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View Full Version : Speed Issue - Nothing left to do but leave NTL?


Bolch
13-03-2006, 11:53
Had an on going speed issue now for about 2 months. I'm on a 10mb connection and doing the speed test proves this...


Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:42:19 GMT

1st 512K took 454 ms = 1127.8 KB/sec, approx 9293 Kbps, 9.08 Mbps
2nd 512K took 453 ms = 1130.2 KB/sec, approx 9313 Kbps, 9.09 Mbps
3rd 512K took 422 ms = 1213.3 KB/sec, approx 9998 Kbps, 9.76 Mbps
4th 512K took 437 ms = 1171.6 KB/sec, approx 9654 Kbps, 9.43 Mbps
However this is only when connecting to NTLs own Network/hosted Sites. The second I access anything away from NTL's own servers the speed drops dramatically. The adslguide speed test shows I'm connecting at about 512k. The last couple of days I've only had downloads of about 7/9k :shocked: (including from newsgroups, Apple and Microsofts sites) which is useless for me as I do a lot of work from home and Remote Desktop into multiple PCs. Trying to do it this morning and can't stay connected to a machine longer than 20 seconds.

I've phoned tech support about 6 times in the last 2 months, had 3 enginees come and look at the equipment. They've changed my modem to the new blue one, the second engineer put a 15db actuator? on the end. The 3rd one took my modem and plugged it straight into the green box down the street. All 3 have said there's nothing wrong with the equipment at all. I've tried it with Xbox360 downloads, 2 Windows XP machines, a Solaris box and a Mac Laptop and it's still the same (all 3 have been tried via the Linksys wifi 54g router and plugged straight into the modem).

I've even been contacted by Fault Management Escalation but that's dried off since they escalated it to Network Support. I emailed them 2 days ago with no reply and can't phone because their number was always with held.

Is it back down to 2mb adsl for me until my exchange is upped to 8mb or is there anything else I can do to get NTL to fix this? I'm in South Manchester (Stockport) if that helps at all.

Thanks in advance

Graham M
13-03-2006, 11:56
Had an on going speed issue now for about 2 months. I'm on a 10mb connection and doing the speed test proves this...

Those speeeds are almost spot on, could you try a different Speed Test such as the one at www.adslguide.org (http://www.adslguide.org)

Thanks

IanUK
13-03-2006, 11:58
Read the post again zeph ;)

Bolch
13-03-2006, 12:02
Thanks for the quick reply though :D

I've done another ADSLguide speed test this morning....

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=f76ddf78109f3425c9091700d3b


Direction Actual Speed True Speed (estimated)
Downstream 26 Kbps (3.3 KB/sec) 28 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 532 Kbps (66.5 KB/sec) 574 Kbps (inc. overheads)
3.3KB = WTF?

Here's the downstream page from my modem config...

Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 0
Downstream Frequency : 586750000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM64
Downstream Symbol Rate : 6952 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps12Increment17
Downstream Receive Power Level : -7.3 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 32.9 dB

Downstream Receive Power Level looks like it could be contributing to the problem based on the sticky in this forum.

Rone
13-03-2006, 12:09
If you believe some people, your being paranoid, a few of us know theres a real problem somewhere. ;)

Graham M
13-03-2006, 12:10
Read the post again zeph ;)

Just wanted to get all the information in this thread in Black & White.

Perhaps a member of the Cable Forum team can escalate your issue *waits for Team Member to leap out of the shadows*

jtwn
13-03-2006, 14:23
3.3kB/s?

Maybe if you can post a traceroute to adslguide we might be able to see something?

Bolch
13-03-2006, 14:26
3.3kB/s?

Maybe if you can post a traceroute to adslguide we might be able to see something?


1 8 ms 6 ms 6 ms 10.10.64.1
2 7 ms 6 ms 5 ms bagu-t2cam1-b-ge93.inet.ntl.com [80.5.162.133]
3 7 ms 5 ms 6 ms bagu-t2core-b-ge-wan64.inet.ntl.com [80.5.161.141]
4 9 ms 15 ms 9 ms lee-bb-b-so-200-0.inet.ntl.com [213.105.174.73]
5 7 ms 7 ms 10 ms lee-bb-a-ae0-0.inet.ntl.com [62.253.187.185]
6 * 15 ms 15 ms pop-bb-b-so-100-0.inet.ntl.com [62.253.185.238]
7 15 ms 14 ms 23 ms tele-ic-2-so-700-0.inet.ntl.com [62.253.184.6]
8 32 ms 15 ms 13 ms 212.250.14.74
9 19 ms 21 ms 140 ms erazmus-so-0-1-0-0.wh.zen.net.uk [62.3.80.46]
10 20 ms 22 ms 30 ms deleuze-ge-0-3-0-0.hq.zen.net.uk [62.3.80.33]
11 38 ms 27 ms 27 ms suarez-so-0-0-0-0.te.zen.net.uk [62.3.80.62]
12 22 ms 20 ms 31 ms netconnex-gw.zen.net.uk [82.71.254.2]
13 28 ms 20 ms 21 ms gi0-2-20-star2.core-rs1.thdo.ncuk.net [80.249.97.68]
14 30 ms * 22 ms iota.ncuk.net [80.249.99.125]

Trace complete.

Paul
13-03-2006, 16:48
Perhaps a member of the Cable Forum team can escalate your issue *waits for Team Member to leap out of the shadows*What would we escalate exactly ? There can't be anything wrong with his line/modem/ubr/connection as he gets perfect speed from the ntl based speed test. ntl don't control what happens beyond their network. Even that tracert looks fine.

Graham M
13-03-2006, 17:46
True enough. Do you use a Firewall?

Ignition
13-03-2006, 17:47
True enough. Do you use a Firewall?

Don't see the relevance of that, the guy's speed to the speedtest on this site is fine.

Tricky this one, traceroute to the chap's uBR is fine:

17 17 ms 17 ms 17 ms ubr02bagu.inet.ntl.com [62.253.186.33]

Try this dude: http://www.dslreports.com/linequality

Graham M
13-03-2006, 17:50
Im just grasping at straws here, trying to work out what's causing the degradation of speed after it leaves NTL's network. Just considering all possibilities really.

Ignition
13-03-2006, 17:57
I'm kinda hoping someone in ntl will take an interest in this as I can't troubleshoot it nor could anyone very well that doesn't have access to the core network really.

jtwn
13-03-2006, 18:39
Well as I speak right now I am getting 5-7mb to adslguide, thats over a more than a couple of tests, but I am getting the same to robin walker, so looks like its working fine for me, much more fine then 3kb.

As I take the same route from Leeds A, if it works that way, elimination would say the problem lies between there and you.

KevAmiga
13-03-2006, 18:48
If you email me the modem's mac address, your current postcode, ill see what i can do..

Im only a tech tho... :dozey:

Ignition
13-03-2006, 19:12
If you email me the modem's mac address, your current postcode, ill see what i can do..

Im only a tech tho... :dozey:

Nice one dude, even if you can't sort it at least it can go further up the chain officially :)

Chrysalis
13-03-2006, 20:58
What would we escalate exactly ? There can't be anything wrong with his line/modem/ubr/connection as he gets perfect speed from the ntl based speed test. ntl don't control what happens beyond their network. Even that tracert looks fine.

is debatable, if they let peering saturate they can push the blame onto external factors.

Bolch
13-03-2006, 22:44
Thanks Kev, PM is on the way.

I've tried the link for checking the line quality, http://www.dslreports.com/quality/nil/2004482

Ignition
14-03-2006, 09:38
This is exactly what I wanted to see and points at a uBR issue.

Could you please try the tweak test there:

http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks

And report back what section 2 of the results gives (the information on the test download).

Bolch
14-03-2006, 11:07
Thanks Ignition. I'm in the office at the moment, but will do the test when I get home tonight.

KevAmiga
14-03-2006, 12:16
Ok, checked it from inside... nothing to report in afraid..

With regards to browsing external sites, have you tried bypassing your local cache server? Could be something simular to the WCCP issue that affects MSN messenger, etc?

:dozey:

etccarmageddon
14-03-2006, 12:24
what's WCCP?

Bolch
14-03-2006, 12:33
Ok, checked it from inside... nothing to report in afraid..

With regards to browsing external sites, have you tried bypassing your local cache server? Could be something simular to the WCCP issue that affects MSN messenger, etc?

:dozey:

Thanks mate, how would I bypass the cache server? I echo etccarmageddon's What is WCCP question to ;)

ntl.wotcha
14-03-2006, 14:12
Install etherreal on your machine and do a packet capture. look at the capture and look for retransmissions.

Could be a packet loss issue. The tracert looks ok but I would also try some large size pings. ping -l 10000 80.249.99.125

See if they all make it through.

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 17:24
I get the same problem, my current speeds look like this on adsl guide:

Direction
Actual Speed
True Speed (estimated)
Downstream18 Kbps (2.3 KB/sec)19 Kbps (inc. overheads)Upstream467 Kbps (58.4 KB/sec)504 Kbps (inc. overheads)

I've called CS too many times to count and all they say is thatt they'll escalate the case, I hear nothing abck from anyone. I will be moving to 8mbit ADSL from BT when it's available in my area.

---------- Post added at 16:24 ---------- Previous post was at 16:20 ----------

I just bounced my SACM (NTL 250) and get :

Direction
Actual Speed
True Speed (estimated)
Downstream52 Kbps (6.5 KB/sec)56 Kbps (inc. overheads)Upstream488 Kbps (61.0 KB/sec)527 Kbps (inc. overheads)

Ignition
14-03-2006, 18:08
Ok, checked it from inside... nothing to report in afraid..

With regards to browsing external sites, have you tried bypassing your local cache server? Could be something simular to the WCCP issue that affects MSN messenger, etc?

:dozey:

The ADSLGuide speedtest won't be getting cached it sources from a port other than port 80.

Hrm.. actually there's a point :)

Kev could you PM me the Bluetools report sans the MAC address and any other personally identifiable information to keep on the good side of the DPA.

If you have access to Badger that might be interesting reading too. Especially the CPU utilisation graph and the info on this chap's card.

Bolch where in the country are you?

WCCP is Web Cache Control Protocol, it governs the hashing of IP addresses to cache servers and the redirection of packets to the cache servers.

KevAmiga
14-03-2006, 18:43
Ah yeah... badger ill check that now.

Didnt look like a utilisation problem... Id expect that to show also on local sites as well as if its ubr congestion ignition?

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 18:45
So I just called up CS and spent an hour on the phone to a guy who was really helpful. We tried:

Restarting SACM
Connecting direct (removing router)
Two different PC's

With no affect at all, my download speeds were always less than 20KB and sometimes only 800BYTES/sec!!!

Then he gave me another proxy which is no help as I use VPN connections and have some other apps that don't use a proxy. the download speed increased (surprise!) to about 850KB/sec - this is all well and good for IE, but of no use for anything else!

Then the LIES came! He told me that the setting I just changed affects the whole system and that everything I do would now go through the proxy, he reeled off some other bits, including newsgroups.

I told him we'd just setup a proxy on port 8080 and newgroups use port 119 and how can that be? He umm'ed and arr'ed a little bit and then changed the subject.

He also told me that all my games would now go via the proxy.... HHHRRRRMMMMMMM someone wanted me off the phone :)

There's a definite problem in my area, he admitted that at least and did say he was filling out the form to get it investigated (SK8 area - South Manchester) but I don't see why he couldn't just say that my connection would be slow until they fix whatever is broken.

Sooooooo, my thoughts? I'm still going to move to BT because NTL have lied to me every time I've called over the past few months. They keep telling me to try again in two weeks, it'll be fixed. That my area is going to be upgraded next week, that they are upgrading all the network...... blah blah blah.....

I just want someone to take ownership of a problem and get it resolved, then call me back to let me know! I don't care how long it takes, just be honest and tell the truth!

KevAmiga
14-03-2006, 18:49
So I just called up CS

... not tech support??

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 18:50
yes, tech support, bloody hell if that's the kind of support you give to customers then I feel sorry for them, stop being so pedantic.

Bolch
14-03-2006, 18:53
This is exactly what I wanted to see and points at a uBR issue.

Could you please try the tweak test there:

http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks

And report back what section 2 of the results gives (the information on the test download).

http://www.broadbandreports.com/tweakr/block:3ee9650?service=cable&speed=1200&os=winXP&via=normal

I'm based in South Manchester (Stockport to be more precise)

etccarmageddon
14-03-2006, 19:02
...There's a definite problem in my area...check your pms.

---------- Post added at 18:02 ---------- Previous post was at 18:01 ----------

yes, tech support, bloody hell if that's the kind of support you give to customers then I feel sorry for them, stop being so pedantic.he's not being pedantic mate - tech support is a whole different call centre - off shore and well known for being useless.

KevAmiga
14-03-2006, 19:12
I feel sorry for them, stop being so pedantic.

No problem! ill go help someone else then, after all i dont get paid anything to assist people here.

See ya.

---------- Post added at 18:12 ---------- Previous post was at 18:11 ----------

Bolch - Dude if ya need any more help, drop me a PM dude. Your pretty safe in Ignition's more than capable hands tho ;)

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 19:40
check your pms.

---------- Post added at 18:02 ---------- Previous post was at 18:01 ----------

he's not being pedantic mate - tech support is a whole different call centre - off shore and well known for being useless.

FWIW I called 0845 650 0121 which took me straight to a UK guy so it was not the offshore guys. If ever I get through to them I redial until I get someone from the UK.

Bolch
14-03-2006, 19:42
Bolch - Dude if ya need any more help, drop me a PM dude. Your pretty safe in Ignition's more than capable hands tho ;)

Thanks for your help so far Kev Download Failed (1)

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 19:43
No problem! ill go help someone else then, after all i dont get paid anything to assist people here.

See ya.



Well thanks anyway then for all the valuable assistance :dunce:

Paul
14-03-2006, 19:57
Well thanks anyway then for all the valuable assistance :dunce:Well I'm afraid you got exactly what you deserved. ntl employees help out here in their own free time, insulting them is hardly going to make them want to help you - exactly what did you think such an unneccessary comment would achieve ?

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 20:01
Excuse me? The guy gave a sarky comment after a long post, not bothering to help out. What was his unnecessary comment supposed to achieve?

homealone
14-03-2006, 20:27
Excuse me? The guy gave a sarky comment after a long post, not bothering to help out. What was his unnecessary comment supposed to achieve?

From the way I read the post it was a question, not a comment ?

As was pointed out, there is a good reason for asking such a question - why are you so quick to assume it was 'sarky' and 'unnecessary'?

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 20:28
Whatever, either way NTL have yet again managed to keep me on the phone for an hour while accomplishing nothing. The UK guys seem just as incapable as the Indians.

homealone
14-03-2006, 20:41
Whatever, either way NTL have yet again managed to keep me on the phone for an hour while accomplishing nothing. The UK guys seem just as incapable as the Indians.

your technique for getting anyone to want to help you may still need brushing up a little bit ;)

Robjones23
14-03-2006, 21:22
Indeed, it's just so frustrating getting nowhere on the support and then getting people on here - where people are meant to help out - not helping either.

Bolch
14-03-2006, 21:24
They're helping me, but then again I've been patient and polite.

etccarmageddon
14-03-2006, 21:44
Indeed, it's just so frustrating getting nowhere on the support and then getting people on here - where people are meant to help out - not helping either.I suspect he would have been about to offer help. he's helping other people so he is here for all the right motives.

Bill C
14-03-2006, 22:02
Indeed, it's just so frustrating getting nowhere on the support and then getting people on here - where people are meant to help out - not helping either.I suspect he would have been about to offer help. he's helping other people so he is here for all the right motives.
Why do some have to stick it to those that are here in there own free time to try and help others. ? It never ceases to amaze me.

jtwn
14-03-2006, 22:07
http://www.broadbandreports.com/tweakr/block:3ee9650?service=cable&speed=1200&os=winXP&via=normal

I'm based in South Manchester (Stockport to be more precise)


Bolsch the speed is in kbits and should be 10 000.

You MTU is wrong, it should be 1500.

Your RWIN should be between 94500 and 250740.

If you download drtcp on the site you can correct that.

Ignition
14-03-2006, 23:32
Indeed, that looks an awful lot like some weird windows dialup tweaker.

Try my settings:

MTU is 1500.

1. Your Tweakable Settings:
Receive Window (RWIN): 189800
Window Scaling: 2
Path MTU Discovery: ON
RFC1323 Window Scaling: ON
RFC1323 Time Stamping: OFF
Selective Acks: ON
MSS requested: 1460

Chrysalis
15-03-2006, 07:26
Ignition how did you come to 189800 for your rwin? used dsltweaks formula?

The problem I found is and they even mention this, a higher rwin is good when there is no saturation, but I found that in the evenings when downloads often stall due to retransmissions it has to retransmit a larger amount causing the stalls to be longer. :(

Bolch
15-03-2006, 12:01
Indeed, that looks an awful lot like some weird windows dialup tweaker.

Try my settings:

MTU is 1500.

1. Your Tweakable Settings:
Receive Window (RWIN): 189800
Window Scaling: 2
Path MTU Discovery: ON
RFC1323 Window Scaling: ON
RFC1323 Time Stamping: OFF
Selective Acks: ON
MSS requested: 1460

http://www.broadbandreports.com/tweakr/block:436f1ae?service=cable&speed=10000&os=winXP&via=normal

Tried those settings, actually made it worse. http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=e0c1b747109fd424b27fd132bd9 and the speed test on this site now crashes Firefox and times out in IE lol

Kev gave me a couple of proxies to try. 2 gave 404's the other worked but gave me same speeds. I've just tried ftping on Kevs recommendation and ftp speeds to be ok. From my domain got speeds of 350kbps and from debian.org got 1200kbps.

KevAmiga
15-03-2006, 12:30
Just a thought, as im running a bit low on ideas. Forget about your PC, thats not it (unless your Sun Sparc, apple mac and X-box all have the same issue).

Try browsing via IP address. Does this make any difference to the HTTP speed??

charliep
15-03-2006, 12:41
I am in south Manchester on a 1meg NTL STB connection. Been suffering 'dial-up' performance since last Wednesday. Already removed my router from the eqation. Still get 130KB/sec download from a few sites but mostly get 2-3KB/sec or pages time out.

Rone
15-03-2006, 12:49
Ditto, its pointless sending out engineers to homes, its more widespread.

Bolch
15-03-2006, 12:49
Just a thought, as im running a bit low on ideas. Forget about your PC, thats not it (unless your Sun Sparc, apple mac and X-box all have the same issue).

Try browsing via IP address. Does this make any difference to the HTTP speed??

They all have the same problem, no difference browsing my ip :(

I've hit 10mb downloads once or twice in the last week (most notibly from Apple's trailer site, but not all trailers come at 10 probably 1 out of every 15 the other 14 are creakingly slow.

KevAmiga
15-03-2006, 13:03
Right... im away from my desk for a while but i have been emailing back and forth, ill paste some stuff here for others to look at and ill check back later.

Some traceroutes from Bolch :



>> 5 15 ms 15 ms 15 ms 212.187.137.1
>> 6 15 ms 15 ms 16 ms so-6-1-0.mp2.manchesteruk1.level3.net
>>[4.68.113.118]
>> 7 105 ms 99 ms 97 ms as-0-0.bbr1.newyork1.level3.net
>>[4.68.128.106]
>> 8 98 ms 96 ms 97 ms ge-7-0-0-54.gar3.newyork1.level3.net
>>[4.68.97.100]
>> 9 88 ms 86 ms 90 ms ewr-brdr-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.1.97]
>>10 86 ms 114 ms 143 ms ewr-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.17.125]
>>11 129 ms 128 ms 127 ms tpa-core-01.inet.qwest.net [67.14.3.2]
>>12 128 ms 129 ms 128 ms fl1-edge-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.27.42]
>>13 126 ms 126 ms 125 ms 65.115.128.14
>>14 126 ms 126 ms 126 ms 216.87.0.229
>>15 128 ms 127 ms 126 ms w5.fredlulu.com [64.239.76.225]

.........



>> 7 24 ms 25 ms 26 ms telc-ic-1-as0-0.inet.ntl.com [62.253.188.121]
>> 8 25 ms 49 ms 25 ms ldn-b2-link.telia.net [213.248.100.37]
>> 9 41 ms 25 ms 25 ms ldn-bb2-pos0-3-0.telia.net [213.248.74.9]
>>10 95 ms 94 ms 96 ms nyk-bb2-pos0-2-0.telia.net [213.248.65.94]
>>11 99 ms 100 ms 107 ms ash-bb1-pos7-0-0-0.telia.net
>>[213.248.80.138]
>>12 115 ms 121 ms 116 ms atl-bb1-pos5-0-0.telia.net [213.248.80.142]
>>13 123 ms * 122 ms uns-llc-112059-atl-bb1.c.telia.net
>>[213.248.91.2]
>>14 117 ms 115 ms 115 ms nntp1.usenetserver.com [208.49.80.60]

And a ping ..

>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=123ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=114ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=114ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=115ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=126ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=117ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=115ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=114ms TTL=52
>Request timed out.
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=114ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=115ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=115ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=125ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=116ms TTL=52
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=115ms TTL=52

I pinged the same server from here :

>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Request timed out.
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=47
>Reply from 208.49.80.60: bytes=32 time=111ms TTL=47

Odd... seems to be a traffic-issue... ill take another look later.

ntl.wotcha
15-03-2006, 14:25
You really need to try larger pings. If there's a device with a duplex error somewhere in the network then small pings will often get through, but large ones wont.

Work your way down the tracert hitting each with large pings and see which one starts to drop packets.

Stuart
15-03-2006, 14:42
Whatever, either way NTL have yet again managed to keep me on the phone for an hour while accomplishing nothing. The UK guys seem just as incapable as the Indians.

Rob, a quick tip. I have found people are more likely to be helpful if you are polite.

The NTL staff who help on this site are not paid to do so. It is not part of their job to help on this site.

You'll also find when phoning any call centre (be it Tech Support, Customer Services or whatever), the operator will be more inclined to try harder to help if you are polite.

I am not having a go, as it is entirely possible you meant Tech Support anyway.

UncleBooBoo
15-03-2006, 15:21
Hey just be thankfull, you may have been on the phone for an hour this time but at least the call was free. Won't be long before you will be paying 10p per min for the call! That call could have cost you £6.00 ;)

Robjones23
15-03-2006, 17:31
Guys,

firstly, apologies for last night's tirade, I was ****ed off and it didn't help coming here to see people recommending using proxies yet again.

Secondly, from what I can tell tehre are a lot of problems in my area, Baz has posted another thread "help" and he's in the same postcode region as I am (SK8 3) so I'm guessing we must be close to each other.

There must be some way of getting the kit checked out that we're connecting through and I don't mean our STB's / SACM's. Mine works fine when I go via a proxy (will post the proxies I have for those who are having difficulties when I get home) but going via a proxy is useless for anything other than surfing the web.

Oh, forgot to mention that NTL ahd also managed to setup another direct debit from my account and I've been paying them twice each month for the past 5 months. When I called up regarding that they didn't know how it could have happened!!!

bah - rant over and apologies again to those I offended.:angel:

---------- Post added at 16:31 ---------- Previous post was at 16:30 ----------

oh and I called an 0845 number which isn't free, and i called from a mobile :)

KevAmiga
15-03-2006, 17:34
No worries.

Maybe one of the mods can attract some attention via Responsetek?

endoftether
15-03-2006, 17:48
I am also in south Manchester (Sale) on a 1meg NTL broadband connection. Been suffering 'dial-up' type performance for 3 weeks. Mostly get 2-3KB/sec or pages time out.
Engineer has now changed my cable modem but the connection speed is even worse! Call centre staff are not very helpful - if I change supplier will this solve my problem?
Please help me!!!

Bolch
15-03-2006, 18:02
Secondly, from what I can tell tehre are a lot of problems in my area, Baz has posted another thread "help" and he's in the same postcode region as I am (SK8 3) so I'm guessing we must be close to each other.

I wouldn't mind knowing which proxy you tried, I'm an SK8 5 person.

Robjones23
15-03-2006, 19:17
proxies I have and working fine are:

62.254.128.4

and

62.252.32.11 (seems the best one)

both are port 8080 of course.

Chrysalis
15-03-2006, 19:54
agreed, remember any ntl staff here are here voluntary and usually in their free time. They could easily decide to leave you to use the proper channels which would be ringing tech support. Even if I dont get the result I want I thank staff for their time and effort in assisting me.

Robjones23
16-03-2006, 11:06
Indeed.


Anyway, my cable modem seems to be a ever so slightly out of what is described as ideal conditions:

Downstream Receive Power: -7.6 dBmV (seems low as even the higher speeds should be min -6???
Downstream SNR: 31.1 dB (seems fine)
Upstream Transmit Power Level: 48.3 dBmV (seems fine)

Has anyone "internally" been able to find out what's going on?

Cheers,

rob.

Bolch
16-03-2006, 11:30
You really need to try larger pings. If there's a device with a duplex error somewhere in the network then small pings will often get through, but large ones wont.

Work your way down the tracert hitting each with large pings and see which one starts to drop packets.

Tried that with a size of 512 and got 100/150ms for each step :erm:

Also tried the 2 proxies Rob posted but both of those were as bad.

Rone
16-03-2006, 11:32
I've noticed one thing, the customers know theres a fault, but as usual it seems ntl dont want to admit theres a problem, or they dont think there's a problem, or maybe even they dont have the money to fix it.
The staff that visit here probably wouldnt be allowed to tell you anyway, and i for one cant be bothered waiting for ntl to sort it, if this is an indication of things to come, i would sooner have a slower but steadier connection.

Robjones23
16-03-2006, 15:58
Could this be related?



On the morning of Wednesday the 15th of March between midnight and 6 AM,

Network optimisation will result in a loss of service in the Watford, Leeds, Derby, Stockport, Reading, Bishops Stortford, Cambridge, Papworth, Newmarket, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Basford, Darlington, Hartlepool, Marske, Luton, Hatfield, Stapleford and surrounding areas.

Essential Maintenance will also be performed on our email systems.

On the morning of Thursday the 16th of March between midnight and 6 AM,

Network optimisation will result in a loss of service in the Watford, Leeds, Derby, Stockport, Reading, Papworth, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Wearside, Oxford, Kempstone, Stapleford, and surrounding areas.

On the morning of Friday the 17th of March between midnight and 6 AM,

Network optimisation will result in a loss of service in Leeds, Derby, Stockport, Reading and surrounding areas.

Chrysalis
16-03-2006, 15:59
whats annoyed me is if its down to money they could have done it if they didnt spend it on mergers and restructuring.

---------- Post added at 14:59 ---------- Previous post was at 14:58 ----------

robjones those status updates have been ongoing for months, and not one has been on my ubr it seems to have a big sign on it please dont upgrade me.

Robjones23
16-03-2006, 16:05
I know these have been around for a while but the dates have changed to this week, maybe tey're working on the area? I don't know - can anyone from NTL find out where the work is taking place? It amazes me that they seem so haphazard when it comes to understanding changes / upgrades.

etccarmageddon
16-03-2006, 16:16
Rob, I suspect they are working their backsides off to get the network back in shape as it's falling apart in places due to oversubscription due to upgrading the 3m to 10m. on top of that they need it to be able to handle 2mb going to 10m asap - ie. to compete with max dsl.

charliep
17-03-2006, 10:11
I expressed my dissatisfaction with the slow speeds on NTL's web site, this was their reply....

Please accept my apologies for the problems you are experiencing with your broadband connection.

I have looked into your situation in more depth and I can see that there are some network issues in your area. These would cause the problems that you have been facing, (dropped connections, slow browsing and downloads). At the moment there is no work scheduled to resolve this issue.

ntl is committed to provide all it's customers with the highest quality service possible. I am sorry that I cannot provide you with more information on when any work to upgrade the network will be carried out.

etccarmageddon
17-03-2006, 10:16
at least they're honest but that's an admission that they know about a fault and have NO PLANS TO FIX IT.

SHOCKING.

IanUK
17-03-2006, 10:44
I expressed my dissatisfaction with the slow speeds on NTL's web site, this was their reply....

Please accept my apologies for the problems you are experiencing with your broadband connection.

I have looked into your situation in more depth and I can see that there are some network issues in your area. These would cause the problems that you have been facing, (dropped connections, slow browsing and downloads). At the moment there is no work scheduled to resolve this issue.

ntl is committed to provide all it's customers with the highest quality service possible. I am sorry that I cannot provide you with more information on when any work to upgrade the network will be carried out.

Thats amazingly bad service, I'd send back something like this:

'I have looked into your Company in some depth and can see that you are generally quite useless in the area of network management, this would cause the problems with customers that you have been facing (Large phone queues, indifferent staff and withdrawing free phone numbers). At the moment I find I am unable to pay you.

I am commited to providing all of my suppliers with the same high level of service, I am sorry that I cannot give you any more information on when I will resume payments to you at this time.'

Rone
17-03-2006, 10:48
Lol.
A nice idea, but they probably wouldnt read it.
Now i am glad i cancelled my account, a fix it date of "whenever" is no use to anyone. :(

KevAmiga
17-03-2006, 10:59
At the moment there is no work scheduled to resolve this issue.


Eh? Thats pretty poor... well more than pretty poor... :(

Robjones23
17-03-2006, 12:05
This is the usual story form my experience with NTL :(

Chrysalis
17-03-2006, 14:03
thats a shocking statement at least the guy was honest with you and didnt feed you rubbish. Unfortenatly the truth hurt.

Rone
17-03-2006, 15:09
Direction
Actual Speed
True Speed (estimated)

Downstream 41 Kbps (5.1 KB/sec) 44 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 532 Kbps (66.5 KB/sec) 574 Kbps (inc. overheads)

Lol best 10 meg ever.
Oh well, just 7 more days of thisd rubbish.

Robjones23
17-03-2006, 16:03
This is similar to my speeds - I get maximum 20KB/sec down to 800 or so bytes/sec. I've been using 3G to connect my work laptop rather than NTL as it's quicker.

etccarmageddon
17-03-2006, 16:09
if I got an email telling me yes there's a problem and we have no plans to fix it I'd be straight on to cancellations.

jtwn
17-03-2006, 16:27
Surely that can't be right.

If there are problems and no scheduled fix.....surely logic would be to schedule some work :disturbd:

IanUK
17-03-2006, 16:29
Perhaps now the Mods here could contact NTL and ask for a statement that might be more meaningful than the last one - that basically said everything was ok, even though lots of us had pointed out it was not, they might also like to explain why are they still taking on 10mb customers in those areas that they themselves now admit are overloaded..

charliep
17-03-2006, 16:42
I e-mailed NTL back saying pretty much the same thing that are they serious. This is their reply

In answer to your question, ntl are aware of the network over-utilisation in your area, but, at this time there is no work scheduled to remedy the situation. This could change in the very near future, but, I am afraid that as of this time there is no work scheduled to alleviate the connection problems you are experiencing.

There is a continual network maintenance program in place which is designed to resolve these issues and again, all I can say is I am very I sorry that I cannot provide you with anything more concrete concerning your connection problems Jeff.

Thank you for contacting ntl



Peter

Rone
17-03-2006, 17:22
Well i found a cure, its called ADSL. ;)

IanUK
17-03-2006, 17:25
And judging by the reports on here there are quite a few areas like this, or getting to be like this.

I really fail to see how they can possibly think about taking on new 10mb customers, or even look to increasing speeds any more until their farce of a network is MASSIVELY improved.

They really need to get a clue and quickly.

No wonder they won't even entertain the proxies being removed - the entire network would probably collapse.

What a joke.

Charliep: I thought I had it bad with them, but your situation is untenable, tell them you refuse to pay until they fix it - or better still get on to rententions and threaten to leave, they'll probably offer you it for free for a while being as you can quote their own staff to them.

Robjones23
17-03-2006, 17:48
BT have just activated the line to my house....

Rone
17-03-2006, 17:58
I think their idea is if you can browse webpages, why would you want to do anything else ?
Well for starters i can do it faster on dial-up for a lot less than £35pm. And i've never thought NTL were expensive until these last few weeks. :(

charliep
17-03-2006, 18:03
I can browse web pages as long as it's the NTL web site I want to look at or I am prepared to wait 5 minutes for the page to render.

Retrovertigo
17-03-2006, 18:11
Well, I am in Manchester and as I have pointed out before in these very pages - the service is a joke. Yet some wanted to argue that because I was getting "upto 10 meg" as advertised, I had no room to complain.

I live right in the middle of the student population and it's safe to assume that NTL is massively over-subscribed. As I type this, webpages are taking an age to load.

And before anyone asks - yes I have spoken to NTL (for the umpteenth time) and always it's the same thing - a router, I have p2p software etc etc etc. anything bt a fault at their end.

£34.99 for this level of service is a joke - I am actively looking at alternatives at the moment. Not even a free month of service would encourage me to stay with these jokers.

Bill C
17-03-2006, 18:52
I think their idea is if you can browse webpages, why would you want to do anything else ?
Well for starters i can do it faster on dial-up for a lot less than £35pm. And i've never thought NTL were expensive until these last few weeks. :(

Welcome to NTL high speed broadband. We hope you enjoy the service which you will find is very fast and the best you can get anywhere. :D

here's my NTL high speed 2 meg broadband.

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 17:48:09 GMT
1st 128K took 1078 ms = 121588 Bytes/sec = approx 1012 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 1109 ms = 118189 Bytes/sec = approx 983 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 1094 ms = 119810 Bytes/sec = approx 997 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 1359 ms = 96447 Bytes/sec = approx 802 kbits/sec


To repeat this test from the source server click here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html?1142617695046).


NTL high speed broadband :rolleyes:

Please come back after 6.00pm to see how bad it is.

Mr Angry
17-03-2006, 19:40
Same issues here in Belfast this evening.

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 18:37:08 GMT
1st 128K took 1485 ms = 88264 Bytes/sec = approx 734 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 1000 ms = 131072 Bytes/sec = approx 1091 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 1265 ms = 103614 Bytes/sec = approx 862 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 547 ms = 239620 Bytes/sec = approx 1994 kbits/sec


To repeat this test from the source server click here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html?1142620635474).

To repeat this test from a web proxy cache (if present):

And the Irish Broadband test (see attached gif) shows pretty much the same picture.

Chrysalis
18-03-2006, 03:09
charliep, the fact you have had that statement gives you something to bargain with at retentions and I suggest you take ianuk's advice.

Out of curiosity did you find a specific email address to contact or did you use the responstek form?

charliep
18-03-2006, 11:30
I used the responsetek form, I was surprised that they replied within 48 hours even if the reply was no use.

5quirrel
18-03-2006, 14:52
Well now NTL have completed their load balancing exercise this week I thought my 10B connection figures below were fantastic NOT!!

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:46:36 UTC

1st 512K took 2265 ms = 226 KB/sec, approx 1862 Kbps, 1.82 Mbps
2nd 512K took 4328 ms = 118.3 KB/sec, approx 975 Kbps, 0.95 Mbps
3rd 512K took 2500 ms = 204.8 KB/sec, approx 1688 Kbps, 1.65 Mbps
4th 512K took 1735 ms = 295.1 KB/sec, approx 2432 Kbps, 2.38 Mbps

Overall Average Speed = approx 1739 Kbps, 1.7 Mbps

Rone
18-03-2006, 15:56
Hey thats not bad.

Compared to mine. :(

Bill C
18-03-2006, 16:12
Hey that's not bad.

Compared to mine. :(

how about this NTL high speed broadband.

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:10:05 GMT
1st 128K took 6250 ms = 20972 Bytes/sec = approx 174 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 6844 ms = 19151 Bytes/sec = approx 159 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 4718 ms = 27781 Bytes/sec = approx 231 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 6000 ms = 21845 Bytes/sec = approx 182 kbits/sec


To repeat this test from the source server click here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html?1142694635171).

That's supposed to be 2 meg :rolleyes:

Bolch
19-03-2006, 09:50
Just want to say thanks to Ignition, KevAmiga and everyone else thats tried to help me sort this, but I'm going to phone cancellations today. I work from home a lot and this speed is unbearable any longer :(

Russ
19-03-2006, 09:56
Tip: don't expect any sympathy if you tell them you work from home.

I'm not being sarcastic or anything, they'll just tell you that the BB service you're paying for is not for commercial use.

Best not to mention that bit....

Oh and not to be outdone, here's my speed results:


1st 512K took 438 ms = 1169 KB/sec, approx 9633 Kbps, 9.41 Mbps
2nd 512K took 437 ms = 1171.6 KB/sec, approx 9654 Kbps, 9.43 Mbps
3rd 512K took 438 ms = 1169 KB/sec, approx 9633 Kbps, 9.41 Mbps
4th 512K took 437 ms = 1171.6 KB/sec, approx 9654 Kbps, 9.43 Mbps

Overall Average Speed = approx 9644 Kbps, 9.42 Mbps



To repeat this test from the source server click here.

</smug git>

Chrysalis
19-03-2006, 10:32
Russ congratulations for your talent to wind people up.

The working from home and getting a business connection argument is more suited to dealing with downtime SLA's etc. I bet eg. he would still have the exact same speed issues if he was on a business cable connection and probably again told contention tough luck.

I do work from home as well although the primary use of my connection is lifestyle use.

Is there any comment from the cable forum team regarding this? or are they ignoring it.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showpost.php?p=708572&postcount=18

Rone
19-03-2006, 10:39
Well i work from home and NTL doesnt enter the equation for my job, they are not related.
What it does give me is the ability to see at any time of day, what a p*ss poor connection i've had over the last 3 months. 5 days till adsl anyway, so ntl can shove their attitude of total ignorance, wherever they like. ;)

Russ
19-03-2006, 10:55
Russ congratulations for your talent to wind people up.

My apologies - I didn't realise certain people were suffering from a humour bypass today.

The working from home and getting a business connection argument is more suited to dealing with downtime SLA's etc. I bet eg. he would still have the exact same speed issues if he was on a business cable connection and probably again told contention tough luck.

ntl's terms and conditions still apply.

I do work from home as well although the primary use of my connection is lifestyle use.

That's up to you and there are probably a lot people who do the same - the point I'm making is saying that you work from home etc won't cut the mustard with ntl. When I worked for tech support I once took a call from a stockbroker who said his webspace was down and was losing thousands of pounds for every hour it wasn't working and would sue ntl for it. When I told him that using his webspace for that sort of application was against the T&Cs, he told me ntl had better not do anything about it or he'd come down to Swansea and place a bomb in the building.

Is there any comment from the cable forum team regarding this? or are they ignoring it.

Ntl are aware of people's issues. The team don't need to comment on this IMO. There are obviously problems with people's speed and it's up to ntl to deal with it.

IanUK
19-03-2006, 12:56
Ntl are aware of people's issues. The team don't need to comment on this IMO. There are obviously problems with people's speed and it's up to ntl to deal with it.

There wouldn't be much point in the team raising these growing issues, this was raised a few months back and NTL gave them a statement if you remember that basically said that everything was fine and amounted to little more than an advert for how wonderful they were - complete waste of time - the only thing to do if you are suffering is complain - when they do nothing - leave, thats what many of us are doing (or in my case looking to do when the time is right)

NTL have no customer care when it comes to their obviously oversubscribed network, that much is obvious, the only thing left to do is hit them financially and leave.

Bill C
19-03-2006, 13:09
My apologies - I didn't realise certain people were suffering from a humour bypass today.

Ntl are aware of people's issues. The team don't need to comment on this IMO. There are obviously problems with people's speed and it's up to ntl to deal with it.

I think you would have a humour bypass aswell if you are paying for something you are NOT getting.

To say NTL are aware of people's issues is fine. But it would be nice of them to actually do something about it, instead they posted a complete bull**** statement that just made it out that its all the customers fault and then goes on to highlight how good they are :rolleyes:.

I have given them till the end of the month to sort my connection or they will lose my service completely. Not bad is it to upset a customer and drive them away in less than a month.

Before anyone says have you reported this yes i have.

Network checked the area no fault found on transmission.

Technical support blamed first my router then my pc had spyware then the fact that my pc uses Linux. Notice the MY in all that, they would not admit that there was a UBR capacity problem. " i found that out through other means"

Taken from NTL's responce to your request.


The source and location of the data you are downloading from the Internet and the connection speed of that source, e.g. websites, email, peer to peer, streaming
The processing power of your PC and whether it is optimised, updated and virus-free
What else is running on your PC, especially other Internet applications
USB is a lower capability method of connection than Ethernet, and may be shared with printers, cameras, etc. ntl recommends the use of a 100Mbps Ethernet with its super-fast connections
Potential congestion on the ntl network at particularly busy times of day "in my case all times of the day"
I have been assured that it will be fixed at the end of the month, If its not then its goodbye NTL and thanks for all the fish.

So Humour problem i think not. NTL problem YES and will NTL do anything about it the jury is out on that at the moment.


My speed at this moment

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 12:07:20 GMT
1st 128K took 1891 ms = 69314 Bytes/sec = approx 577 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 2031 ms = 64536 Bytes/sec = approx 537 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 2188 ms = 59905 Bytes/sec = approx 498 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 1656 ms = 79150 Bytes/sec = approx 659 kbits/sec


To repeat this test from the source server click here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html?1142770050921).

:rant:

Boy i feel better after that.

---------- Post added at 12:09 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Ntl are aware of people's issues. The team don't need to comment on this IMO. There are obviously problems with people's speed and it's up to ntl to deal with it.
There wouldn't be much point in the team raising these growing issues, this was raised a few months back and NTL gave them a statement if you remember that basically said that everything was fine and amounted to little more than an advert for how wonderful they were - complete waste of time - the only thing to do if you are suffering is complain - when they do nothing - leave, thats what many of us are doing (or in my case looking to do when the time is right)

NTL have no customer care when it comes to their obviously oversubscribed network, that much is obvious, the only thing left to do is hit them financially and leave.
Good post :tu:

Rone
19-03-2006, 14:00
:tu: x2.

2 good posts putting things into perspective.

Chrysalis
19-03-2006, 14:20
My issue is been investigated, but I will make it clear it is not as a result of official channels it is people putting time and effort in out of kindness.

The investigation so far has found nothing obvious wrong but it is still ongoing.

Their are a few reasons I havent downgraded yet but I will if I dont get a discount or the problem is resolved within a few weeks.

I do get max upload speed which is useful for me although not the primary reason for been on this tier.

My speeds do increase at quiet hours and this lets me do my downloading then. Without that increase and if I was say on 1mbit all day long I would be downloading over a longer period lagging everything much more.

If speeds were more nominal I wouldnt be suddenly queueing up large downloads in the evening but I would expect there would be less lag in live apps such as ssh, and things like driver downloads and downloads I need right away would be a decent speed and web browsing would be responsive.

Some will say to me ahh so you can download fast then, yes I can. I accept things shouldnt be max speed all day but I would expect performance to be always higher then the lower tier and of the previous 3 meg product. I would also expect honesty of tech support.

Russ
19-03-2006, 15:29
There wouldn't be much point in the team raising these growing issues, this was raised a few months back and NTL gave them a statement if you remember that basically said that everything was fine and amounted to little more than an advert for how wonderful they were - complete waste of time - the only thing to do if you are suffering is complain - when they do nothing - leave, thats what many of us are doing (or in my case looking to do when the time is right)


This pretty much sums up why I don't feel a statement is needed from the team.

IanUK
19-03-2006, 15:45
This pretty much sums up why I don't feel a statement is needed from the team.

Are we to take it that the team has given up on trying to make NTL a better service ?

I wouldn't blame you if you have, but it would be nice to know :)

Russ
19-03-2006, 15:48
Are we to take it that the team has given up on trying to make NTL a better service ?

I wouldn't blame you if you have, but it would be nice to know :)

The team's aims have never changed, but it is not us who will make any changes in ntl, they will have to come from within.

Bill C
19-03-2006, 16:26
Are we to take it that the team has given up on trying to make NTL a better service ?

I wouldn't blame you if you have, but it would be nice to know :)
The team's aims have never changed, but it is not us who will make any changes in ntl, they will have to come from within.


An unfortunately that seems to be a no no at the moment. The senior management at NTL are more intent on buying out other companies and upsetting there hard working staff then looking after there network and customers.:td:

CityFan
19-03-2006, 17:03
i just did a speed test on adslguide and got 14kbps down stream and 207kbps upstream, i'm on a 2MB connection and also live in the SK8 area like others in this, and other speed problem threads

had problems for a while now but this is the worst result i've had yet!


anyone know if bulldog are any good?

edit:

just did this on robin walkers speed test

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:04:20 UTC
1st 128K took 25750 ms = 5090 Bytes/sec = approx 42 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 26047 ms = 5032 Bytes/sec = approx 42 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 21875 ms = 5992 Bytes/sec = approx 50 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 34625 ms = 3785 Bytes/sec = approx 31 kbits/sec

Rone
19-03-2006, 17:32
Well dial-up is better than that. ;)
Any adsl or dial-up company could compete with that as it stands, especially on price.
Ntl is relatively cheap depending on wether or not you get a half decent speed most of the time. On 2 meg you should get about 2meg, and not a great deal less. That looks like quite a lot less.

Bill C
19-03-2006, 17:38
anyone know if bulldog are any good?



No they are not if you go off some of the stories on the net. I will be moving to BE Unlimited as soon as they have upgraded the Warrington exchange. Bulldog is Cable and Wireless and many on here will remember just how bad they can get. If you do order Bulldog make total sure you get in writing a install date and that they confirm again in writing that if they do not keep to it you can leave with no cost. They have a habit of signing up customers when they have no capacity [Does it ring a bell] and are waiting for more to go in, This is normally months after you have put your order in with them but they will not tell you that.

CityFan
19-03-2006, 18:22
just been scouting the net for who to go with and i have no idea :(

want to avoid bulldog now after reading things and apparantly my connection can only go to 2MB :(


like banging my head against a brick wall this, made harder with the fact i'd like no caps

---------- Post added at 17:22 ---------- Previous post was at 17:10 ----------

i'm wondering if someone at ntl read what is aid and did a quick fix as my speeds have gone to what they should be according to the last 3 tests :D

---------- Post added at 17:22 ---------- Previous post was at 17:22 ----------

and the moment i said that it went awful again, i really give in :(

Rone
19-03-2006, 18:30
No one in NTL that really needs to read this forum, ever will.
They have a nice big share of the market, money is rolling in, why spoil your evening reading this lot.

IanUK
19-03-2006, 19:04
No one in NTL that really needs to read this forum, ever will.
They have a nice big share of the market, money is rolling in, why spoil your evening reading this lot.

I don't think any one that matters (ie: can make decisions on spending and resources) reads this forum, on the numerous occasions I've had to go higher up the food chain the person(s) I've spoken too have either never heard of this forum, or say things like 'I really don't have time - just tell me'

The *only* person that has ever mentioned this forum from NTL was a lady that rang me after the team here had put me in touch, and my low power level prob was sorted, she asked me to reply to the thread I had started to show that they had fixed it.

NTL won't get heavily involved with something that has as much moaning as here, I was involved with the 'Scream' forum in the days of Localtel (anyone remember them !) and we got Localtel execs onside and had a few meetings, but once they saw the level of disatisfaction they gradually backed away until the firm was eventually sold to Tiscali I think.

Firms will much prefer to pass off compaints to their tech support lines, and have you pay for the sheer joy of queuing to speak to someone who has no technical expertise beyond whats written down in front of them - NTL are by no means alone in this - its sadly the norm these days.

Its now patently obvious that money and/or expertise is the problem, and I doubt very much if either will be improved by much in the near future.
If you need a reliable net connection, and you live in certain areas of the country, then you need to look elsewhere than NTL, they are just not competent enough.

Griffin
19-03-2006, 20:12
One thing i have found myself its better to download a file to get a more realistic speed than rely on the speed test sites, i find you get poor indicated speeds due to these sites being used rather heavily

Rone
19-03-2006, 20:22
One thing i have found myself its better to download a file to get a more realistic speed than rely on the speed test sites, i find you get poor indicated speeds due to these sites being used rather heavily


Dont you think tech support suggests this?
They point you to the ntl "testmyspeed" 50mb file, then to Microsoft to try d\loading a game demo, etc, they dont roll over and admit theres a problem just cos you say Robin Walkers site says your connection is poo. ;)

Robjones23
19-03-2006, 21:37
They don't ever admit there's a problem generally!

Chrysalis
20-03-2006, 05:41
I understand what ian and Russ say that their is a danger ntl will simply just repeat their previous statement, but if you ask more specific questions then its harder for them to give a generic answer.

eg. they can hardly say something like "we are commited to improving customers service and endevaour to upgrade the network when needed" when a ntl rep has confirmed to a customer their is overloaded network problems and "no" scheduled upgrade.

JeLLyMaN
21-03-2006, 22:53
To the bloke who asked if Bulldog is any good (too lazy to quote now), the answer is NO. Someone I know works for BT and one of their colleagues came in the room and said how bad Bulldog were. If I were you I'd go for BE There(bethere.co.uk). I'll most likely be doing that once my exchange is upgraded in August (as I don't like the idea of 10mb being limited at a low 75gb).

Bolch
23-03-2006, 23:22
Well I phoned up to cancel my broadband on Monday, and low and behold today 10mb is working exactly as it should be! :rolleyes:

Question is now can/should I cancel my cancellation :dunce:

Any other SK8ers (Excuse the Avrilism) experiencing the right speeds now?

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=6cfe41f510a293f7ef3c67acdfd

Just tried newsgroups and pulling down at 1200KBps fine

Chrysalis
24-03-2006, 12:31
so you cancelled and suddenly your speeds shot up?

Bolch
24-03-2006, 13:12
Yup, well, it shot up about 3 days after cancelling.

Rone
24-03-2006, 13:28
Coincidence probably, mine was back about 5 days after i cancelled.
Ntl should be a great service, atm its no better than anyone else. :(

Ignition
24-03-2006, 14:21
Coincidence probably, mine was back about 5 days after i cancelled.
Ntl should be a great service, atm its no better than anyone else. :(

Why? Are ntl 'reassuringly expensive' meaning that they should supply an 'above average' service?

End of the day ntl are pile 'em high sell 'em cheap same as every other mass market operation.

That withstanding a fair few people clearly have unacceptable service quality, neither average not 'great'.

Rone
25-03-2006, 09:42
Well i wouldnt say they are reassuring anyone atm, but as they own their own network [so to speak] they should be able to provide as good, or a better service than their competitors.
Unfortunately for reasons known only to them they choose not too. :(