Problems with getting broadband to our property

spike7451

I'm on a 7 mb connection with O2,which is perfectly adequate for normal use,I'm sure there are thousands of customers out there who would love to even get 2mb or even broadband full stop!

gino_76ph

Let me say it again: i am not expecting my area (Zone 3 London) to have an equivalent speed to my previous Zone 2 -London / fibre-optic speeds. at least have cable BB speeds of 10-20MB. i am merely comparing what i had 10 years ago from Tiscali when i was having a maximum of 5MB only and i thought BT estimates was simply appaling.

What i have done so far:

I inquired (i.e. via website and a rung via a 25p/min " premium" 090 line) RoyalMail and (yes!) my new flat is registrered to them.

I am currently about 2.5kms away from my exchange. with my previous flat i am about 2 kms away and yet i could get 20-30MB BB speeds.

This morning I tried ringing Simplify Digital for some "independent" advice & help. the man was claiming to be from Virgin (as was working as an engineer) and says that he can see my address and can give me 60MB so-and-so speeds, unlimited so-and-so phone calls for around £38/month. i know its a legit and quite well-known company but still felt dubious and careful. i then rung Virgin Media and they were saying that they still cannot find my address (despite RM's database now updated...for a few days now!) but the man on the other end of the line was very helpful (and caring i must say) and told me that he can send out for an engineer to check my line for free and to find out once & for all what services i can get.

Why these conflicting informations being given?

Should i just wait for thw VM engineer? or take what SD hs told me?

macman

What do the postcode checkers say on the individual ISP sites, eg VM, TT, BT?
I'd start with an exchange mapping process on https://www.samknows.com, no need to talk to any potential supplier when it can all be done online.

Gordon_Hose

gino_76ph wrote: »

i am merely comparing what i had 10 years ago from Tiscali when i was having a maximum of 5MB only and i thought BT estimates was simply appaling.

You can't compare though. ADSL was, and still is, distant dependent.

They haven't magically been able to produce a solution that over comes this distance issue within the last 10 years. You get what you get based on how far away you are from your exchange. If it's 10Mb then great, if it's 6Mb then great. If it's 1Mb then not so great.

If you want blisteringly fast broadband then do your research and move next door to an exchange. Or look up what is available to you and make sure VirginMedia is on that list.

duchy

Not all exchanges are equal though.

You can have bordering exchanges where one exchange has upgraded equipment and is capable of 20 Meg and the other is only capable of 3 Meg.

If Virgin Media cable service is available to you (I'd imagine it would be as it's probably previously a Telewest area) that will probably be faster and more in line with what you want speedwise but if it it's only ADSL service available with them then it's the same problem you'll have with Sky, BT etc as it would be using the same equipment.

I'd be very careful about a third party claiming to be able to get you much faster speeds than Virgin are offering you direct-sounds like it may be a sales ploy.

gino_76ph

Can i ask if Virgin Media uses/leases its lines from BT like what Sky & TalkTalk do? or do they have their own?

Whenever i go to websites of BT, Sky & Virgin and asked to enter my postcode several addresses (other than ours) appears on their system. obviously due to this i cannot move forward.

But, can these companies still say that "That's no problem. we can add/register your address on our system and will send an engineer out for you to assess what services you can have". Can they do that? Because the VM person i spoke to a few days ago says so. (and i'm waiting for that engineer to come)

I spoke to TT quite angrily the other day because they said that it takes 7 days for their systems to get updated and then they can move forward and then go ahead my transfer. i think 7 days is unacceptable. since i just renewed my contract with them a few months ago (before we had to transfer to our new address in SW19 London) i told them i am not happy to pay whatever fee i have from them (as a result of a possible disconnection/termination of contract) simply because their system was too slow in updating itself and because they cannot guarantee a similar (or at least equivalent) service to my new property because of the previous reason. so, it a viscious cycle with TT and my confidence in them has eroded signficantly now.

I don't want a blisteringly fast broadband of 50-100MB. again, i'm aware of factors that affects those bb speeds. i just don't want to "go back to the dark ages" of 2-6Mb speeds.

I supposed my only option is just to wait for the VM engineer.

macman

VM runs on it's own cable network that is entirely separate to BT's-no connection.
The only exception is Virgin National, which is BT based, and will be offered if you are not in a cabled area.
Royal Mail's's postcode system drives all the other systems, and they are ultimately the people who need to enter or update the data.

gino_76ph

I understand that Royal Mail drives all other systems and the one responsible for registering post codes and stuff.

But i still do not understand why these companies takes forever in "updating" their systems. why can't they ring Royal Mail or the council and that's their job done isn't it?

Why does it have to be a long process?

Shall i wait for Virgin, take the plunge with the expensive BT or a local company like Southern Electric which has looked after and knows and recognised the property before?

The_Purrfect_One

Joined BT about 7 months ago in that time including today we have had either no phone or broadband for 32 days.

They promised us broadband so I disconnected Dial-up, I wish I hadn't bothered !

This week no Broadband, last week no broadband, the week before no phone !

We are a long way from the exchange, it is a nightmare we get less than a quarter of a meg on a good day !

could anyone suggest an alternative supplier ? please.......???

Robisere

Hi
I can suggest these based on my own experiences of 3 previous ISP's.

I have been with www.yourcalls.net for almost 3 years now. Best move I ever made, and I get between 2 and 3 MB in my rural village. For the benefit of those used to higher speeds, that is higher than my neighbours, because my line is LLU and is rented from TalkTalk to YC. Most of the neighbours are with BT and most of those on 'dial up' speeds still. The reason is the very efficient, knowleadgeable, patient and courteous Customer Service. And all conversations are in clear English: YC are in Sussex.

I have today carried on a telephone conversation with a YC technician who tried very hard to get my speeds up. I am well into my 60's and therefore he had to be patient, but eventually he managed to stabilise the line at 2.88 MB, with a promise of up to 3.1 MB if I carry out 3 tests a day to inform the ISP of the results and determine if more work is necessary. This is far from the first time I have received this standard of service, which stands out when compared to my previous ISP's.

Now, 3.1 MB may seem dreadfully low to some of you, but everything is relative. I am a countryman and would no more wish to live in a town or city, than some of you would wish to cope with that kind of BB speed. I can walk out of my front door, go about 100 yards and be in some of the most beautiful countryside there is. i am not tied to my PC and the wife is not tied to her laptop, but we do find them a very useful part of our lives, although we could of course live perfectly well without them. Everything, as I say, is relative.

However, recent events have cheered us yokels up. Under the governments' Rural Broadband initiative, my village has been chosen to receive FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) and we are due to go "Live" with this in September this year, but https://www.samknows has already noted that the service is live. After passing this information to my ISP, they have checked with TT, who have not yet been informed by BT.

Having read the information elsewhere on this forum and others, regarding the poor service provided by BT Infinity, I do not wish to commit to them. However, I wonder if the BT Representative who haunts this forum, can provide us with information about this? Does the monolithic corporate monster BT intend to keep the FTTC service possibilties to itself, or will it be possible for residents of my village to have a choice?