Which ADSL2 provider

[injuneer]

Originally Posted by Be*

Erm line attenuation is based on line length. Its how they work out the distance

If there is any Aluminium cable in the loop does that not affect attenuation?

[CrowmanUK]

I'd have thought so as it conducts differently to copper, so at 30db I could estimate that my cable length is 2100m but if there are any crappy connections or corroded wires then the actual length could be shorter.
If you did it the other way around and knew that the cable length was 2100m but the attenuation was greater than 30db then you know there is a problem with the cable somewhere.
That makes sense doesnt it?

[Central]

Originally Posted by injuneer

If there is any Aluminium cable in the loop does that not affect attenuation?

I am pretty sure if there was aluminium in the loop he would not be able to get Broadband

[injuneer]

Originally Posted by Be*

I am pretty sure if there was aluminium in the loop he would not be able to get Broadband

I know the lead in to my property is Ally, at one time the whole estate was Aluminium in armoured buried cable, about 10 years ago BT dug up the all the pavements, put in ducting & footway boxes & re-cabled but didn't replace the cable up to the houses. Maybe it's such a short run it doesn't have much effect. I get around 6 Mb/s on an 8 Mb/s service at 3Km.

[stuarts]

Well heres the results of the change.

The equipment arrived as promised. Came with 2 filter and a g modem/router. Disconnected inside of house wiring at the input to the house. With the filter and one fitted the speed achieved was a 14.5. Went and purchased some more filters for inside house (double filtered sky box) and reconnected house wiring. Consistant speed of 10. I still have to sort out the rats nest of house wiring, but the results of tonights speedtest head to head with VM 20Mb cable is :-

£37 VM 20Mb-------3
£10 O2 16Mb-------10.9 (1.4 km from exchange!!!)

Going to continue the head to head over the next couple on months to get a consistant view before binning VW.

Only problem is when attempting to download using Iplayer , IP address is seen as not being in UK. O2 super tech support, I button to press and 1 ring till it was answered diagnosed as a newely registered address that was still in process of being notified as being a uk number.

So far all is good, lets see if it continues.

[dragon]

Originally Posted by ceedee

Stick your postcode into SamKnows Mapper and then select your road, and you'll find an indication of your likely connection speed for the ADSL and ADSL2 providers available on your exchange.

Many people are switching to O2 (cheap if you use their mobile phone services), Sky (very cheap if you use their TV service) and Be (expanding very, very rapidly -- sooner or later they are almost bound to have problems).

o2 and Be* use the same infrastructure anyway, o2 bought be* out a while back.


Modem Status Connected
DownStream Connection Speed 24574 kbps
UpStream Connection Speed 2597 kbps

Mind you i do live near my local exchange

[stuarts]

Latest update:-

VM cable 20MB--- 666k
O2 ADSL2:- 11.9M

Conclusion-- VM is a joke!--quantitively proven.

still going to run in //ll for a while to make sure things remain ok. PS dont move to O2 you might slow me down!

[ceedee]

Originally Posted by dragon

o2 and Be* use the same infrastructure anyway, o2 bought be* out a while back.

I was answering the original question: "Which ADSL2 provider?" with my opinion of the popular ISP's offers.

I can't recall a single ISP that has ever managed to maintain high connection speeds for long after attracting large numbers of "heavy" downloaders, let alone one that's charging next to nothing!
The closest I got was with Pipex before GX Networks took over in 2003 but that was hardly cheap.

---------- Post added at 21:33 ---------- Previous post was at 21:28 ----------

Originally Posted by stuarts

Latest update:-
VM cable 20MB--- 666k
O2 ADSL2:- 11.9M
Conclusion-- VM is a joke!--quantitively proven.
still going to run in //ll for a while to make sure things remain ok. PS dont move to O2 you might slow me down!

You're proving nothing if you don't make a reasonable effort to get your evidently 'broken' cable connection fixed.

[stuarts]

The cable is not "broken". I have spent months investigating, power ok , snrs ok etc etc. I eventually got it in writing from VM, via broadband medic, that the area I'm in is totally overloaded and the hardware cannot cope. They could give me no date when it would be resolved and suggested I apply for compensation from customer services in the mean time.

I can get good speeds on cable, 16-17 meg but its not a lot of use @ 3am on a sunday morning!!

So which ever way you look at it the VM service is not fit for purpose (at this point in history).

[NO ONE]

Originally Posted by stuarts

Latest update:-

VM cable 20MB--- 666k
O2 ADSL2:- 11.9M

Conclusion-- VM is a joke!--quantitively proven.

still going to run in //ll for a while to make sure things remain ok. PS dont move to O2 you might slow me down!

if you hava Sky Digital go 4 Sky Broadband that whiat i did i wood recomeand it

[Nicosia]

Originally Posted by stuarts

I have finally given up on VM and the non existant 20M service. My problem is that I am some way away from the exchange. BT reckon I will only get 3Meg with them. Other ADSL2 providers are saying 16 Meg no problem.

Can anyone recommend a reliable ADSL2 provider and what sort of ADSL2speeds are realistic based on the BT standard ADSL figure above.

that sucks that you have had bad virgin media experience, i am with 20meg and i get full 20 meg anytime of day or night i use it, but the smt cap thing is still annoying 3GB all day of usage, what different things did you try to get ful 20megs from your vm? maybe your modem? your router? when i had my router plugged in i was @ 10meg but when straight to the modem i get full 20 all the time, adsl i think bethere is the best though 2.5meg upload and 24 meg down for 20?

[stuarts]

Tried everything, straight into modem, new modem, 5 different pcs, 4 different operating systems, visits by engineers etc etc etc.

Might be synical but when 50Mb bb arrives--wonder if we will be able to get 20 out of it--so many people might have left VM by then that the service jumps back into life.

Then they renage on previous compensation because their new billing system cant handle it.

[Nicosia]

the 50meg with a 1.3upload i think its not good i would not upgrade o that unless they increase upload and there is no caps or dl limits, i caNT put up with the 3GB cap atm i keep going over without realising and du meter doesent help.

you should drefinatly go with bethere, espesially that u have tried everything must be a over loaded neetwork in ur area, what are ur download speeds like?

[Down the Pub]

i would get in touch with o2 support, i'm with o2 now after ditching vm bb. my attenuation is 23dB up and 43dB down giving me an effective 1.3mb up and 12mb down, my overall line length is around 2.5km (about 1.6 with the crow).

you could also have a look and ask http://www.beforum.co.uk/index.php, there are some good peeps in there and can give some good advice regarding o2 and be.

[stuarts]

Well- dirty deed done-VM binned-asked me why I was wanting to leave-silly question-tried to bribe me to stay ha ha-poor rep seemed to be resigned to people leaving.
Final 2 week averages:-
VM-3.2
O2-11.9

Please ensure you all stay with the wonderful VM people (I dont want you clogging up my ISP! )

Byeeee