Line problems ?????

Hopefully someone can give me an answer, this problem is getting worse by the week. I'm with Orange and connected with a live box.

Stats are:
Noise margin (dB) : 9.4
Attenuation (dB) : 50.0
Attainable download rate (kbps) : 1888
Downstream 1696 (kbps) Upstream 448 (kbps)

I've never had a good connection with this line, with the rate constantly fluctuating (usually for the worse) although I did have a 2mb line that was reasonably stable at one point.
I am leaving Orange because of constant disconnections and was about to ask for my MAC code but thought I would check other providers first.

Every provider i have checked including the BT wholesale checker is now reporting a line rate of 256k this used to be 1.5, then it dropped to 1, then 500k and now 256k.
Other numbers checked in my street (and it's a very small street) are reporting speeds ranging from 2.5mb to 4.5 mb, my exchange is 3.2 Km according to samknows and on their checker it says:
According to BT Wholesale, your line is very unlikely to be able to support ADSL, although a 256kbps service may be available.

Ant help here would be greatly appreciated before I make a complaint to BT.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Noise margin (dB) : 9.4
Attenuation (dB) : 50.0
Attainable download rate (kbps) : 1888
Downstream 1696 (kbps) Upstream 448 (kbps)

You should be able to get a better speed than that. 4Mb would be more likely. Maybe even 5Mb if you've been a good little boy or girl

Have a read of the pages here:
http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/socket.htm

..and let us know how much of it you've done and what the results were

As a general comment:Disconnections are usually caused by line issues and are only very rarely something you can blame the ISP for. It would be like blaming the manufacturer of your car for potholes.

Edited by Andrue (Wed 26-Aug-09 11:14:52)

There is no ring wire, the property is only 15 years old.
I've tried the test socket with no difference in the synch speed.

What kind of speed should I be getting realistically? anyone like to help me here?

You already had that answered (3 above)!

So would I be better complaining to BT or Orange ?

I'm not sure what you plan to complain about. There is no service level associated with domestic broadband as far as I know. If your sync is less than the original Fault Threshold Rate BT may investigate.

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/adslmax_explained.php

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

So would I be better complaining to BT or Orange ?

Edit:Although it's BT that own the line you have to go through your ISP. That's the way it works in this country. BT is divided into several divisions and the one that is responsible for your line (BT Openreach) will not talk to you direct.

It's not really something you can complain about. Telephone lines in the UK are only required to support voice communications and data transfer at 28.8kb/s data rates. By definition your line is already performing considerably better than is required by BT's license.

Having said that everyone in the industry acknowledges that the Ofcom requirements are woefully inadequate and out of date. They are currently under review but unfortunately this process is taking a long time and tbh the results are not encouraging ( http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/4027.html ). BT will attempt to optimise a line for ADSL but you need to follow a process.

1.Investigate your own wiring - this is where most speed issues originate. Some people refuse to accept that and assume that it's an external line fault but the truth is that most issues relate to wiring that you own and you are responsible for.

2.Talk to the ISP - let them run whatever tests they want. Don't refuse to do something just because you can't see the point.

3.Book an SFI visit - this is where BT send out specialist to investigate your line. The booking has to be through your ISP and most ISPs will want to have exhausted every other possibility first. The problem is that SFI visits cost £150 unless a fault is actually found in your line. No-one likes being charged if nothing has been acheived so getting an SFI visit is a gamble that should be put off as long as possible.

---

From the statistics you posted it is clear that your line is not performing as well as it could do. Unfortunately tracking down the cause can be difficult and time consuming. As I noted initially - your line is already exceeding the legal requirements so you are asking BT to make your line do more than it needs to. Generally they are willing to try but when it comes to spending money on a potential wild goose chase things become awkward.

It is entirely possible that after a month of toing and froing you might be £150 poorer (your ISP will likely pass the SFI cost on to you) and your line no better. One option might be to sign up with Andrew & Arnold. Those guys claim to be specialists at resolving these issues.

Edited by Andrue (Wed 26-Aug-09 17:43:42)

Thanks very much for your time Andrue, much appreciated.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Thanks very much for your time Andrue, much appreciated.

You're welcome. Regardless of who is responsible, your line is capable of better The difficulty is working out how to get the full potential out of it.