BT free upgrades offer as in this weeks email

jimbo49

just read about the free speed upgrades offered by BT and was unable to comment on the page as it will only take facebook account holders, which i think is pretty poor of MSE!
anyway, the comment i wanted to make but couldn't, is below:

'BT would be better to actual upgrade the damn lines so the speeds they advertise are a lot closer to what you actually get! i was told i'd get 'up to' 46mbs when i joined. after the 10 days i was on 32mbs and had nothing better since! the stupid comment from BT customer service of 'you can cancel for free and move to another provider' shows their level of commitment to customers and knowledge of their product. if the line only supports around 35mbs anyway, moving to another provider that obviously would still be using the same equipment and lines wont make any difference at all and BT know that, so once in with them (of anyone else for that matter), your stuck! the only reason they're offering something for free is because they are aware that most people wont be able to get speed increases anyway because of the crap lines and therefore wont cost BT a thing!!'

boatman

Have you checked here to see what it says:
https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/adsl.htm

jimbo49

yes i did after my initial connection to BT and since then as well, after the sudden drop in speed. incidentally, BT use the connection speed of the line as the download speed, which is completely wrong of them. the connection speed being what the line should be capable of supporting and the download speed being what it gives in reality, normally about 1.5-2mbs less than the connection speed.

when i joined BT i was told i could expect 46mbs download speed. it turned out that i had that for about 1 day and it went down and down until it stayed at 33mbs. it has been at that speed for almost all the time i have been with BT and according to them,it is the minimum speed i should expect. however, i discovered that about 4 weeks ago my speed has actually dropped to around 27mbs, which is 5mbs below the minimum speed i should get. i have rebooted the router and the line to remove errors but no difference, still at 27mbs. perhaps my speed has been reduced to allow BT to increase someone else (sarky comment) but i will check again in the morning. if, as i suspect, it is still 5mbs below the guaranteed minimum, i will be making a call and expect to get sensible answers!
however, i still maintain that the best thing to help customers would be for BT to improve the lines so at least decent, stable speeds were achieved instead of trying to con people yet again by announcing that they are giving something away for free when only a minimum number of customers will actually reap any benefit.

onomatopoeia99

jimbo49 wrote: »

however, i still maintain that the best thing to help customers would be for BT to improve the lines so at least decent, stable speeds were achieved instead of trying to con people yet again by announcing that they are giving something away for free when only a minimum number of customers will actually reap any benefit.

The biggest factor in achievable throughput is line length. They can't make the lines shorter. The physics of xDSL using a line that was designed to support voice communication in a 3KHz range for megabits per second of data transfer make it thus.

Ranting on forums won't change the physics.

jimbo49

i wasnt aware that i was 'ranting'. i was stating what was happening and it has been confirmed this morning by BT that there is a fault.
i am fully aware of what affects broadband speed, line length being one of the factors but when the speed has been reasonably consistent although at the 'guaranteed minimum' then falls away, it indicates a problem. the line didn't just magically lengthen overnight, there has been no new equipment connected or anything extra connected either. you seem to be hinting that i have somehow done something to cause this/trying to remove any responsibility from BT and dont know what i am talking about. many people dont, i am not one of them. it just seemed a bit strange that this happened within a time frame of BT 'giving something away for free'. a better 'gift' would be to replace the 40+ year old cables with fibre, as it is going to have to do anyway, including going TTH rather than just TTC. i am sure customers would much rather have a sensible speed at a consistent rate than what most have atm, something that is up and down like a pair of pants, is corroded and broken/rejoined multiple times, reducing the original speed by a considerable amount.

littleboo

The speed increase is coming from BT Retail, they have no responsibility for the last mile, the two things are not interchangeable