BT Broadband Issues

proops57

For nearly 12 years we have had issues with wifi connectivity with BT. We are in a rural area on copper cables and there are 17 poles between us and the exchange - fibre not on the plan apparently. Umpteen complaints have been made, poor weather conditions specifically rain and wind cause further deterioration. Openreach engineers come out and conclude different issues and it is remedied for a short while then reverts to intermittent cut offs. We have had new sockets, new hubs and still issues exist. Most recently BT have confirmed the distance from us and the exchange is the problem it is difficult to provide consistent service and have agreed a modest reduction in monthly charges which I must accept within 2 weeks (on a new 2 year contract) or be released from the current contract to go elsewhere. They are sending a deadlock letter which is lost in the post and now being reissued. My question is, would it be better to move - given its the same lines maintained by Openreach presume same issues, agree to a new reduced monthly charge with less than great service or go to Ofcom. Thanks for any support to help decide.

Neil_Jones

Are you implying that you have a wireless internet connection between your house and some wireless device/point elsewhere on the estate?  Because I know that's a thing in certain situations.

Or do you actually mean something along the lines of "the wireless in my dwelling is rubbish, has been for 12 years and the router is in the front room but I can't get it in the back room"?

The distance from the exchange phone line wise  is nothing to do with the wireless of the router.

Ofcom won't be interested, they don't deal with individual complaints and in any event if you are only using the wireless of the router no provider will guarantee coverage of that.  There may be a case for wireless disks and what not, but beyond that, no guarantee.

BeerSavesMoney

Are you talking about the WiFi connection within your house from the router? I presume that because you mention distance from the exchange it’s the connection from the exchange to your router that is the issue?

Do you know what speeds your modem/router is connected at? 

What do you see when you enter your details here: https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL / https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome

Remove any personal information before posting the results.

Have you decent 4G or 5G coverage that you could move away from Openreach connections and swap over to instead?

M25

Get a proper service installed and stop messing around https://www.starlink.com/

If a better service arrives from OpenReach you can go back to them.

proops57

The issue is between the exchange and the house 

proops57

Starlink isn't available in this area

Neil_Jones

proops57 said:

The issue is between the exchange and the house 

Then the issue will persist on any ISP that uses Openreach, so unless you can get Virgin or a decent mobile signal (and assuming there is no fault on the line) changing ISP isn't going to solve anything.

unforeseen

proops57 said:

Starlink isn't available in this area

Being a satellite based system, I don't see why it would not be available. 

Neil_Jones

I just looked at Starlink website and the whole of the UK mainland is showing as available.  The sea isn't, but no reason why you couldn't use it in the middle of the Irish Sea if you were able to power it...

So either you live underground, you have major obstructions all around you or you've just assumed Starlink is another Openreach provider without actually checking.

Pricey mind you.

M25

Starlink should work everywhere if you can see the sky and there may be other satellite options. I know in some parts of the UK the government can help too with setup costs. From what I've seen on YouTube Starlink is a brilliant option.

Before I had FTTP I had faults every few months and on one visit the OpenReach engineer fixed it but also said he found 20 other problems he could fix but wouldn't be as that wasn't part of my exact fault. He said he could work on the line for 12 months and it would still be rubbish for non-voice calls.

It sounds like you have a rubbish line so you will have to accept it or look for a new technology. I knew 3 years before getting FTTP that it was coming because I seen them 6 miles away and it took that long (thanks to COVID) to eventually get FTTP.

980MBPS constant speed now.