BT Broadband
 

Signed up for BT broadband last week after leaving Virgin... my connection speed is currently 250kbps and has not been over 1mb since I was connected !..anyone else with BT getting such slow speeds?
if the mods wish to move this thread to tech section OK

Re: BT Broadband
 

Re: BT Broadband
 

Hey Jem....wheres ta bin?

Re: BT Broadband
 

Re: BT Broadband
 

I said wheres ta bin...not where's your bin. :)

Re: BT Broadband
 

OK.. it could be a fault at my end... but if this is the rubbish connection I'm gonna get then this BT hub will soon be in my bin round the back yard!

Re: BT Broadband
 

The distance from the exchange also has something to do with it. At least that’s what BT say. Mind you they used to say that broadband was not possible because the overhead wires would need changing (at your expense of course) plus the cable leading to your house.

By the way I don’t have one of those new fangled hub things. Just the BT Voyager 205 ADSL Router connected to my computer via a USB port.

Re: BT Broadband
 

it all depends on your distance from the exchange but one thing to look for is have you got micro filters attached to everything that plugs into a phone socket? if you havent it slows your speed right down and causes connection issues.

Re: BT Broadband
 

Thanks for the info Jambutty.. I was supplied with the new hub but a freind gave me a Voyager router to try.. I'll give it a go.
cheers Ossy..have been told that also

Re: BT Broadband
 

There is something else you should know about BT. Whenever there is a problem it is always YOUR FAULT even when it isn’t.

You can have up to 5 different email addresses and each address comes with its own 15MB of web space. The down side is you cannot link from one web space to the others so you can’t have a 75MB web site.

Until recently you could upload your web site stuff using FTP. They have disabled that now so you have to go to their web site http://uk.geocities.yahoo.com/v/ul.html to upload any web pages etc. It’s no big deal really but it was much easier with something like Cute FTP.

BT’s email service can be a bit iffy at times. Too many times really. But on the plus side they have a very good SPAM filter system and anti nasty system.

Tip for you. When you signed up to BT they will have allocated you an email address, your primary one. Do not use that one ever. Use one of the other four that you can have and instead of a real word for your user name use half a dozen random characters. Then when one of those gets known on the Internet and you start to get loads and loads of spam, you just dump it and use one of your others. Then you can replace the dumped email address with another. You can dump the four extras but you cannot dump your primary email address.

Re: BT Broadband
 

Iv'e used AOL,Wanadoo,Virgin and now BT.. I hear what your saying.. when no fault can be found from the ISP eventually you get the response that it is your equipment has a fault.. ah well:( suppose I'll just have to blame Gordon brown ;)

Re: BT Broadband
 

That’s the problem with ISP’s, they don’t admit to a fault even when there is one at their end and then quietly put it right whilst you try all sorts on your computer.

When I was with Freeserve/Wanadoo it was the same. It was never their fault.

Re: BT Broadband
 

Re: BT Broadband
 

to Mancie, it does take a week to setle when you get ADSL but that does seem very slow. Are you using any extention wires from the main socket to where the router is plugged in? If you are its likely that you have a noisy line. try connecting it at the main socket itself just as a test, if its better then you know your extention needs replacing. are you also using wired or wireless from the home hub?

@Jambutty - its perectly possible to spread your website across all 75Meg if you plan it correctly(although I agree its a pain in the buttocks). If you use one space for your HTML only, the others for images/javascript/CSS etc. In your HTML as long as you reference the absolute path for the images it works fine. In my line of work we rarely host static content on teh same servers as the dynamic stuff( as a lightweight server with just Apache, well IBM HTTP Server which is a nastardised form of Apache) running on it allows the dynamice servers to concentrate on doing their job. as an example we may use XXXX.barclays.co.uk for the main 'site' but XXXX.images.barclays.co.uk for static content ( images, javascript, CSS etc)

XXXX obviously changes depending on the service, whether its load balanced, protected by an auth layer etc.

Re: BT Broadband
 

thanks Entwisi.. yep tried that .. even unplugged the phone and just left the modem lead to the hub .. still same results.. thanks for you time and input.. maybe I'll leave it for now and get back to you.. thanks again all

Re: BT Broadband
 

Take the front off your master socket, behind the front is another socket, that is your main line connection point. Plug your filter into it and your modem/router/hub into the filter and see what you get. That way you are removing all your internal wiring and are straight on the BT line.

Re: BT Broadband
 

I've been with BT for two years now never had any problems and its fast enough for me, its better than AOL and Wanado or what ever its called now, especially price wise

Re: BT Broadband
 

Sadly entwisi, with BT it is not possible.

When I tried a message popped up informing me that I cannot link from one web space to the others. But that was over a year ago so things may be different today.

Re: BT Broadband
 

I've got virgin at home, BT at the shop. It took about 5 days for the BT connection to shift over about a meg.

Using speedtest.net and linking to the London server, I get 6mb down, 370kb up on a link that's supposed to be a maximum 8mb down, 448kb up.

Re: BT Broadband
 

I get vastly different reading at different times of the day with speedtest.net.
These were done one after the other just now

http://www.speedtest.net/result/403462187.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/403461708.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/403461174.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/403460582.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/403459422.png

Re: BT Broadband
 

Granted.

I get different results from different servers when trying them within seconds of each other. The expectation that you should use the server closest to you shows that such speed tests are inherently flawed. If the results were worth anything, you should be able to use one anywhere in the world and get identical results.

The best way is to time the upload of a big file to the webspace provided by your own ISP, and work the speed out from that. Clear your cache, perhaps even renaming it on the server, then download while timing it to get the download speed. Even that's not perfect, because you may suffer from contention ratio (which, it could be argued, should be factored into the speed you pay for) but it's as good as it gets.

Re: BT Broadband
 

That can't be the case as the further away the server is the more routers you have to hop through. You are also relying on the connections between all those routers being able to pass your packets without delay. You also get more lost packets so more have to be resent.

Re: BT Broadband
 

not technically correct. You could hit australia in half a dozen hops and manchester in 20. It all depends on the network and how the routers and switches are loaded etc.

Plus a request is not sent as a single request so some packets may have a few hops whilst others have loads.

I posted a link once to "Warriers of the Net", its quite a good watch for anyone with a slight technical interest( and even those that don't have its still worth watching as it explains in dead simple langauge how teh 'internet' works)

Warriors of the Net clips

Re: BT Broadband
 

mancie do your neighbours have broadband? You could possibly ask them what speed they get. If they suggest they get a lot more, and yours hasn't settled down to a similar speed within the week, then clearly there is a fault.

You need to make sure they get broadband through their BT line to compare, as it will be a lot faster under virgin due to use of fibre optic cable.

Re: BT Broadband
 

Thanks all...Andrewb ..been told could be up to 10 days before I get a decent speed.. but I know if I try speed test at say 3am it will show upto 5mb.. but at 7pm it struggles to run at 500kps.. methinks some sort of "capping" or maybe BT cannot handle heavy traffic.

Re: BT Broadband
 

I know there will be increased usage at prime times, but let us know if your still struggling once your week is up. 500k is really unacceptable. Its what I have now in Hull, but that's because Kingston and my accommodation company have a monopoly. Its terrible, and I'd debate it even being called 'broadband'. You should be getting more than this, I can't even watch iPlayer properly.

Re: BT Broadband
 

yep and to even view a utube vid buffers... out of order ..and even if broadband suppliers say they may sometimes be of short of speeds it's not on.. hope Big Dave C sorts it out! :D

Re: BT Broadband
 

I take it you were not on the net with a 14.4 then? Or BBS at many times less than that :D

Re: BT Broadband
 

The days of 56k were enough for me. ;)

Re: BT Broadband
 

how do you find that out?

Re: BT Broadband
 

go to Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test and do a test

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/405147698.pngwell mine looks abit pathetic!!:eek:


LMAO!!!

Re: BT Broadband
 

its twice as fast as I could get on ADSL here, thats why I went to cable.

I suspect a lot would get slower than that

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/405157010.png


at peak time so not bad. At silly o'clock when I am online its usually over 10M

Re: BT Broadband
 

Sky.com

http://www.speedtest.net/result/405150356.png

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/406469772.png

Makes me feel slightly inferior! :D

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/406595615.pngthat looks like crap to me?:confused:

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/407093774.png

Not too bad at just a little bit later than peak time and considering im only on 8meg.
The upload is dire however.

Re: BT Broadband
 

Re: BT Broadband
 

I guess mine is quite rubbish then!! :eek:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/407465973.png

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/412721641.png

mine is really slow and I am with BT

Re: BT Broadband
 

Have just redone mine in case there was a 'glitch' at the time - guess not!!

http://www.speedtest.net/result/412749832.png

Would the fact I'm wireless have something to do with it??

Re: BT Broadband
 

You need to find out why yours is so low.

The wireless should not effect it much at all at those speeds unless you have a network problem at your end. You can prove it is not by plugging into your router with a cable and turning the wireless off on your laptop.

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/412820653.png

I dont even know what it all means :D

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/412823621.png

what does it mean?

Re: BT Broadband
 

Has anyone noticed the difference in ping times between cable and ADSL connections on the tests posted above?

When playing online games usually the lower the ping the better. The ping time helps identify the latency of your network connection - this is basically the time it takes for the data to get from you to where you sent it. This is not really relative to your download speed due to the way the network works.

This is not a problem if you play online poker but can make a big difference if you are playing a fast paced shooter or driving game etc. In my tests above I was pinging at 16ms, people on ADSL were getting between 60 and 100. When you pull that trigger you want those bullets flying asap :D

Re: BT Broadband
 

The download is your upto 8meg bit that you are told you will get when you buy it. 8192 is 8meg so you are doing well if you are expected 8meg. The upload is how quickly you can send data to the internet - things like when you send emails etc.

It would be interesting to see the speed difference between people who live close to each other and the tests are done at about the same time who use the same ISP. It would show the effect of poor phone line connections.

Re: BT Broadband
 

Not at all. Yours looks like you pay for virgins 4meg broadband. Even though your download is lower than many on ADSL your upload is higher so you can send emails with big attachments faster etc

Re: BT Broadband
 

Even that statement is iffy. Your upload and download rates are how much data you can receive or send in a given time period.

Re: BT Broadband
 

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/a...0&d=1234893885
And this is what the router says.
ADSL Firmware Version 7.03.01.66
Modem Status Connected
DownStream Connection Speed 4064 kbps
UpStream Connection Speed 448 kbps

I used to get 3.5meg, then Tiscalli took over my ISP, on Friday I'm moving to O2. at half the price and they say 18Meg.

Re: BT Broadband
 

This is with O2

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/a...5&d=1235167973

Much better

Re: BT Broadband
 

Have re-done it again and is faster but still not great...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/418701760.png

Re: BT Broadband
 

try it during the day before 5pm coz BT restrict connections EVEN on unlimited accounts at high peak times but dont fully unrestrict their connections until turned midnight

unless you are a million miles away from earth that is pretty poor even for someone right at the end of the line/exchange

unless you are actually paying for a 1mb connection


i am right at the end of my exchange and get 5mb no problems