if you want actual help with your connection I recommend starting a thread of your own and providing the sort of information you will be able to see asked for all over the forums here.

Armed with that people can make helpful suggestions.

The BT speedtester is a key tool, persistence may be required.

In reply to a post by eamason:

All I want to know is how do you get through to someone at BT who can tell me in plain English what has gone wrong with my Broadband service and when it is going to be improved.

Here: http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/346,401,1847

Thank you very much to the three people who have replied positively to my query. However the sheer impossibility of getting a response from the BT Speedtester, which flatly refuses to recognise my telephone number, makes it difficult to provide the information which two of you say will be needed.

However, I have responded to the email address supplied by XRaySpex and will await the outcome.

Ummm .

This unrecognisable phone number smells.

Please load this speed tester. Before you run it, (I don't like it anyway as it gives ludicrous results with various Internet Security suites, like I can show over 35Mbps on a 6.5Mbps connection), note the ISP name at the bottom left.

What is it?

as a start you could look up on the Homehub interface on 192.168.1.254 (or your router IP if different) the current upstream and downstream speeds and the downstream attenuation and noise margin. The latter will be buried in the depths and require the password but the former is on the first screen I think.Agreements, decisions and concerted practices between undertakings which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition are prohibited by art. 81 (1) of the Treaty of Rome

I loaded the speedtester you recommended and it gave my ISP as BT, 'British Telecommunications' to be precise. Tested the speed and it gave 0.28 down and 0.38 up. Faster than previously tested so tried the 'thinkbroadband' test again and it gave 233kbps. Mind you it did this for three days between the 22nd Dec and the 26th and the 5th Jan and 8th Jan. In between it drops back to between 126 and 128kbps. All that can be said for it is that it is amazingly steady at these two speeds - never varies whatever the time of the day.

BT speedtester tried again this morning but still refusing to recognise my phone number.

I'm not sure where all this gets me though!

I have tried to get into my Home hub and used every password I know but cannot unlock it. I cannot also see anything of much use on the first screen ie: upstream and downstream speeds.

Will keep trying!

In reply to a post by eamason:

I loaded the speedtester you recommended and it gave my ISP as BT, 'British Telecommunications' to be precise.
...
BT speedtester tried again this morning but still refusing to recognise my phone number.

I'm not sure where all this gets me though!

I was just slightly worried that you may have been "slammed" by another provider who had taken the line off BT as well. If that had happened, which it hasn't, you might not have found out until the bills started coming in.

Emailed the address you gave me and this is the reply:
Dear Mr. Mason,

Thank you for your e-mail dated 18th January '11. It has been logged under the reference number VOL011-44592627898.

I understand from your e-mail, you are experiencing slow broadband speed and you would like to speak to someone who knows the details of the local exchange as the telephone number is not being accepted by the bt speedtester site. I fully understand your concern and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience as the broadband has become slow.

I have called you on the telephone number you have provided but was unable to contact you, so I am sending you an e-mail responce.

I have looked into the records of your broadband connection and have found that you have already contact the BT Broadband Technical Helpdesk yesterday and a re-profiling has been triggered on your broadband connection. The re-profiling will be on for the next 10 days just like the stabilisation period when your broadband connection was provided for the very first time.

I would also like to menton that your telephone connection is capable of sustaining 1Megs speed and once the re-profiling is over, the IP Profile will be set on a higher speed if the connection allows it. I request you to keep the Home Hub switched on continuously for the next 10 days and try to use the internet as much as possible which will help the server to set your IP profile on a higher speed.

There must be something wrong if they cannot even get me on my own phone! Everyone else can.

I was also told weeks ago that it would be 10 days before the speed got better but nothing happened. How many more blocks of 10 days must go by before someone does something to improve matters? And what is so magical about 10 days and what is re-profiling anyway? I never had to wait so long before, speed got up to almost the maximum within about 36 hours.

The whole thing is just one big put-off and I still cannot get to speak to anyone who knows the real facts. How do they get away with it?

The bit about the line training and profile is utter rot.

See this page, and also the IP Profile page.

Neither does the amount you use the internet have any bearing whatsoever on it.

How do they get away with it?

Legacy consumer trust from the days before broadband existed; a field engineering force most of whom have integrity, technical know-how and aim for customer satisfaction despite their bosses; a huge and good marketing department and budget; and a gullible public.