Question about ADSL speed (or lack of!) re:Sky

machofairy

I have just moved from cable to ADSL and have some questions...

- Just got Sky bb Max, up to 16mb. However, I am getting only 4mb when wireless router is plugged directly to the main phone socket. It has just been activated today. Will it get faster? I am 1.2mls from exchange.

- My pc is miles away from the phone socket. When I run a 20m phone extension to the pc and plug in the router at the other end, I get 3mb speed. Is there anyway I can run an extension without losing 24% of my speed? If I was getting 10-12mb, losing 1mb would not be so bad...

- I have two wireless adapter.. a pcmcia and a usb one. Both fail to get above 1mb, even when next to the router. IS this an adaptor problem?

Router is Netgear DG834GT.
Thanks in advance

espresso

Visit the skyuser forum for more information. Note that with ADSL max it is UPTO 16Mb. There are various threads about improving your speed regarding internal extension wiring modifications. You definitely have a problem with your wireless speed, as even 802.11/b should give throughput faster than your 4Mb and you should presumably be using 802.11/g 54Mb.

Conor_3

You're getting what people get when they use a company whose business is Satellite TV for their broadband - poor throughput in peak times.

Same happened to all those people who took up the offer from Caprhone Warehouse. Carphone Warehouse sell phones.

Again, Orange. Orange is a mobile phone company.

If you want a decent ISP, use a company whose business is being an ISP, not one who is doing it on the cheap as a marketing ploy to get new customers for their main business.

machofairy

I have now done all the checks and can confirm that I am getting just over 5.5mbit from my master phone socket. Drops down to around 4.5mb during peak.

Service is consistent and reliable so far.

I am 1.2mls from Exchange, as crow flies.

When I checked on bt.com, they said that my phone should get 4.5mb if I use their 8mb service.

Since Sky is a 16mb service, should I get more than the 5.5mb I am getting?

I got a 3 month contract for this SkyMax package. So, basically, I am paying £36 for this service, including the bt line and the tv package (which I hardly watch)

The good thing about this is that is is unlimited and no traffic shaping.
Previously, I was on Virgin and my 4mb speed was halved between 4pm and 11pm, after I downloaded my 750mb quota.

So, the question now is, should I stay with Sky after the 3 months?
For £36, can I get a better deal?

Thanks in advance.

espresso

You really need to look at your router stats and possibly post them on skyuser for advice on if it is worth you actually being on ADSL2. You should get more help over there, as users there have more experience with ADSL versus ADSL2 stats/speeds etc.

A_Nice_Englishman

machofairy wrote: »

I have just moved from cable to ADSL and have some questions...


- My pc is miles away from the phone socket. When I run a 20m phone extension to the pc and plug in the router at the other end, I get 3mb speed. Is there anyway I can run an extension without losing 24% of my speed? If I was getting 10-12mb, losing 1mb would not be so bad...

Thanks in advance

Lots of good advice in other posts, but you should avoid the speed loss if you keep the router by the phone socket and run a network cable to your PC.

KILL_BILL

the further you get from the exchange the greater tre attenuation becomes and the speed drops.

as has been mentioned geting a cat cable between the router and pc will ensure that there is minimal signal loss and is much better than running the router off an extension cable

kathy206

I had the same problem when I used a wireless adaptor.
I went for the more expensive wireless adapter but still less speed.
When I connected via ethernet port I got 10 meg as opposed to 4 meg via wireless.
If you have a ethernet port try it and see if makes a difference.
I didnt have a port and had to buy the card to go on my motherboard but well worth it for the increased speed.

espresso

kathy206 wrote: »

When I connected via ethernet port I got 10 meg as opposed to 4 meg via wireless.

Are you absolutely sure? Were you seeing the speed of the Ethernet link?

802.11/g should easily handle the maximum available speed.

Check your speed with a speed tester i.e. here.

kathy206

I ran 102.168.0.1
admin
sky
That told me I was receiving 13 meg at the router.
I used http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html and with wireless was getting 4000.00 kbps this is what I got from running it today http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/results/id/118797189889829215528.html
I still seem to lose 3 meg from wiring or something but quite happy with the 10 meg or so.
I spent quite a bit of time on the phone to sky and they actually capped my speed at 13 meg as my line wouldnt support more and was generating errors which could slow down in long run.
It might be worth a try if you have a ethernet port if you dont leave it a while and see if any other post help .

machofairy

My slow speed is definitely the connection speed.
The router reports speed of 6400 kbps
I can download at this speed too, constantly, after I have connected the router to the pc with a utp cable.

My question really is, if I can get any faster speed with another isp.
The attenuation rate is consistent with what my speed is at the moment.

I did try to register on Sky User but did not get a response to activate my membership.