Xilo or AAISP for business ADSL

Hi, looking for feedback really if anyone can assist? We are a small business of 5 users, have several Site2Site VPNs, Exchange & couple of low traffic websites internally. Our current ISP [Star] can only offer 1.3Mbps download and .36Kbps upload so have terminated with the need to sort another provider soon.

I had been told by nearby large offices that BT cabling around here is shoddy to say the least with no repairs likely due to BT rolling out Fiber, the same offices have now moved to leased lines, they had had enough!

Have read good reports about Xilo & AAISP, both offer multiple Static IPs, great service and decent pricing, if the line into the buildings itself is faulty would these providers be able to offer better speeds than I have been having?

SamKnows reports the following even though BT FTTC apparently hasn't been "turned on" locally!

The following services are available in your location:

BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
BT Wholesale WBC (21CN)
BT FTTC
AOL LLU
O2 / Be LLU
Bulldog LLU
TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU

Any feedback appreciated.

If the current line is still active, can you post some stats from it, from the router such as sync rate, attenuation and noise margin?

Matt

Hi Matt, would love to but Star do not allow end users access to the routers, if anything goes wrong they dial in to diagnose. It doesn't matter so much for us, we only want it to pass data down to our hardware firewall which does all the routing.

Downside is, whenever I ask about the slow speeds they simply reboot router, say its a BT line issue which I cant check! They have offered a BT engineer visit at our cost however! I will ask them this afternoon for those stats but usually dont see a response for a while.

Current line is still active until 9th December but want to migrate asap.

Cheers

Oh dear.

I see two possible options. Ask them for that data - I don't see any reason why they wouldn't give it to you.

or

Just get another router and plug in to the DSL line for a few minutes. Does not need the login details, but it'll show the sync rate and line data that will be helpful in diagnosing if the speed issue is an ISP problem or just limitations of the line. Once done, plug the old one in and no one will be much the wiser.

Matt

Thanks Matt, I have requested the information so here's hoping, I don't have a spare router in this office so no joy with option 2?

Have you previously used Xilo or AAISP?

regards

Gary

We are the former... just with a different name.

Check http://www.xilo.net/adsl_broadband/ , you'll see our broadband brand on that page.

Matt

Edited by uno (Thu 20-Oct-11 17:12:40)

Hey Matt the comma after the forward slash in your Xilo link needs to be removed.

Oops. Thank you for letting me know.

Matt

Which exchange is that line served from ?

Hi, its the Orton exchange in Peterborough?

Matt, stats they gave me are:

BT ADSL Max Premium
Interleaving enabled, Target Noise Margin 6db.
Current BRAS profile: adsl1750-b (1750Kbps)
 
ADSL Mode and Sync Rates
DSL standard: ADSL_G.dmt
near-end interleaved channel bit rate: 2176 kbps
far-end interleaved channel bit rate: 704 kbps
 
Downstream Link Information:
noise margin downstream: 6 db
output power upstream: 11 db
attenuation downstream: 59 db
carrier load: number of bits per symbol(tone)
tone   0- 31: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone  32- 63: 00 00 00 99 99 a9 aa aa 9a 9a 99 88 67 66 75 85
tone  64- 95: 06 28 87 88 88 78 67 77 66 66 76 76 76 77 77 76
tone  96-127: 23 57 77 77 67 66 66 66 65 66 66 66 65 54 43 22
tone 128-159: 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 160-191: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 192-223: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 224-255: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 256-287: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 288-319: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 320-351: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 352-383: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 384-415: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 416-447: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 448-479: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 480-511: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
 
Upstream Link Information:
noise margin upstream: 5 db
output power downstream: 15 db
attenuation upstream: 31 db
carrier load: number of bits per symbol(tone)
tone   0- 31: 00 00 00 06 88 99 9a a9 aa aa 99 99 88 88 77 00
tone  32- 63: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone  64- 95: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone  96-127: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 128-159: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 160-191: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 192-223: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 224-255: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 256-287: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 288-319: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 320-351: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 352-383: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 384-415: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 416-447: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 448-479: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 480-511: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
 
Please note that the BRAS profile is what ultimately governs throughput on the downstream and that this will be subject to change over time. Additionally, the actual noise margins given for the upstream and downstream above will vary throughout the day and the above is a snapshot of the circuit at present.

In reply to a post by garybrett:

Hi, its the Orton exchange in Peterborough?

Matt, stats they gave me are:

ADSL Mode and Sync Rates
DSL standard: ADSL_G.dmt
near-end interleaved channel bit rate: 2176 kbps
far-end interleaved channel bit rate: 704 kbps
 
Downstream Link Information:
noise margin downstream: 6 db
attenuation downstream: 59 db

Upstream Link Information:
noise margin upstream: 5 db
attenuation upstream: 31 db

Getting a LLU service should help, as most LLU services are ADSL2+, you should see an improvement in your downstream and upstream rates.

Due to the length of your line, this increase might not be much though but at least you won't have to worry about the IP profiling.

Matt

Hi Matt, thanks again, is Xilo LLU in my Exchange? If so think I may sign up tomorrow, what's the contract term length, can we have multiple statics and router in bridge mode?

Cheers

Yes, we should be able to supply the Pro 16 there

Month by month contract with a months notice to cancel. You can choose your IP requirements when you order and if you want to configure your network in bridge, that is OK.

We will assign the an IP to the device that is creating the session and how terminate or route that at your end is up to you.

Matt

I have various sites on A&A circuits, both Be and BT based. If lines are shoddy and slow then one big advantage of A&A is that you can have mutiple lines set up which allows you to load share between the lines and also provides redundancy should a line fail. That coupled with the realtime line monitoring make for an attracive package. its worth jotibg that upstream usage isnt counted for charging purposes.

Thanks Matt, anyone in particular I should speak to or just call sales number on website?

One last question if I may, when BT "turn on" FTTC locally will Xilo be able to provision or would I need to migrate again to another provider?

regards

Gary

Just the sales number or drop us an email via the contact form.

We'll be able to provide you FTTC (but you can migrate if you want too).

Matt

In reply to a post by garybrett:

Current line is still active until 9th December but want to migrate asap.

Is that just when your contract expires, or have you given notice for that date independent of contract?

If contract expiry, ignore the rest of this post. If you have given notice, then read the rest .

Do you mean the broadband connection, or are you discontinuing the phone line as well?

In either case, it is possible a broadband Cease Order has been raised to be effective on that date. In which case you almost certainly will not be able to get a MAC that you need in order to migrate.

If you find that is the case, you need to get the Cease rescinded, and just migrate out whenever.

Thanks RobertoS, that's a good point, I am hoping to be OK though as below is what they sent me.

Termination will be 09/12/2011.

When you require a MAC code please log a ticket via the portal and our support team will supply you with this.

I may apply for this when I contact our new provider and get it all sorted early, even if I am left with 2 bills for a month its better than no adsl..

Cheers