FTTC - will I get same speed from any ISP

I have FTTC from a well known ISP based in Yorkshire (allegedly). I pay for 40Mbps and received ~35Mbps for the first year or two. I now receive less than 25Mbps and the line profile appears settled around 26-27Mbps. I understand I am not more than 600m from the cabinet. The BT Broadband Availability Checker says my line should get 32.3-46.4 clean, 29.8-45.1 impacted.

I have had 3 Openreach visits. They find no fault, that the line is clean, reset the profile so I get upwards of 35Mbps but it quickly drifts down to the level I've quoted above.

The third engineer, who my isp told me was a senior engineer, confirmed all the above. He told me that the cause was contention from all the other houses on the copper. He also said that if my isp raised what I pay for to 55mbps from 40mbps then contention would cause the speed to decline by a similar percentage, so that I'd end up around the 35mbps that seems reasonable to expect when I'm paying for 40mbps.

So, I have 2 questions:

(1) Is the solution the third engineer stated - raising to 55mbps scheme - correct? My isp this morning told me the profile would drop to what I currently see, irrespective of how high it's originally configured.

(2) The isp is offering a fourth Openreach visit. This seems pretty pointless given I've had 3 already. However, the benefit from the isp is that if it only produces the same outcome they can offer me a cost-free escape from my contract as a 'solution' and then close the case. My question, therefore, is would going to another isp achieve anything, given it's the same bytes coming down the same copper?

I don't particularly blame my current isp for this - in fact, I commend them for their persistence. I'm asking this question so that I can be better informed for my next engineer visit / chat with my isp over the issue.

Thanks!

Pete

On numbers

1. No the engineer is wrong

2. Given profile resets improve things for a short while suggests the DLM system is seeing instability and slowing you done to make it stable.

So blindly switching ISP is unlikely in the long term to give you better speeds.

Have you

a) Ensured that it is not wiring in your home that is causing an issue, i.e. modem is connected to the master socket and no phone extensions in the home
b) What different ISP hardware have you tried, different VDSL2 modems behave differently and can give a jump of several Mbps

That sounds like Plusnet, who don't sell the "up to 55Mbps" product.

As for the rest of what that third engineer says, it sounds like rubbish. It would make some, in fact perhaps considerable sense if he meant cross-talk between VDSL2 lines. Contention reduces throughput, not sync (connection) speed. Cross-talk reduces sync.

I would have thought changing to any higher level product would make no difference at all to your sync, but that's a non-techie opinion.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

On numbers

1. No the engineer is wrong

2. Given profile resets improve things for a short while suggests the DLM system is seeing instability and slowing you done to make it stable.

So blindly switching ISP is unlikely in the long term to give you better speeds.

Have you

a) Ensured that it is not wiring in your home that is causing an issue, i.e. modem is connected to the master socket and no phone extensions in the home
b) What different ISP hardware have you tried, different VDSL2 modems behave differently and can give a jump of several Mbps

Many thanks for your reply. You've confirmed the bits I believed I did know (swapping isp makes no difference as the issue is the copper) but informed on what I didn't - i.e. setting me on a faster theoretical package won't make any difference.

All 3 engineers have stated that the line quality is excellent and the VDSL2 router is plugged into the master socket. There are no other phone extensions in the home and running directly from the test socket gets identical throughput.

Interesting point about VDSL2 hardware. I was previously running the BT white box into a isp supplied router. The isp then supplied a VDSL2 router which allowed me to drop the BT white box. I don't think this coincided with the change in speed though.

As I'm using the isp supplied router I had previously toyed with a 'for money' router, but most research suggested that would make minimal difference. Any recommendations, given you can probably guess my isp from the original post (i.e. based in Yorkshire)?

Thanks again, for taking the time to respond to my question!

Pete

Can you post the actual line stats from the router (at a minimum the sync rate, SNR, attenuation for both up and downstream plus any error stats you can get)? Also the actual "line speed" reported in the PlusNet portal (if that option is currently working)? Plus links to some Thinkbroadband speed tests?

The old Openreach modem, was it Huawei or ECI?

The ISP routers can be a bit hit and miss depending on the exact version, so running a Huawei VDSL2 modem connecting to the ISP router WAN/Ethernet port might help.

In reply to a post by ian72:

Can you post the actual line stats from the router (at a minimum the sync rate, SNR, attenuation for both up and downstream plus any error stats you can get)? Also the actual "line speed" reported in the PlusNet portal (if that option is currently working)? Plus links to some Thinkbroadband speed tests?

Errr, all the isp VDSL2 router offers is:

Connection time: 1 days, 12:41:24
Data Transmitted/Received: 8.7 GB / 193.7 GB
Line state: Connected
Connection time: 1 days, 12:42:34
Downstream: 27.36 Mbps
Upstream: 8.726 Mbps

The latter 2 lines apparently reflect the current state of my line profile.

This is not ADSL or variant thereof.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

The old Openreach modem, was it Huawei or ECI?

The ISP routers can be a bit hit and miss depending on the exact version, so running a Huawei VDSL2 modem connecting to the ISP router WAN/Ethernet port might help.

The old Openreach is ECI B-FOCuS V-2FUb/r Rev B.

My current router is the Plusnet Hub One, a re-badged version of the standard BT issue, I believe.

Does the Hub 1 not give better stats? I think in the BT version there is something in help that allows you to get stats from the router but I haven't used the PlusNet version.

In reply to a post by ian72:

Does the Hub 1 not give better stats? I think in the BT version there is something in help that allows you to get stats from the router but I haven't used the PlusNet version.

Unless there's a 'secret' way in, I don't think so. From the A-Z on the router management screens:


A-Z
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
Access Control
Add new game / application
Add new game / application - IPv6
Admin password, Change
ADSL settings
B
Backup hub settings
Brightness
Broadband settings
Plusnet Broadband, Set username and password
C
Change admin password
Change wireless channel - 2.4 GHz wireless
Change wireless channel - 5 GHz wireless
Change wireless key - 2.4 GHz wireless
Change wireless key - 5 GHz wireless
Change wireless security - 2.4 GHz wireless
Change wireless security - 5 GHz wireless
Connectivity check
D
Desktop Help
Devices, Show connected
DHCP Settings
DHCP Settings - IPv6
DHCP Table
DMZ
Dynamic DNS
E
Edit a game / application
Event Log
F
Firewall
Forgotten admin password
G
Gaming
H
Home network
Hub lights, change brightness
I
Internet settings
IP Address, Change
IP address of Home Hub
IPv6 address of Home Hub
IPv6 Configuration
IPv6 Gaming
IPv6 Pinholes
J
K
L
Hub lights, change brightness
M
N
Network Map
O
P
Password - Forgotten Hub Manager Password
Port forwarding
Preventing a device connecting to the Internet
Q
R
Reset Hub to factory defaults settings
Reset wireless settings to default
Restart / Reboot Hub
Restore hub settings (back-up configuration)
S
SSID / Wireless Network Name, Change - 2.4 GHz wireless
SSID / Wireless Network Name, Change - 5 GHz wireless
Supported games and application
T
Troubleshooting
U
UPnP
V
Virtual Server
VPN compatibility
W
WEP, WPA, Select wireless security - 2.4 GHz
WEP, WPA, Select wireless security - 5 GHz
Wireless channel, Change - 2.4 GHz
Wireless channel, Change - 5 GHz
Wireless connections, Enable or Disable - 2.4 GHz
Wireless connections, Enable or Disable - 5 GHz
Wireless key, change - 2.4 GHz
Wireless key, change - 5 GHz
Wireless security - 2.4 GHz
Wireless security - 5 GHz
Wireless settings, reset to defaults
WPS (Wireless Push Button connection), enable or disable
X
Y
Z

When I was on ADSL my Billion router gave me the kind of measurements you've referred to, but when I moved to fttc through the OpenReach white box or now through the combined modem/router there are no visible line stats.