BT 'Unlimited Broadband' Training Period

Hello,

I've just had BT 'Unlimited Broadband' ADSL Internet Connection installed at my flat.

Here are BT's Estimates for my speed:

In reference to www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/broadband/packages?Infinity...:

Estimate download speed = 15Mb
Download speed range = 8.5Mb-18.5Mb

After I plugged in the router yesterday I got speeds of around 14Mbps. Occasionally more and occasionally less. I was even getting downloads upwards of 2MB/s at one point. So a connection speed of 16Mbps+. YAY!
(speeds verified by speedtest.net)

But then three or four hours later... 2.5Mbps...

Now I know that during the training period the speeds are supposed to fluctuate, but I thought this would be by a couple of Mbps... (vary between 12 and 16 Mbps) not by more than 10 Mbps (14Mbps+ down to 2.5)...

My router was switched on at around 11:30 yesterday morning, so I'm still in the first 24 hour "critical" training period (just). I'm at work now, so can't do a speed test, but when I got up this morning, speedtest.net showed a speed of around 3.5Mbps...

Basically I'm just enquiring - is this normal behaviour for a training period? and Will it go back up to 14Mbps+? I wasn't expecting that much fluctuation in speed, and BT reckon my speed should be around 15Mbps (+/- 1 Mbps).

P.S. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to even have 3.5Mbps. At my previous house 0.5Mbps was the norm... It's just that I know for a fact that my line is capable of 14Mbps+, so it'd be nice to know that I'll be on that as a constant.

Are you talking about the sync speed, the IP profile, or the download speeds you are measuring?

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Are you talking about the sync speed, the IP profile, or the download speeds you are measuring?

I know it's probably not as technical as you would like to hear, but:

I've used speedtest.net for all of my testing. Using the same two servers ("Maidenhead - XILO" and "London - FidoNet") which have returned similar results (but not exactly the same).

I haven't looked at sync speeds on my router yet, and I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean when you refer to IP profile...

The time I mentioned 2MB/s was in a download for a software update, not measured with speedtest.net, just the "download speed" the program told me it was updating at. All other speeds mentioned were courtesy of the servers mentioned on speedtest.net.

Edited by deleted (Tue 12-Mar-13 11:43:02)

In reply to a post by Matthew32:

I know it's probably not as technical as you would like to hear, but:

I've used speedtest.net for all of my testing. Using the same two servers ("Maidenhead - XILO" and "London - FidoNet") which have returned similar results (but not exactly the same).

I have found that those 'speedtest' flash site thingies are rubbish. Try the BBC speed test, gives a much more accurate reading I feel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics

Nick

In reply to a post by Lethe:

I have found that those 'speedtest' flash site thingies are rubbish. Try the BBC speed test, gives a much more accurate reading I feel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics

Okay, I shall try this when I get home.

But just in case 'speedtest' is right... Is a significant drop (from a high of 16Mbps+ down to 2Mbps) normal during a training period?

Edited by deleted (Tue 12-Mar-13 19:26:10)

In reply to a post by Lethe:

In reply to a post by Matthew32:

I know it's probably not as technical as you would like to hear, but:

I've used speedtest.net for all of my testing. Using the same two servers ("Maidenhead - XILO" and "London - FidoNet") which have returned similar results (but not exactly the same).

I have found that those 'speedtest' flash site thingies are rubbish. Try the BBC speed test, gives a much more accurate reading I feel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics

Nick

I think you will find there is a connection between the BBC tester and Ookla - and the Ookla tester is behind Speedtest.net

As for accuracy - it is way out on my connection.

In reply to a post by MHC:

I think you will find there is a connection between the BBC tester and Ookla - and the Ookla tester is behind Speedtest.net

As for accuracy - it is way out on my connection.

This is interesting to know.

I know that these speed testers cannot be relied on to give a completely accurate measurement of connection speeds, but they will give an indication surely?

I mean, like I said... 14-16Mbps to then drop to 2.5Mbps?
I did also notice this with actual download speeds. I was downloading all sorts of updates throughout the day, with things downloading nice and fast (usually around 1.4 to 2MB/s) then dropping to 200KB/s and staying there for the rest of the day into this morning.

My apologies in sounding a bit impatient, but no-one has really answered the main question here... Is a connection likely to fluctuate that much during the training period?

The router sync speed and the IP profile will together set your maximum download speed. you should see what they are set to.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

The router sync speed and the IP profile will together set your maximum download speed. you should see what they are set to.

Okay cool. I know where to find sync speeds, so will update you later, but will I find IP profile on the router too? (BT Homehub 3)

And, even if these two are working against each other, are they likely to let my connection go back up to full speed again?

The BBC gives around 15Mbps for mine - whereas it is capable of in excess of 60Mbps - that is not a reasonable indication.

As for te fluctuations - it should not, but until your stats are visible it is difficult to give a definitive answer.