Orange - I'm thinking more like BLUE!

Hi everyone - need a little help for the in-laws... advice really.

Take a look at this...

Yucky sync speed!

After 5-7 resets this is STILL the case. This is now 2010 and they live in YORK (YO30 5XX) and this is all he's been getting, for 4 years+ @ £15 a month - on a 2GB CAP!

Now, they are NOT PC or internet savvy - but I am a little more so...

...when he first moaned to them about the speeds he was waffled with rubbish about the line having a DACS unit on it and that this was the speed limit of the line. When he does a speed test, he gets half a meg SOLID...

...Would I be right in thinking there is a chance that although his profile on Orange says its a 2mb contract, he is infact wired/locked to a half meg service?

Today - after giving him a script to try to stick to, they have said that they will try him on LLU to stop him leaving but don't expect more than 1 meg!!!

Whats the general consensus around this... in 2010! I'm in Grimsby, with NO LLU a good solid ADSL of 5+ meg, ADSL2+ arriving in 2 months!

Thanks folks, Rick.

Edited by mr2gti (Tue 19-Jan-10 21:20:59)

That sync is 99.9% because you/he is on a 512k fixed rate service.

If it was 2Mb fixed, it would be 2272/288.

Matt

Post full router stats incl. mode, attenuations, noise margins.

Hi, another Yorky here (YO32). I was also on Orange fixed rate 512k. It was rock solid, but when I was transferred to "up to 8 megs" line, the speed was often less than 75k (yes, 75k, not much more than a 56k dial up modem!!). So, after 5 months and lots of work from Orange and BT, which made no difference, I transferred to O2 LLU service and I now get connects up to 5200k with 3db noise margins. Most of the time I get speeds around 4.5megs and very few disconnects.

Coupled with the cashback offers (via one of the "click through" sites, QUIDCO or TOPCASHBACK) and also having an O2 phone, my broadband this year is costing me basically NOTHING! And then only about £7.50 a month after that.

Nothing but praise for the O2 service. Check to see if your exchange has it - if Orange have their LLU, then I'll be surprised if O2 is not there too (my exchange, MYHAX, does not have Orange LLU!).

I was up and running in 10 days from asking for my MAC code, and had minimal interruption to my broadband service

Rob

In reply to a post by xilonet:

That sync is 99.9% because you/he is on a 512k fixed rate service.

If it was 2Mb fixed, it would be 2272/288.

Matt

Hi Matt...

Before they started his upgrade it was 100% on 2MB Broadband Starter package - not 100% if fixed or not, but he's been on it ages! Interestingly, on his Orange page this is stated...

"speed information

The speed estimate at registration or the speed we have measured on your line is 1.0Mb."

Sort of cannot wait to see what happens now...

I wonder if they have an automated system has done something.. wrong.

Matt

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Post full router stats incl. mode, attenuations, noise margins.

I dare not ask him to even attempt to look into his Broadband information in the router... he is the fiddly type and i'd expect to have to drive 70 odd miles to sort it lol.

If he's on later, i'll possibly risk it.

In reply to a post by RobFlet:

Hi, another Yorky here (YO32). I was also on Orange fixed rate 512k. It was rock solid, but when I was transferred to "up to 8 megs" line, the speed was often less than 75k (yes, 75k, not much more than a 56k dial up modem!!). So, after 5 months and lots of work from Orange and BT, which made no difference, I transferred to O2 LLU service and I now get connects up to 5200k with 3db noise margins. Most of the time I get speeds around 4.5megs and very few disconnects.

Coupled with the cashback offers (via one of the "click through" sites, QUIDCO or TOPCASHBACK) and also having an O2 phone, my broadband this year is costing me basically NOTHING! And then only about £7.50 a month after that.

Nothing but praise for the O2 service. Check to see if your exchange has it - if Orange have their LLU, then I'll be surprised if O2 is not there too (my exchange, MYHAX, does not have Orange LLU!).

I was up and running in 10 days from asking for my MAC code, and had minimal interruption to my broadband service

Rob

Hi Rob, thanks for that...

He's just off the ring road near Clifton Moor and Samknows is saying it's the main York exchange ... MYYO.

Now, this is where it gets very interesting... MYYO = BT Wholesale: ADSL Max (up to 8M), SDSL
LLU Services: AOL, Bulldog, O2/Be, TalkTalk, Sky/Easynet, Tiscali (No TV)
Cable services: Virgin Media.

So of course I saw O2/Be LLU and thought BINGO!!! Go onto there site and WALLOP - not available... Fishy fishings going on. Is LLU crippled by line length? We wouldn't know here in Grimsby, not got it! Only just binned the 2 cups on a string!!

I can see a few stormy waves approaching, time for the life jackets - but i'm not going to ask him to inflate them, just yet...

In reply to a post by xilonet:

I wonder if they have an automated system has done something.. wrong.

Matt

Thats the problem, I cannot see them admitting that - I really feel they've had him over a barrel and although £15 a month isn't a big deal to them, on principle - it's quite an issue I feel.

HI

You could always try phoning them as the line stats etc are often held in a database which is usually out of date and often wrong!

Of course, the line stats would be useful here. I suspect though it's a long line given he's on the 512k package. I was "forced" to move to the "up to 8 megs" package by Orange because they were told by BT (who actually provide what's called an "off-net" solution), that they were not going to support this in the exchange. This is where it all went AWOL ... the BT rate adaptive software could not cope with the line etc for some reason. Whereas, the O2 LLU equipment has no problems whatsoever.

So, in the end, you really do need the line stats so you can then have evidence etc when calling up a new potential provider.

Have you tried with the other LLU operators? If one of them says yes, then you have some ammunition with O2 ... "well ... xxx ISP says they can do BB for me on their LLU equipment ..."

Cheers,

Rob