - they use the BE network. (BE are part of O2 now, and both are part of Telefonica).

loofer

Thanks all. I knew I smelt a rat.

I probably would have taken the phone line with a view to negotiating the price down after 12 months.... but not now. They tried to polish a turd, but if it looks like it and smells like it... then it probably is....

This page confirms that Be/O2 have ADSL2 but doesn't state which exchanges.

Mark_In_Hampshire

If it's a DSL based service (over phone lines) then the ISP can either instal their own equipment in the exchange which is connected to the other end of your phone line - known as "LLU" (Local Loop Unbundled) - or, provide the service via the pre-existing BT equipment ("Wholesale")

Where LLU *may* be faster then Wholesale, is where Wholesale is ADSL ("Up to 8Mbps") and LLU is ADSL2+ ("up to 20Mbps").

That will be at exchanges which have an O2/BE presence

Some exchanges have BT Wholesale ADSL2+, so the tech is similar to LLU ADSL2+.

To see if yours has it/either, check www.samknows.com > Availability Checker > Put phone number in and check the xDSL LLU results tab for O2/BE availability and the 21WBC results.

If you have ADSL, a move to ADSL2+ is only likely to bring about an improvement in maximum possible speed if your ADSL speed is circa 4Mbps+ (out of the 8Mbps) for which you'd need a line no more than circa 3.5km long. That's the "tech" issue with phone lines, it doesn't really matter what you put at the exchange end, once the line gets to roughly that length the maximum attainable speed begins to drop like a stone.

espresso

loofer wrote: »

Thanks all. I knew I smelt a rat.

I probably would have taken the phone line with a view to negotiating the price down after 12 months.... but not now. They tried to polish a turd, but if it looks like it and smells like it... then it probably is....

This page confirms that Be/O2 have ADSL2 but doesn't state which exchanges.

The 1265 O2/BE LLU exchanges are listed here.

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

If it's a DSL based service (over phone lines) then the ISP can either instal their own equipment in the exchange which is connected to the other end of your phone line - known as "LLU" (Local Loop Unbundled) - or, provide the service via the pre-existing BT equipment ("Wholesale")

Where LLU *may* be faster then Wholesale, is where Wholesale is ADSL ("Up to 8Mbps") and LLU is ADSL2+ ("up to 20Mbps").

That will be at exchanges which have an O2/BE presence

Some exchanges have BT Wholesale ADSL2+, so the tech is similar to LLU ADSL2+.

To see if yours has it/either, check www.samknows.com > Availability Checker > Put phone number in and check the xDSL LLU results tab for O2/BE availability and the 21WBC results.

If you have ADSL, a move to ADSL2+ is only likely to bring about an improvement in maximum possible speed if your ADSL speed is circa 4Mbps+ (out of the 8Mbps) for which you'd need a line no more than circa 3.5km long. That's the "tech" issue with phone lines, it doesn't really matter what you put at the exchange end, once the line gets to roughly that length the maximum attainable speed begins to drop like a stone.

The OP could not get unlimited broadband for £6.95 per month unless their exchange has O2/BE LLU equipment.

loofer

Here are the details for my local exchange
not sure what it's telling me but from the thread so far I undertsnad that 21cn WBC is a good thing and O2/Be listed as an LLU is also a good thing... right?

Edit: Oh and if the location of the exchange is correct, then I live about 1 km from the exchange (as the crow flies)

kwikbreaks

loofer wrote: »

...O2/Be listed as an LLU...
I live about 1 km from the exchange (as the crow flies)

The line may take a circuitous route but most are reasonably direct so you should be getting over 8Mbps already. Quite likely a lot over. Unless you took the contract that limits your speed to 8Mbps of course.

loofer

So just so that I understand this clearly (the Sales guy is going to call me back tomorrow), have I already got this ADSL2+ line with my current setup - BT phone & O2 broadband?

kwikbreaks

Almost certainly. Check your router stats - http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php

If your downstream sync is above 8128 then you definitely do. If you see G.922.5 mentioned (usually near the top if mentioned at all) that is a 100% clincher that you do.

O2 do (or at least did) an ADSL2+ product that is speed limited to 8Mbps - it's probably worth sticking with that even if you could get faster on a new contract which has more limitations than the older ones.