New Line Advice

Hello,

I am looking for some advice regarding a new line and broadband connection into my property. I am currently with Sky, receiving speeds of about 7Mbps. The speeds are slow where I live, and although I am constantly told Fibre is possible, the distance from the exchange creates issues and a previous engineer had to revert to standard. I want another connection to balance the load.

I have just signed up with TalkTalk for the time being as they have offered a reasonable deal with free new line installation, whereas everyone else added a charge, and Sky said they wouldn't be able to add another connection onto an existing package. My thinking is to test the line and cancel within the cooling-off period if necessary.

My main question is - should I expect all service providers to give the same average speeds? When I get this TalkTalk connection sorted, should I expect it to be the same as the Sky one, if they are both the same standard broadband package? I have been given different information from different service providers and it's pretty confusing. If all the speeds are the same, my main interest would be stability.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Many variables involved and without knowing the address to look at the speeds of others in the area and a full set of connection speed and attenuation/noise margin figures from your current service then only vague hand waving answers are possible.

ADSL2+ can vary in connection speed as different providers balance speed versus stability to different extents and some are more pessimistic than others, i.e. better to under promise and over deliver than to over promise and under deliver.

Put your address in here http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/ADSLChecker.addres... and post the results please

Thank you for the responses. Here are my results:


Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Handback Threshold(Mbps)

WBC FTTC Availability Date

WBC SOGEA Availability Date

WBC FTTC 18x2 Provide Availability

WBC FTTC 18x2 Sim Availability

High Low High Low
VDSL Range A (Clean) 15 7.9 1.2 0.8 6 Available -- -- Yes
VDSL Range B (Impacted) 13 5.1 1.2 0.5 3.4 Available -- -- Yes
Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

WBC FTTP Availability Date

FTTP on Demand 330 30 -- Available -- -- --
ADSL Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

Availability Date

WBC ADSL 2+ Up to 3 -- 1.5 to 4 Available -- -- --
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M Up to 3 Up to 0.5 1.5 to 4 Available -- -- --
ADSL Max Up to 3 -- 1.5 to 5 Available -- -- --
WBC Fixed Rate 1 -- -- Available -- -- --
Fixed Rate 1 -- -- Available -- -- --
Other Offerings

Availability Date

VDSL Multicast -- -- -- Available -- -- --
ADSL Multicast -- -- -- Available -- -- --

Sorry for the messy paste - I couldn't see any way to add an image?

Cheers.

VDSL2 (the service marketed as fibre) is available to you BUT

The speeds you'll get are likely to be just between 5 and 15 Mbps

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

VDSL2 (the service marketed as fibre) is available to you BUT

The speeds you'll get are likely to be just between 5 and 15 Mbps

Aimed more at at the OP rather than MrS

However, as the current service is at 7Mbps whereas the checker suggests up to 4 Mbps on ADSL2+, it does indicate a fairly good line and from the figures we know that the distance to cabinet is fairly long. It does point toward the possibility of a VDSL2 service being toward the top end of the estimates.

Sorry for resurrecting this old thread but it is sort of a continuation.

A year on I am looking at switching from talktalk as the speed never matched sky's, despite getting them to investigate. Looking at the stats I could see that talktalk snr was always set at around 8-9 but Sky 3-4. I am getting double the speed with sky (2.4 average talktalk 4.8 average sky). Neither lines ever drop out.

Does anyone have any advice on where I could go next? Sky do not allow another line at the same property. I would really like a new provider who could use sky's setting as a guide if possible.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Maybe NOWTV which is a rebadged Sky service or return to Sky

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll take a look at Now.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I currently have 2 lines but Sky won't allow a second at the same address - very frustrating.

In reply to a post by joshuafab:

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll take a look at Now.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I currently have 2 lines but Sky won't allow a second at the same address - very frustrating.

Have they expalined why?

Surely they are just denying themselves revenue? And what about a house in multiple occupation where each person wants their own service? would they deny it to all? It does sound rather odd.

It is one of the Sky quirks

A totally illogical quirk!

Possibly they were unable to train their call centre staff to handle two lines at the same property ??










*this being the basis for their excuse for not using the Openreach FTTP product.

In reply to a post by MHC:

A totally illogical quirk!

You tell'em"!

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Possibly they were unable to train their call centre staff to handle two lines at the same property ??

*this being the basis for their excuse for not using the Openreach FTTP product.

Now there's a (not completely related) thought. If they started providing FTTP they would lose some of their pressure on Ofcom to retain ADSL2+ at relevant exchanges.

They are just about to start doing Openreach based FTTP as I hear it.

Seeing a few people in Fibre only areas, so a wider launch is on the way

Sorry if this a stupid question. Would FTTP be okay over longer lines? Is it an option I can take if they start offering it?

FTTP is fibre optics all the way and therefore no distance issues in terms of speed i.e. no metal to slow down the broadband data

In reply to a post by joshuafab:

Sorry if this a stupid question. Would FTTP be okay over longer lines? Is it an option I can take if they start offering it?

As Andrew says. You sync at the speed you sign up to.Throughput can vary however from what FTTP users on these forums say.

FTTP is where most of us will end up in 10-20 years, unless 5G mobile replaces fixed-connection broadband!

Don't forget there is a big difference between FTTP and FTTPoD (FTTP on Demand). Many people get confused by that if they see FTTPoD on the BT Wholesale checker for their line or Address.

FTTP is "native" supply and it you see that then you can normally get it. Straight from your chosen ISP's ordering service.

FTTPoD is the same technology as native FTTP, but is special order for people who have FTTC showing on their cabinet but either too far from it so it is no better than ADSL2+ or so far away that they can't even have FTTC. Or of course, they just want the higher speeds it can give.

For FTTPoD you have to have a free survey done, (arranged by your chosen provider), by someone in Openreach looking on a map at where you are and where the nearest FTTP connection point is to you, and you get a preliminary quote from that.

You can then have a detailed survey done that you have to pay for. I forget the exact figure, just under £300 I think. From that you get what I think is a fixed price quote and it's make up your mind time. It may be higher or lower than the map-based quote by well over a thousand pounds.

Currenly, due to overload, Openreach have suspended taking orders for the map-based (usually called desktop) survey.

You will find some current threads and lots of older ones about both FTTP and FTTPoD in the Fibre Broadband forum on this site.