BT 20MB Unlimited

Swifty55 · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:22

Gamer_T said:
There's a lot of messing about involved there which I'm not trained or prepared to do.

Without messing about with all that, would I still see an increase comming direct from the main socket?

Thanks

You should see an increase, but you should try the test socket, just to see if ring wires are a problem.

Gamer_T · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:31

Swifty55 said:
You should see an increase, but you should try the test socket, just to see if ring wires are a problem.

I've had a look around and I can't see a test socket, just my main socket. According to Google sometimes they can be under floorboards.

Gamer_T · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:37

Swifty55 said:
You should see an increase, but you should try the test socket, just to see if ring wires are a problem.

It appears what I thought was the main socket is actually the test socket aswell. Judging by Google, they look more or less identical.

So what would I need to do now then? Just run my HH direct from that socket and hope for a faster speed?

Swifty55 · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:41

Gamer_T said:
It appears what I thought was the main socket is actually the test socket aswell. Judging by Google, they look more or less identical.

So what would I need to do now then? Just run my HH direct from that socket and hope for a faster speed?

First thing is first.

You should take the front panel off the master socket and just connect the HH to the test socket, like the image below;

Then post the new connection stats like you did earlier.

Swifty55 · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:46

Then once you've done that, put the front back on and connect the HH to the main socket and check the stats.

Gamer_T · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:51

Cheers - I don't have an ethernet lead long enough to run from downstairs to my PC though! I guess I'll just have to buy a longer ADSL Cable and give it a go - Doesn't matter if theres no increase really, they only cost about a fiver.

Swifty55 · 3 Jul 2010 at 13:55

Gamer_T said:
Cheers - I don't have an ethernet lead long enough to run from downstairs to my PC though! I guess I'll just have to buy a longer ADSL Cable and give it a go - Doesn't matter if theres no increase really, they only cost about a fiver.

There might be a slight increase, telephone extensions usually add extra length/attenuation to your connection, elminiating that as well as the ring wires could increase your speed a lot.

Just try what I've suggested and post the stats and will advise from there.

Gamer_T · 3 Jul 2010 at 14:04

Swifty55 said:
There might be a slight increase, telephone extensions usually add extra length/attenuation to your connection, elminiating that as well as the ring wires could increase your speed a lot.

Just try what I've suggested and post the stats and will advise from there.

I can't at the moment because I don't have an ethernet cable long enough to run back to my PC.

Swifty55 · 3 Jul 2010 at 14:09

Gamer_T said:
I can't at the moment because I don't have an ethernet cable long enough to run back to my PC.

Do it when you can!

tolien · 3 Jul 2010 at 14:37

I just get annoyed that people like to bash bt who have inherited most of their problems and from personal experience in our village all the other isp's are just as bad if not worse.

They didn't inherit anything at all and if the other ISPs (who were they?) were just as bad you weren't trying the right ones.

3dcandy said:
as a quick question then tolien, who would you recommend?

It depends on usage and budget. If you're not downloading much (and you can't download that much on BT before they throttle you anyway), Zen or AAISP don't do any of the shaping, throttling or other messing about that BT Retail do and their customer service is miles ahead too. swbroadband pretty much hit the nail on the head, though I don't doubt he's biased

Issues with your line will be the same either way but getting a fault fixed with AAISP is a lot easier than getting any sense out of a call centre in India.

Gamer_T · 3 Jul 2010 at 14:52

Swifty55 said:
Do it when you can!

Wouldn't it just be worth me buying a longer ADSL cable rather than buying a longer ethernet cable though? Or is it that ethernet wouldn't lower speed as much as a long ADSL cable would?

tolien · 3 Jul 2010 at 15:23

Using ethernet won't affect your ADSL at all. It depends how good the cable is and how much noise there is for it to pick up.

swbroadband · 3 Jul 2010 at 16:33

How much ethernet cable do you need in order to reach your master/test socket length wise?

Gamer_T · 3 Jul 2010 at 16:41

swbroadband said:
How much ethernet cable do you need in order to reach your master/test socket length wise?

15-20 meters. To make it easier for my self though and to save me moving the HH around my house, I just wanted to buy 15-20 meters of ADSL cable so then I could run it directly from my test socket, saving the need to move the HH about.

3dcandy · 3 Jul 2010 at 16:53

tolien - I may get better service but I'd be paying more. I also get 10 flickr pro accounts through bt and a broadband dongle that's free, so to get an equivalent service would cost me considerably more. As I'm 5 miles away from the exchange, both zen and aaisp only say I'd get 1mb where as currently I get between 3 and 5 depending on how it syncs...

swbroadband · 3 Jul 2010 at 16:56

As I'm 5 miles away from the exchange, both zen and aaisp only say I'd get 1mb where as currently I get between 3 and 5 depending on how it syncs...

This is only an estimate, the actual BT database is now quite out of date for many households. For example, BT estimates that I can only just get 1 Meg (if that) - yet I can quite easily 3.5-4 Meg from my line.

Zen & AAISP will be able to match your current speed, it's using the same infrastructure after all - you're still going via BTs equipment.

3dcandy · 3 Jul 2010 at 17:11

swbroadband said:
This is only an estimate, the actual BT database is now quite out of date for many households. For example, BT estimates that I can only just get 1 Meg (if that) - yet I can quite easily 3.5-4 Meg from my line.

Zen & AAISP will be able to match your current speed, it's using the same infrastructure after all - you're still going via BTs equipment.

That's the problem, they're both more expensive for the same level of service and they don't provide the extras. The flickr pro accounts are worth £150 so they'd have to be far, far better! Also broadband dongle, 1 gig for free per month, I'd have to factor that in. I use just under 100 gig a month to put it into perspective

Swifty55 · 3 Jul 2010 at 17:20

Gamer_T said:
15-20 meters. To make it easier for my self though and to save me moving the HH around my house, I just wanted to buy 15-20 meters of ADSL cable so then I could run it directly from my test socket, saving the need to move the HH about.

You would be better off running 15-20 meters of ethernet cable than ADSL wire. ADSL works a lot better if you can keep the ADSL wire as short as you can to elminate extra attenuation and length.

swbroadband · 3 Jul 2010 at 17:36

That's the problem, they're both more expensive for the same level of service

Not the same level of service - Zen/AAISP you will have no absolutely zero traffic restrictions, P2P / gaming / video streaming all has equal priority. You will not be subject to the fair use restrictions and traffic management that BT enforce on their products.

Plus, you benefit from their support.

of course they can't match the offer you have with BT, but if you want the service and consistency - you have to make a compromise.

tolien · 3 Jul 2010 at 18:05

The corollary is that BT Retail are clearly making a loss to get you in...