Can I get a faster broadband connection

molinari

molinari

molinari

Soldato
Joined
6 Jan 2003
Posts
5,279
I live in SW London, a massively populated area so I would have thought that I could get a really good connection speed. The problem is that I can only get a 2Mb package. Sam Knows says that I should be able to get a 1Mbps connection but not 2Mbps. My ISP (O2) said that 2Mbps is the max I can get. Living in London in 2010, shouldn't I expect to be able to get faster than that???

In a straight line I am 2.8km from the exchange I'm connected to but it isn't actually the closest one to me. Short of moving closer to the exchange, is there anything I can do????
 
molinari said:
I live in SW London, a massively populated area so I would have thought that I could get a really good connection speed. The problem is that I can only get a 2Mb package. Sam Knows says that I should be able to get a 1Mbps connection but not 2Mbps. My ISP (O2) said that 2Mbps is the max I can get. Living in London in 2010, shouldn't I expect to be able to get faster than that???

In a straight line I am 2.8km from the exchange I'm connected to but it isn't actually the closest one to me. Short of moving closer to the exchange, is there anything I can do????
Click to expand...

As you say you live in a massively populated area so contention is bound to be high,have you tried speed testing your connection at various times of the day? If you obtain higher dl/ul rates at off peak times such as early hours of the morning then contention could be a problem.

Seek out a cable provider in your area,London must be heavily cabled i'd imagine,50mb connection should suffice shouldn't it?
 
Get a 20mb fibre optic connection, surely available in london? Top speeds on that you actually get what you pay for if its wired up and not wireless.
 
Go to Samknows and put in your phone number and post code, that will give you a better indication of what's available. Then post the results here.

Also, what ISP are you with now?

Post your router stats.
 
Thanks for the replies.
From Sam Knows....
Congratulations, you are in a broadband enabled area. Click here to compare packages available to you. However, there is another service on your phone line (e.g. ADSL, LLU, DACS, etc) that would prevent you from ordering a new ADSL connection.

The following services are available in your location:

* BT Wholesale ADSL
* BT Wholesale ADSL Max
* BT Wholesale WBC (21CN)
* BT Wholesale SDSL
* AOL LLU
* O2 / Be LLU
* Bulldog LLU
* TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
* Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU
* Pipex LLU
* Tiscali LLU
* Tiscali TV (via Tiscali LLU)
* Orange LLU (Formerly Wanadoo)
Click to expand...

BT ADSL broadband availability

* ADSL is available in your area
* Your exchange is also enabled for ADSL Max services
* Your exchange is also enabled for ADSL2+ services

Standard ADSL RAG results

* You cannot receive 2Mbps ADSL
* You may be able to receive 1Mbps ADSL
* You can receive 512kbps ADSL
* You can receive 256kbps ADSL
Click to expand...

Looks like Cable is not an option...
Cable broadband availability

The following information details the availability of cable broadband in your area.

* Virgin Media cable is not available in your area
* Smallworld Media cable is not available in your area
Click to expand...


I just noticed looking at the Exchange coverage map, that my local area is covered by two exchanges but I'm connected to the one furthest away :(.
 
What's your current ISP and router stats?

Posting stats can give a better indication of line length and speed achievable!

O2 / Be LLU are the best ISP by far.
 
Swifty55 said:
What's your current ISP and router stats?
Posting stats can give a better indication of line length and speed achievable!
O2 / Be LLU are the best ISP by far.
Click to expand...
I'm with O2. Are these the stats you want?

Netgear DG834PN
System Up Time 103:42:28
Port-------Status------TxPkts------RxPkts------Collisions-----Tx B/s-----Rx B/s------Up Time
WAN......DHCP Client....1323481......2291464............0...........6393........145044.......05:48:40
LAN.........10M/100M......28544............0.................0..............9..............0............103:42:27
WLAN......11M/54M......2312863......1509072............0............8219..........318.........103:42:23

ADSL Link-----------Downstream-------Upstream
Connection Speed........3675 kbps.........1144 kbps
Line Attenuation...........55.0 db..............29.7 db
Noise Margin..................7.2 db..............6.4 db
 
Is this O2 access you are with?

If so, move to their LLU package or move to Be.

On ADSL2+ the most you will connect at with an attenuation of 55dB is roughly 6-8Mbps, depending!
 
Looks like he's on LLU because you wouldn't get an upload like that with Access. You're currently synced at 3675kbps so almost double the 2mb you claim is the max you can receive?

There are a few things you can try. First, check for a ring cable in your master socket (Google it) and if it's there disconnect it. Flash your router with DGTeam firmware so you can alter the SNR value down, this could gain you an extra megabit depending on how stable your line is (you'd have to adjust SNR and watch for disconnections throughout the day). Change your modulation settings so that ADSL2 is ticked and ADSL2+ isn't, you'll most likely gain some speed considering you're on a long line and so higher ADSL2+ frequencies are wasted.
 
While you're at it, try with the router at the master socket and any extensions either disabled or filtered. If that attenuation is purely from the line up to the master socket, that checker result is correct and you have a line nearly double the straight line distance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom