Anyone know if BE Broadband are any good?

A good line and 5db profile ;)

Uptime: 0 days, 4:25:24
Modulation: G.992.5 Annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,235 / 14,028
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 94.71 / 836.79
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.0 / 18.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 24.0 / 43.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 6.5 / 5.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / µ
 
Check out o2's packages too, they use BE's network (they purchased BE a while back) and offer discounts if you or a family member have an o2 mobile number.
 
liamcrane said:
ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 3409 kbps 1023 kbps
Line Attenuation 64.5 db 35.5 db
Noise Margin 10.40 db 1.5 db

This is the info i took from my netgear router, any other info that you would need swifty? i guess its a bt line but i pay virgin my line rental

Also whats the main difference between virgin ADSL and BE ADSL2+?

thanks again
Click to expand...

You're attenuation is 64.5dB, which indicates you would probably connect at 3Mbps.

Here's a graph that pretty much indicates speed;

eaae7_adsl_att_vs_speed_chart.jpg


There's a few other things that can be checked before you decide anything;

First things first!

How many sockets do you have?

If more than one, are you connected directly to the master socket or by an extension?
 
Swifty55 said:
You're attenuation is 64.5dB, which indicates you would probably connect at 3Mbps.

Here's a graph that pretty much indicates speed;

eaae7_adsl_att_vs_speed_chart.jpg


There's a few other things that can be checked before you decide anything;

First things first!

How many sockets do you have?

If more than one, are you connected directly to the master socket or by an extension?
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info mate, i have around 4 to 5 sockets in my house, the phoneline comes in on the wall to my back door where my downstairs room is, there is a phone socket on the opposite wall in that room so im guessing i am using the master socket. The room above the wall where the line comes into my house is my bedroom where i believe there is no socket. Other than that i have 1 in my downstairs hallway and one in my upstairs living room. Is there a way of telling these days which one would be the master if indeed i am wrong?

Also is there anyway of getting my Line Attenuation any lower as 64db is kinda high?

Many thanks again
 
Hi Mate,

Firstly, Be are superb, This is my 5th property in a row where I have used them and they have never been anything but superb.

That aside, my experience of BT's line estimate is that it's actually pretty good. If they estimate you should get 5mbit and you're getting 3, i'd suggest checking your internal wiring.

There are a few things to check. Firstly, check that your master socket is wired up correctly. In the place I just moved into the idiot builders had simply twisted the 3 lots of extension cable into the external cable provided by BT, this introduced lots of noise into the system and as a result I connected at 3mbit. I rewired the master socket, using the correct extension part as its supposed to be done, I now connect at 10mbit... so it does make a difference.

The second is to check whether your house has a ringer wire still attached in the system, I am yet to fail to get a decent increase upon removing this.

It's a bit of a faff to get your head around, but ultimately very simple and well worth your time and effort imo. This website: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/socket.htm is a good place to start re: the ringer wire, but it also gives good info about the master socket in general. To check to make sure you don't have the same problem as me, go a bit further than that website suggests and also removed the backplate from the wall and just check that there are only two wires screwed into the two terminals, if there are lots of wires all twisted together and rammed in, then whoever wired up your extensions etc was as stupid as the ppl who did mine... I your extensions are connected via the cutting block (as is shown on that site) then its time to look for the ringer wire.

Good luck :)
 
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liamcrane said:
Thanks for that info mate, i have around 4 to 5 sockets in my house, the phoneline comes in on the wall to my back door where my downstairs room is, there is a phone socket on the opposite wall in that room so im guessing i am using the master socket. The room above the wall where the line comes into my house is my bedroom where i believe there is no socket. Other than that i have 1 in my downstairs hallway and one in my upstairs living room. Is there a way of telling these days which one would be the master if indeed i am wrong?

Also is there anyway of getting my Line Attenuation any lower as 64db is kinda high?

Many thanks again
Click to expand...

Yes.

Your master socket should look like this;

bt_master_socket_2.jpg


When you unscrew the bottom half, you will reveal the test socket. This just eliminates any extension wiring from the master socket.

You should connect your router into your test socket like so;

Testsocket2.jpg


Re post your stats once you've done this please.
 
billysielu said:
I've been with Be a while, they're progressively getting worse.

I'll be getting Virgin when I move house.
Click to expand...

Id like to switch to virgin but cant so consdiering a different ADSL option.

Been with Be which was great for a while and I cant fault the speed at around 11 Meg. Howver since Xmas my NAT is strict on Xbox and I cant do much about it, even with the Xbox live profile or manual port forwarding. The online guide to that kinda worked but only if i reset the router when the xbox was on but the settings to allow that seemed to stop my iphone connecting to WiFi.

Now its very unreliable aswell even with a factory reset, and a different router. Every other night it seems the connection will keep dropping out and BE cant do much about it as they dont think there is a problem even if the router says my dsl connection is down. They seem to be providing a poorer service and the support is too far eastern europe to get a prompt resolution. I dont have the bell wire connected and as soon as it drops i run my extension to the master socket test socket but that doesnt improve matters.

The gaming mode was the attraction for me but i have interleaving on and the reliability profile at the moment and it still doesnt work.
 
Jonnycoupe said:
Id like to switch to virgin but cant so consdiering a different ADSL option.

Been with Be which was great for a while and I cant fault the speed at around 11 Meg. Howver since Xmas my NAT is strict on Xbox and I cant do much about it, even with the Xbox live profile or manual port forwarding. The online guide to that kinda worked but only if i reset the router when the xbox was on but the settings to allow that seemed to stop my iphone connecting to WiFi.

Now its very unreliable aswell even with a factory reset, and a different router. Every other night it seems the connection will keep dropping out and BE cant do much about it as they dont think there is a problem even if the router says my dsl connection is down. They seem to be providing a poorer service and the support is too far eastern europe to get a prompt resolution. I dont have the bell wire connected and as soon as it drops i run my extension to the master socket test socket but that doesnt improve matters.

The gaming mode was the attraction for me but i have interleaving on and the reliability profile at the moment and it still doesnt work.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the stock router?

They are know for sucking with PS3/Xbox, best way to fix it is buy a better router.
 
Yes the standard router, however in the day with normal laptop browsing the same problems occur.

Ill look into other routers, infact I have an older speedtouch somewhere, although Im tempted by BT Total :o

Cheers
 
Thanks for all your help guys this is what all my phone sockets in my house look like
img1030.jpg

By craney at 2010-11-08

The inside looks like this just all wires
img1028l.jpg

By craney at 2010-11-08

I have a bt box outside my door so would this be the master socket?
img1029wi.jpg

By craney at 2010-11-08

If so dont really know how i could connect my micro filters to it as i dont really fancy having my wires hanging out in the rain :)
 
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Jonnycoupe said:
Yes the standard router, however in the day with normal laptop browsing the same problems occur.

Ill look into other routers, infact I have an older speedtouch somewhere, although Im tempted by BT Total :o

Cheers
Click to expand...

Get a Netgear DGN2000 or any Netgear/Router with a Broadcom chipset.

I would really suggest sticking with Be*. They are by far the best ISP for ADSL2+.
 
If i just take the BE value BB which is £13.79 a month who and how much will i have to pay line rental to? I pay my line rental to virgin at the mo as well as my BB of course and its £25 :(
 
liamcrane said:
If i just take the BE value BB which is £13.79 a month who and how much will i have to pay line rental to? I pay my line rental to virgin at the mo as well as my BB of course and its £25 :(
Click to expand...

To go with BE you will either need a BT phoneline or allow BE to become your line provider.

Going with BE will be the slightly cheaper option, but arguably going with BT gives you more flexibility.

Either way BE is not an option as long as Virgin supply your phoneline afaik. In fact, no other DSL provider is.

Also... your houses wiring looks very unusual! Never seen anything like that! I wonder if that big box outside is part of a wire sharing scheme that BT did for a while to reduce their costs wiring houses on estates about a decade ago. If so, I believe you can request they rectify it as that kind of line installation is notorious for being terrible for DSL. Don't quote me on it though!
 
manic_man said:
To go with BE you will either need a BT phoneline or allow BE to become your line provider.

Going with BE will be the slightly cheaper option, but arguably going with BT gives you more flexibility.

Either way BE is not an option as long as Virgin supply your phoneline afaik. In fact, no other DSL provider is.

Also... your houses wiring looks very unusual! Never seen anything like that! I wonder if that big box outside is part of a wire sharing scheme that BT did for a while to reduce their costs wiring houses on estates about a decade ago. If so, I believe you can request they rectify it as that kind of line installation is notorious for being terrible for DSL. Don't quote me on it though!
Click to expand...

Thanks for that mate, just to clarify the photo showing the wiring is from a socket inside the house not from the bt box outside by my front door
 
You have an external NTE.

BT appear to be connecting these new units internally to LJU's (non NTE5 sockets) which unfortunately means that there is no internal test socket for the customer.

The photo of the socket inside. How many wires are connected to the faceplate?

What colours are connected to what number?
 
Swifty55 said:
You have an external NTE.

BT appear to be connecting these new units internally to LJU's (non NTE5 sockets) which unfortunately means that there is no internal test socket for the customer.

The photo of the socket inside. How many wires are connected to the faceplate?

What colours are connected to what number?
Click to expand...

There are no numbers on the 2 brackets with the wires connecting to it.

The left bracket has an orange wire connected at the top and a blue wire connected at the bottom, the right bracked has a white & orange wire connected at the top and a white & blue wire connected at the bottom.

Sorry for sounding confusing i could not take a good quality pic of it
 
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