Broadband help

icequeeniecash

Hi there, I am hoping someone can give me some advice or at least set my mind at ease and possibly tell me I'm overreacting (I don't mind honestly).

I changed from Aol 1mb broadband to Freenetname 2mb broadband in July. Since then my download speeds have been cut down from 100kbps to an average of 30-35kbps. Also my speed is at a maximum of 1250kbps, only 300kbps more than my 1mb connection. I have contacted freenetname about 10 times regarding this. Each time I am asked to do a speed test at speedtester.bt.com and then another 2 later in the day, I am fed up looking at the website. They say they have taken the problem to Bt who are happy with speeds from 400kbps-2000kbps on a 2mb line (nice of Bt), so at 1250kbps I'm getting very good speeds.

I spoke to a woman today and she has told me that if I have a lot of things stored on my computer that could be it, also if there are a lot of people downloading from the websites it could slow it down, (every website I go into?) I have now to do more speed tests at 6pm and midnight to see what speeds I am getting and they will go back to Bt. The most frustrating thing today was that the woman kept speaking over the top of me, I barely got a sentence out so I eventually hung up on her. Helpful I know.

Okay, sorry for the gibber-a-thon but I would find it really helpful if someone can tell me if these are normal speeds for this type of connection and if the download speeds are normal too. I'm tied in with Freenetname for 12 months, they have very good prices its just a shame the speed of my connection hasn't improved as much as my bank balance.

Many thanks, Kimbers

danmed

To be honest it sounds like you are being lied to..
if your speed is being reported at 1250 there is something wrong.
with a 2mb line you should be getting speeds of 240kbps give or take a few..
This can be affected by the distance you are from the exchage but they should not of sold you the 2mb line if your speeds were going to suffer.

A 1mb line should clock at 1024 whilst your 2mb should be at 2048.. best place i have found to check is https://www.adslguide.org and try their speed test on the left menu. Remember to not be doing anything else whilst you are running this test.

Post your results back here. Also check the forums there for anyone else having the same problem.

meclive

An average download on a 2Mb line is roughly around 1840 Kbps

smcicr

According to the ADSLGuide site I got 1933Kbps on my 2Mbit line (NTL Cable) but other (UK) sites have recorded it as lower than that at 1.4Mbits - loving BT's if it's somewhere between 400 and 2000 we're happy line.

icequeeniecash

Ok, I've just tested my speed on Adsl guide, it's in my favourites already, and my downstream speed is 1066kbps, true speed estimated at 1151kbps. My upstream speed is 237kbps, true speed estimated at 255kbps, I made sure I switched off everything other than Internet Explorer.

I've been thinking about the being far from the exchange thing, freenetname have also suggested this could be the reason but my village is about 1 mile square, so how far is far from the exchange?

I've called them lots of times, they've called me lots of times, but I'm getting nowhere and I'm tied into a 12 month contract. It was also very carefully worded on their website that they cannot guarantee a 2mb connection speed, they can only try and provide it but if your exchange isn't up to that speed then, tough luck. I'm not wishing I'd stuck with Aol just yet, the £200+ that I'm saving is making it slightly easier but not when your paying for it in other ways.

One more thing they said was that when my connection is idle, even when IE is closed I am getting about 100-150 kbps being uploaded and downloaded, they said that could be the reason it is slow. My favourite one was that I might have too many things stored in my computer and it was eating up the internet speed. Is that even slightly possible?

Thanks for replies, I really appreciate everyones input.

Kimbers )

Donnie

On madasafish(same as freenetname) http://www.brightview.com/our_isps/index.html

Used this speed test

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp


Actual Speed
Downstream 1789 Kbps (223.6 KB/sec)
Upstream 239 Kbps (29.9 KB/sec)

True Speed (estimated)
Downstream 1932 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 258 Kbps (inc. overheads)

SECOND TEST

Actual Speed
Downstream 1899 Kbps (237.4 KB/sec)
Upstream 242 Kbps (30.3 KB/sec)

True Speed (estimated)
2050 Kbps (inc. overheads)
261 Kbps (inc. overheads)



Do you have a Firewall installed?
You can install NetMeter( http://readerror.gmxhome.de/ )to check whether your connection is being used 'when idle'.

JimArnold

my haven't you been fed some bullS***

causes of slow speed

1) noise/signal loss due to too long a line - check the distance from exchange using the broadband checker at SamKnows.com

2) noise/signal loss due to bad house wiring

3) noise due to faults elsewhere

4) Contention - all broadband connections are shared - usually with up to 50 others - if several of them are downloading heavily then you will all slow down

5) assuming you are running a USB modem then it is possible that other programs running could slow it down

6) if your hard disk is 95%+ full then I suppose it might just be possible that is slowing it down

icequeeniecash

Thanks for the replies. I have checked with samknows.com and my exchange is about a quarter of a mile away. I am on a 50:1 contention as far as I know, but it doesn't seem to matter when I test my speeds or when I am online it is always the same, even at 230am last night. I've checked my disk drive and its only about 60% full, I do have a usb modem and all the usb ports are full. The one thing I am a bit worried about is the house wiring aspect. My main phone line comes into the kitchen wall and the connection box on the outside is hanging off, it's been like that since we moved here 6 years ago, but got a little bit worse when we knocked a new doorway through next to it. So this could be my problem? How do I go about fixing it? Do I have to get Bt out to do it? How much will it cost?

So many questions from me again!! I'm going to bury my head in a game of Sims 2, I'm 29 but do I care?? (Yes it is near 30 )

Thanks again! Kimbers

p.s Donnie I checked with NetMeter and the most used was 0.1kb, not a lot. I'm running McAfee firewall and Avg antivirus, I have switched these both off and done line tests and there is no improvement.

JimArnold

ok so that eliminates distance you should be able to easily get the maximum and disk space. While on Samknows did you check for any exchange problems ?

50:1 contention is the standard for residential

have you tried removing the other USB devices and re -testing (unlikely but easy enoug to do so worth a shot)

You are supposed to get BT out to re-fix the box and I wouldn't expect them to charge. They will fit the latest master socket - the ones that are in two halves - for free. Poor connections are a certain cause of poor speeds - it may of cause not be your cause!

1 last point to check unplug any extension phones and retest

Toxteth_OGrady

Since you changed up speed have you updated the MTU and RWIN values in your PC and MTU in your router?

:cool:

TOG

icequeeniecash

Toxeth Ogrady, I'm going to say that no I haven't done any of those things since I didn't understand one bit of it, I'm sorry lol.

This afternoon I got a call from Bt. Most unexpected. They have tested my line and there is definately not a fault in it, I suggested that it may be the junction box on my outside wall but the guy on the phone said it was unlikely since I was able to use the phone and the internet whenever I wanted without any problems. He was just about to get into all the technical stuff when he said he couldn't get access to my computer because of the way that freenetname supply their service but that someone would call back on Wednesday and go through everything with me. I've to go to bt_test_user@startup_domain when they call, he said that they should be able to get the speed improved and that the problem could be my ip. So I will let you know what happens once I've spoken to them tomorrow. Thanks again for the replies, the people on MSE boards are fantastic. Kimbers