I dont think this will get any better
 

Ive been visiting these boards for a few years now and i personally think that things haven't ever been any worse with NTL.

I honestly dont think anything is going to get much better anytime soon. Correct me if i am wrong but about 90% of the posts on here are about poor / slow broadband and below average CS and technical support.
I've been a customer for 4-5years now and pay over £50 pm to NTL. As customers we have the right to recieve and acceptable TV and broadband service. I personally believe NTL are oversubscribing a lot of areas, pushing broadband speeds soley to become more competitve in the broadband market with little or no support for existing customers.

The other 10% of posts consist of setup help, peering and packet loss which i guess is to be expected. 2 years ago i'd say it would be the other way round with just 10% of posts talking of bad connections.

It seems people are suffering from slow download / upload speeds / packet loss and high ping times in many major cities / areas around the UK. NTL protecting themselves by offering an "up to 10Mbit" service is a farse. The oversubscription and congestion in certain areas is just the result of lacking capacity and processing. They are effectivly protecting themsleves with marketing spiel and i think thats rubbish.

The usage isn't acceptable for congested areas i'm talking about 1 and 2Mbit aswell. Theres just too much packet loss, congestion and high ping times for it to be acceptable.

I'm not ranting here, i try not to express anger as i believe it gets people no-where but i'm simply stating what i believe to be the facts. Instead of posting about poor speeds all the time maybe talk about the root of the problem. If we do it on mass scale in the form of a petition to let NTL know the problems we are experiecing with the service and CS then maybe something will be done.

thanks...

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Although I agree with your position I think I must point out that there is potentially a large customer base out there who enjoy a good service and do not express how happy they are.

I have had an NTL connection for years and still have my original IP address. Although I am only on the 1Mb connection I have all of that 1Mb available all of the time. Ping speeds are sharp and power levels steady.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Whilst the majority of posts may be about poor / slow broadband and below average CS and technical support they may be being made by a relatively small number of members. A few members posting the same thing time and time again and in several different threads gives the impression of mass problems which may not be the case.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

I must disagree with your statement that things have never been worse.

This is NTL - the service has always been awful, and always will be.

I remember the verbal riots that were going on when the cap was imposed. I don't think the 10Mb rants are on the same scale.

Having said that, I think NTL may possibly be 1% less useless than BT. A close call though.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

1% less useless, then there is no hope then :)

ntl's service has not and is not awful for everyone, and to say that for those it always will be must indicate that you are in a position of authority to say that?

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Trust me, it always will be. After I dominate the NTL empire, I intend to run it with the same efficiency as the west coast main line.

Yours Sincerely
Dicky Branston

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Of course there is always 2 sides to the coin. However my post directly relates to users that live in congested areas. It also points out NTL's oversubscription and what seems to be little concern (no statement made) about this congestion and degrade in overall service performance. My fear being, they are passing off this issue as "an up to 10Mbit service".

There is always 2 sides to every debate, for instance my parents broadband has always been top notch. Solid pings and downloads speeds, consistent for a very long time. For me living in a area with a denser population the congestion and oversubscription has degraded broadband significantly and i can't see it getting any better unless someone makes noise about it.

I feel this congestion and oversubscription in relation to hardware is more apparent than ever before hence the 90 / 10 comment. My issue is, it is cropping up in most major towns and cities around the UK. The success may indeed outway the dissapointment stories but that doesn't mean it takes away our rights as a customer to a decent level of service.

I am debating this subject not moaning or shouting about it. Call it creating awareness if you wish, i just hope it doesn't turn into another bulldog. Fighting for marketing share and to become "topdog" by offering the fastest service to get people signed up... only to realise that the equipment cannot support high volumes and load in certain areas.

My 2p

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

I have to say that as a rule, I am happy with my service (both BB and Phone), but then I have been for some time.

IMO the number of complaints Vs number of tech help posts is a hard measure to use.

The number of customers is increasing all the time, as is the general awarenes of punters that this site exists.
This is leading (again, IMO) to an increasi in the number of issues raised.

at the same time, people are looking at the FAQs and searching the forum for answers before posting - so a lot of the "how do I ....?" questions are not being posted, the answers are being found without the requirement to start a thread.

As ever - this is just my opinion - but it is how I see things at the moment.

As to the current "up to 10M" service - I cannot comment personally, ut I do know that my 2M service has been rock solid, and my pings on CS:Source are extremely acceptable (just a shame my playing ability does not match my network speed ;) )

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Problem is, 99% of the people that are happy with their service never voice it. Lets be honest, most people come here for advice / complain etc, you wouldnt do that if your service was good eh?

Same with all big companies, always some bad eggs in the batch that spoil it for others. I have been an NTL customer for 10 years or so, had 1 engineer out in that time. Total of 3 or 4 days downtime. Not bad eh? I dont think anyone can call that bad service.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Sorry to those who are pro-ntl in this matter but Prof clearly has a point. The amount of complaints over slow speeds has gone through the roof since the upgrades, this is simple fact.

Not really any room for discussion it is simply that clear that the upgrades have bought all kinds of issues with them.

Will it improve? It has to else ntl are going to lose customers.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Sure, NTL know 10mb is having some problems in certain areas, but there are other contributing factors to this as well.

Some people's PC's cant handle 10mb speed, some peoples routers, etc.

Add that to some of the problems that NTL need to iron out, i guess this is where the complaints come from. Im not pro-ntl or anthing like that, ill speak my mind as stated in my signature. I think NTL have rushed things a bit with the 10mb, but there are a lot of happy 10 meggers out there, hopefully a lot more soon.

Just my 2p worth :)

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Thanks for the comment Ig :)

For the other debating on good service v bad. I personally think this point is irrelevant. I am merely stating a personal experience which i believe to share with an increasing minority. Keyword being minority if that classifies things, it still doesnt automatically mean the service is running fine. NTL have an agreement to provide an exceptable level of service. I'm not contesting this at the moment i'm just highlighting my degraded experience; as ignition kindly pointed out, since the upgrades.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Kev,

totally agree with both posts...okay some people might have very bad connections but thats the case with anything in life.

I had the 10 meg (gone back down to 2 meg) and I never had any real problems that were related to the line only problem I had was that my NTL120 was stuck in limbo at 1 stage after the upgrade but NTL fixed that within 5 working days which I think isnt too bad at all and they gave me my money back for the days that I lost.

Also I hear more and more people moan about the CS/TS guys okay there are some rotten apples in the bunch (looks at KevAmiga ;) j/k mate) but then again look at your own workplace same deal with the IS departments there that is if its a big company.

soon enough NTL's network will be more stable.

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

And just to clarify things more, this isn't aimed at becoming another 10Mbit thread as previously mentioned. The degarde in service is available over all speed teirs and simply a result of upstream and even downstream congestion. Mainly due to oversubscription and lack of processing (as helpfully pointed out by others).

On a sidenote i except equipment affects throughput; true for 10Mbit tariffs but this isn't the point of this debate. :)

Re: I dont think this will get any better
 

Nice post mate.

Sorry if this has been done to death, but I arrived back yesterday so the 10 meg situation is all new to me. Do you reckon NTL have stretched themselves too thinly? Too many people to spread 10meg over? I'm not even getting the perfect 3 meg that I used to get.