How do you change provider and guarantee improvement?

pfaas

Talk Talk tell me that my broadband speed of 1.9mbps cannot be improved as the exchange 1 mile away has a max performance of 2.5mbps (we are in a small village). Across the road a neighbor, who has BT Vision, and regularly streams netflix gets over 6mbps (The telephone wires come off the same post).

Given this I'm tempted to change to BT, or some other supplier, but I've a nasty feeling if I do , I'll probably go through a lot of hassle, and still get 1.9mbps.:mad:

Can anyone brief me technically on whether I should expect better performance by switching. And secondly how can I ensure that if I do switch that If performance is not close to that claimed (or at least a significant improvement) I can cancel.
Any guidance welcomed. Thanks

JJ_Egan

Try a BT Wholesale line test .
http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/

Look at samknows.com exchange check and see what suppliers you can use .

You can not guarantee improvement without spending a very large amount of money laying fibre cables .

macman

Your BT service will still come off the same local loop, so it should make little difference.
How are you connecting-ethernet or wireless? From the master socket or an extension?
No supplier will guarantee speeds, because there are too many variables.
Are you on a TT LLU service? If not, I'd suggest a cheaper BT reseller, because TT usually charge a big premium for a non-LLU service. If not, check samknows.com as advised above for your LLU options. Sky?

pfaas

I must admit I don't understand all the tech terms. I've checked Sam Knows and it says..
According to BT Wholesale, houses at your postcode should be able to support a 7.5Mbps or greater ADSL connection via ADSL Max.

Standard ADSL RAG results
You can receive 2Mbps ADSL
You can receive 1Mbps ADSL
You can receive 512kbps ADSL
You can receive 256kbps ADSL
You are approximately 1.24km from the exchange. Note that this is the straight line distance - the actual cable length will be longer!

So does this mean I could get 7.5 or shpould I be looking at the 2mbps ADSL?

My Talk Talk package has morphed over many years from Tiscali, Pipex, & Homeserve, so I may not be getting what I could with a new TT package.

Thanks for the guidance

iniltous

Your speed for the distance from the exchange is poor, you need to ensure you don't have any problems on your own equipment or wiring, search how to improve broadband speed, if possible you need your router plugged into the master socket with any extension wiring made broadband friendly , better still plug the modem into the (nte5) master socket test port, this should disconnect everthing else , if that doesn't improve your speed you need your ISP to check the line for defects, and report the line to OR if there are any, then get your ISP to move you onto a new broadband port if there still is no improvement...moving provider may improve your speed if you are connected to faulty broadband equipment in the exchange, or if you are on old 'adsl' legacy equipment or on a fixed profile, if there is a defect on the line itself, or your own wiring is poor, changing provider may not improve things,
Your line should be capable of getting way more than 1.9Mb, if the checker says 7.5Mb, then that's the figure you should expect your provider to give ( assuming your wiring is up to scratch)

pfaas

Before I contacted my ISP I tried connecting my wifi to the main socket, and plugging my laptop directly into the router - no change 1.9mbps. I have a modern belkin router. My ISP told me that given the exchange was rated around 2.5, it wasn't that unusual to get 1.9.

I have an old legacy account ie. It started as Freeserve and get being taken over by other companies, and I just wonder whether it gets low priority on purpose. But by the sound of it next door get similar performance.

Is it possible that I get what is described as standard ADSL Rag of 2mbps, and my neighbour who has BT Vision get BT Max performance?

Is BT Max only available to BT customers?

spyhunter

ADSL Max is a legacy BT Wholesale product that gives speeds up to 8meg and is/was available to any isp who purchased it from BT Wholesale.
It is an old product that is currently being retired in about 95% of BT exchanges as it is replaced by ADSL2+/LLU products and VDSL/Fibre.

It sounds like you may be on an old product that is capped at 2meg so changing isp may improve your speed.

Most isp's give you a speed estimate before you place an order so try a pre order check on the isp website you are looking to change to and you will be able to see what speeds you may be able to get. Try a few just to see if thay come close to each other.

Theres no commitment to buy by just checking the estimated speeds.

macman

pfaas wrote: »

I must admit I don't understand all the tech terms. I've checked Sam Knows and it says..
According to BT Wholesale, houses at your postcode should be able to support a 7.5Mbps or greater ADSL connection via ADSL Max.

Standard ADSL RAG results
You can receive 2Mbps ADSL
You can receive 1Mbps ADSL
You can receive 512kbps ADSL
You can receive 256kbps ADSL
You are approximately 1.24km from the exchange. Note that this is the straight line distance - the actual cable length will be longer!

So does this mean I could get 7.5 or shpould I be looking at the 2mbps ADSL?

My Talk Talk package has morphed over many years from Tiscali, Pipex, & Homeserve, so I may not be getting what I could with a new TT package.

Thanks for the guidance

Do an exchange search and look for the available LLU options:
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange_search

brewerdave

Talktalk used to be infamous for restricting d/load speeds on ADSL Max connections;a few years ago,my S-I-L had to threaten all sorts before he got thru' to 2nd level support-who promptly debottlenecked his connection -speed went from ~ 1mbps to 5.5mbps !!!
Don't know if this still applies these days -however ,I thought TalkTalk were actively trying to get rid of the customers who aren't on their LLU services anyway so unlikely to do much for you.

pfaas

The Exchange is shown as having no LLU services, so I guess that means if I want good performance I have to get BT (?)

JJ_Egan

What exchange is it ??