The Orange merry-go-round!

Just wanted to tell people about the problem I�ve been experiencing with Orange Broadband.
I live out in the sticks and am connected to my local exchange which is not LLU enabled for any provider. I was with Sky on their connect package and was getting a very steady 3500Kbps speed from them, which being 4.7km from the exchanged with a 55db attenuation and a SNR of around 8db downstream good going. However I was on their 40gb allowance and after going over that found my speed capped to 500Kbps.
So I upped sticks and talked to Orange. I was told with great gusto that Orange could give me the �very best speed my line could handle� and that they use �newer� technology than Sky to ensure this. Out came my wallet!
On connection day I was on 300Kbps. So got onto tech support. Was told to be patient due to the 10-day stabilisation (which is actually 10 working days according to Orange).
Day two saw the speed down to 30Kbps and practically unusable. So back onto tech support. Again told to wait�. imagine my frustration building now!
Suddenly my speed came to life and the line went to 4300Kbps with an ip-profile of 3500K. Happy days.
Day 3 saw it go back to 1000Kbps and for the remainder of the stabilisation finally settled to 1800Kbps. A whole 50% less than Sky.
So as soon as stabilisation finished I was again on to tech support to ask for my ip profile to be raised to 3500K. I was told very firmly that that was the best speed my line could give me and there was nothing they could do. So I persevered and spoke to Level 2 tech. I was told sky used a LLU connection and they didn�t (the exchange isn�t LLU for anyone, in fact the only thing he didn�t blame it on was the sun), and that they were clearly giving me the best my line could handle. Well we know different. Now at this point my head was ready to explode since it was very clear I was being lied too. (Remember the sales guy? The best speed your line can handle!)
I asked to leave Orange but you can imagine how that conversation went�

Last night and this morning my speed fell to 700Kbps (ip profile 750K) for no reason, no SNR increase or attenuation increase. So back (yet again) to tech support. Suddenly I was through to Rob, a level 3 tech guy. Wow�he could see everything, all my ip profile changes, all my bt speed tests, and my mysterious 3500Kbps speed that clearly the line could deliver. He also found errors in the system settings at BT�s end and he was a man possessed to resolve the problems for me. He was honest, told me I had been lied too and the errors were clear to see on his system. Now I�m waiting for the resolution from him.
I have been horrified with Orange�s attitude to my issues, I have been lied too, mis-informed, mis-communicated and most of all, made to feel quiet stupid despite my reasonable understanding of broadband technology. The level 2 guys who were dealing with me seem to go to lots of meetings when you want to talk to them. No one rings you back and no one takes ownership. Hopefully Rob at level 3 may straightens this out.
All in out, very dissapointing.

Sounds strange. I wonder why your line seems to have become less stable. I didn't think anything happened to the wires if you just moved between a resold BT product.

Is there any chance that BT have "upgraded" your exchange to ADSL2+?

ANother sorry tale re Orange .

Assuming Rob does get it sorted, ask him to check if your MSR (Maximum Stable Rate) and FTR (Fault Threshold Rate) have been messed up by the shenanigans. For more information see my 10-day training page.

I wish that were the case. The exchange is still an ADSL Max only. The rather efficient Rob has now booked a BT engineer for Tuesday to do a complete port swap and an A to Z line check to try and resolve. As it was not a LLU exchange I guess that the actual swap from Sky to Orange was more software than hardware?
Even now he doubts if I will ever see the 3500Kbps speed that I enjoyed from Sky, even though the records show the line being stable with that downstream.