Broadbandchoices & Martin's newsletter

chriswatts

After reading Martin's blog I thought I'd try out the free broadband speed test mentioned in it. The result came back 7Mb and offered me the option to upgrade to a faster service.

This I thought a bit strange as I usually get between 16 and 18Mb, so I went back to my usual speed test and hay presto 16Mb, so I searched for another and got 16Mb.

Moral of the story, Never use a speed test from a company trying to sell you broadband! Just a warning to other users who might have got low speeds.

System

I wouldn't trust the Uswitch street view either. It shows somebody getting 18.2M download via BT about half a mile from me. The only problem is that our exchange is only capable of ADSL Max (max 8M).

I fail to see how broadband choice can suggest upgrades as they do not initially take your location on the speed test. They suggested that I upgrade to Virgin 152Mps. I'd love to if Virgin would just lay 8 miles of fibre to the village

JJ_Egan

The tester is bang on for me .
Its always best to do a number of speed tests one may be unreliable or measuring peak congestion .

penrhyn

Broadband Link .... Downstream.................. Upstream
Connection Speed........10196 kbps...............1148 kbps
Line Attenuation...............44.5 dB...................26.2 dB
Noise Margin.......................5.5 dB.......................3.3 dB
Fairly close correlation, taking into account overheads.