FTTP Speeds/Ping

Hi all,

We had FTTP installed back in September and it has been great until very recently. Testing with a wired connection, speeds (particularly download) and ping are now highly variable. I've noticed that occasionally even web browsing is sluggish. It's not my PC as checking the CPU usage etc, all is fine there. We're on BT's Full Fibre 900 package, but sometimes the speed can drop below the 'Stay Fast Guarantee' of 450 Mb/s, sometimes even as low as ~100 Mb/s! There doesn't seem to be a pattern to this, like time of day, for example. I'm not complaining, but more curious as to why this is happening? Also, the ping can vary anywhere between 8 and 22ms. This doesn't seem right.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Will

Edited by Grimers (Mon 06-Dec-21 12:47:12)

I'm no expert (Not long had FTTP) but from advice given to me did you try connecting directly to the ONT with your PC with a PPPoE connection to rule out the rest of your network?

What router are you using? Can you setup a BQM monitor.

In addition to the other advice here so far, a traceroute to something like bbc.co.uk might also show something of interest as to why your ping is somewhat variable.

Grimers

I wouldn't worry about the ping, from your location 8ms is nearly too good and 22ms is normal for large parts of the country.

You need to be aware of what else ypur PC and any other devices are doing at the same time.

Many devices now do back-ups, update checks, security scans automatically when they are not otherwise in use. These can all affect your speed tests on the same or a different device.

Ring devices, CCTV and Alexa type (Etc) devices are susceptible to noise/movement in their vicinity and can use bandwidth to their cloud platforms even though you think you are doing nothing. Have you got any like this.

I wouldn't really expect any of the above to use as much bandwidth as yours varies ( Unless HD spec video cams) but they are things to be aware of...

As suggested above set up a BQM if you can.

8ms is about the right minimum latency from Devon for your connection.

On an idle connection 22ms over Openreach FTTP via BT Wholesale is high for the Scottish Highlands, never mind the South West of England.

While the connection is being utilised latency will vary (often considerably).
That's what makes a BQM so handy as it can make some issues with the line show as clear as day.

Sorry for the late reply, guys.

Unfortunately, I don't have another router to use at this time, and we have Digital Voice, which AFAIK only works with the BT Smart Hub 2 on residential lines.

The connection seems to have settled over recent days, so maybe it was just a brief "glitch", possibly congestion within the backhaul somewhere.

@D_an_W, I haven't tried connecting directly to the ONT, but if this issue arises again, I'll definitely try that.

@Pheasant, as above (within this post), the BT Smart Hub 2 due to us having Digital Voice.

@Ixel, I'll post this when/if the issue occurs again.

@kitcat, yes I have to say I'm rather impressed that we normally get a ping of 8ms considering our location. I checked to see if anything was running, but nothing stood out. Like I said in my original post, the CPU/RAM weren't being used, at least not in a significant way. I don't have any of those devices you listed, certainly nothing that does routine backups.

@john83, I'm not entirely sure if a BQM can be setup on a BT Smart Hub 2, but I would assume not. We have Digital Voice, so unless we loose our landline for a period of time, it's probably not worth it.

Thank you all for your help, it's greatly appreciated.

Edited by Grimers (Wed 08-Dec-21 20:34:41)