About to switch to 10Mb ntl from BT!

pooper · 21-10-2006, 12:58

Hey everyone, first post here :P

After several years of sub-standard service from BT, i've decided to totally ditch them, and switch over to 10Mb ntl.

I understand that ADSL is heavily affected by the quality of the line and the distance from the exchange (something which i know only too well!). But is line contention the only 'big' factor to affect the line speeds of cable?

What i'm asking is, with cable, is it more common to reach advertised speeds (or close to them)? I was with 'up to 8mb' BTYahoo! and i NEVER got anything over 2Mb!

Also, many moons ago, i used to have Cable & Wireless TV and dial-up, and i'm pretty sure the old coax connections are downstairs, will they be the ones that ntl use?

Ohh and one last thing, are there any kind of line tests that the ntl engineers perform? or is it simply a case of..... install...... then you either HAVE a connection..... or not!?

Ohh and one FINAL thing.... what is the standard cable modem that ntl supply? I can't seem to find any information on this anywhere (except that the model is 250!)

Can't wait to switch over!

Thanks

Sherlock614 · 21-10-2006, 14:14

Congrats on the switchover

It is something i did years ago and something i still do not regret.

NTL wipes the floor with BT.

The day i got rid of all things BT was a celebration

Welcome to the forum by the way

MovedGoalPosts · 21-10-2006, 14:21

to Cable Forum

If you do already have some old cable coaxial entering the property, yes those might be suitable, but the engineers should check the signal strengths having reconnected them at the street cabinet. Of course if those cables aren't entering the house in the right place for where you need the modem, get them to relocate.

As for speeds, it is still "up to 10Meg", but typically cable customers aren't affected by the distance from exchange in the way that ADLS is, so it can be a lot more reliable, provided the cable signal levels are in tolerance. That's cable's biggest area of faults. The other reasons you can see poorer performance is contention with other heavy users in your area, and the latest innovation, traffic shaping, which primarily applies to the heavy downloaders.

pooper · 21-10-2006, 15:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob C

to Cable Forum

If you do already have some old cable coaxial entering the property, yes those might be suitable, but the engineers should check the signal strengths having reconnected them at the street cabinet. Of course if those cables aren't entering the house in the right place for where you need the modem, get them to relocate.

As for speeds, it is still "up to 10Meg", but typically cable customers aren't affected by the distance from exchange in the way that ADLS is, so it can be a lot more reliable, provided the cable signal levels are in tolerance. That's cable's biggest area of faults. The other reasons you can see poorer performance is contention with other heavy users in your area, and the latest innovation, traffic shaping, which primarily applies to the heavy downloaders.

Im pretty sure that the BT line outside my premesis is DIRE, but obviously BT refuse to accept that, and trying to get an engineer to test that, is virtually impossible (hense: ive given up trying!). Im hoping the quality of the coax cable isnt as equally poo!

As for the wiring in my house, i dont think i want to go through the hassle of having the house re-wired, besides im going to be using a wireless router, so i think ill just keep it downstairs..... keep it simple

Be great if i also ended up being put straight onto 20mb

Cant wait!

Ohh, and whats the standard upload for 10mb? is it 512k? (its 786kbps for the 20mb trialists isnt it?)

AntiSilence · 21-10-2006, 15:27

I've been with ntl since 1999 and have had very few problems. My internet connection is nearly always close to full speed, and I have it shared between two PC's.

There has been the occasional techincal problem, but they've always been sorted pretty quick.

I think the upload speed for 10Mb is around the 400Kbps mark. It is on the 4Mb that I'm on.

Zee · 21-10-2006, 15:31

Before switching over to ntl i'd check with people you know in the area who have ntl Broadband how good the service is because in some areas (Like mine for 4 months until recently) was aweful.

The upload speed for the 10Mbps service is 512K & 786K for the 20Mbps trial service

pooper · 21-10-2006, 15:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zee

Before switching over to ntl i'd check with people you know in the area who have ntl Broadband how good the service is because in some areas (Like mine for 4 months until recently) was aweful.

The upload speed for the 10Mbps service is 512K & 786K for the 20Mbps trial service

Good idea

My next door neighbour has got NTL, but he's a bit of a moody git... but yeah i should really find out what kinda service he gets

BTW, what's the standard modem that ntl supply right now? Is it a motorola Surfboard?!

AntiSilence · 21-10-2006, 15:44

Nope, it's one of these:

"ntl:250 The ntl:250 is again supplied to ntl:’s specification by Ambit, and is both Ethernet and USB, and “Dual Mode”. It is smaller than the predecessors and also has a stand for vertical mounting, plus lower power consumption."

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/...roadband-modem

pooper · 21-10-2006, 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by AntiSilence

Nope, it's one of these:

"ntl:250 The ntl:250 is again supplied to ntl:ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s specification by Ambit, and is both Ethernet and USB, and ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œDual ModeÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â. It is smaller than the predecessors and also has a stand for vertical mounting, plus lower power consumption."

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/...roadband-modem

Ohhh very nice

Thanks for the link.

Hope i don't run into any issues using it with my wireless kit (Netgear WPNT834 Rangemax)

AntiSilence · 21-10-2006, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by pooper

Ohhh very nice

Thanks for the link.

Hope i don't run into any issues using it with my wireless kit (Netgear WPNT834 Rangemax)

You shouldn't have any issues. Mine is working fine with my wired Linksys router, and my last ntl modem (a silver 100/150) worked ok with my old wireless network a while ago.

pooper · 21-10-2006, 16:11

Yeah, i don't realistically expect any major issues, but after being with BT for so long, i've been programmed to expect the worse now lol

Will be s0o0o0o0o0o refreshing to have a consistant, stable BB connection!

Zee · 21-10-2006, 16:17

I do admit, the only complete loss of service in the last 5 years of ntl has been 3 days.

2 of those days was about 3 days ago when i had lost broadband totally, so it is stable, but the speeds were aweful, but all is working good now and getting full 9.5Mbps speeds! BIG UP TO NTL

pooper · 21-10-2006, 16:31

Heh sounds good...... certainly a hell of a lot better than what i've been getting with BT!

I just hope and prey that i don't get a useless engineer who installs it!

EVERY BT engineer that ever visited my house, ALWAYS started off by scratching their head and saying something along the lines of 'ohhh i dunno what the last engineer did..... but this is a right mess' ! USELESS! lol

But yeah, as soon as i get confirmation that my BTyahoo! is being terminated, i'm giving ntl a call

AntiSilence · 21-10-2006, 16:35

When we moved house in April, I had the installation time for the afternoon. At about 10.30am the ntl engineer phoned me and said that they were running EARLY so could they come and install it now! I'd got the afternoon booked off work for the installation, but by the time I got home, they'd been and installed it all ready, which was nice.

pooper · 21-10-2006, 16:46

Sweet, well let's hope that i get a similar service

I'm just hoping that my line isnt going to be crappy quality :/

I know that it'll be a totally seperate physical line to the BT line, but do you think that there could be factors that might be causing 'any' line into my house to be crap? Like.. i dunno.... the junction box at the end of the street.. or something?