if it is literally as low as 300k it is falling outside the BT standards. Run speedtester.bt.com regularly at busy times as the results are referenced to your account and build up an evidence base.

Thanks Phil. Do you know where I might find documentation of the BT standards?

The BT speed test bypasses the ISP doesn't it? So I'd need results from there and, say, ThinkBroadband results for the same time?

Cheers, Peter.

BT speedtest does not always bypass the ISP - depends on how their network is setup.

Contention is sounding most likely, but its one of those things that is hard to prove

Pipex after being with Tiscali and now TalkTalk are not the best ISP in terms of peak time performance I would suspect, a case of too many users paying too little.

Sometimes pay a bit more and you get a bit more at peak times, not the sometimes, it is not a guarantee

Please post your router stats and results from http://speedtester.bt.com/ so we can see what your line is capable of. Speedtests can't tell you if you are connecting properly in the 1st place.

This shows a good test - 2.3M. Murphy's Law says that I will get a perfectly stable 2.3M for the rest of the day!

Equipment

Model Name : Vigor2710n
Firmware Version : 3.3.2.3_232201
Build Date/Time : Feb 25 2010 18:19:32
ADSL Firmware Version : 232201_A Hardware: Annex A

Router Status

Mode : G.DMT
Up Speed : 448000
Down Speed : 3040000
SNR Margin : 7
Loop Att. : 57

BT Speed Test results

Download speed achieved during the test was - 2271 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 600-7150 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :3040 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 2500 Kbps

TBb speed test: http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/results/id/1...

Check your exchange for common congestion problems at these two sites:-

Plusnet congestion checker.
Nildram congestion checker.

There have been several identical reports to yours about recent Pipex performance, so unless either of the above show anything the case is proven.

How much do you pay and what is the most you want to pay? Does what you pay include phone rental as well? What exchange is it please?

The exchange is Kintbury (THKB). Both sites say status Green - no congestion.

I'm currently paying 19.99 for a broadband only service.

How much would I pay? Looking around I think I pay quite a high price though I could be wrong. I don't feel I'm getting value for money at the moment since the times when I want to use it are the times when performance is at its worst.

Cheers, Peter.

Edited by RollingJ (Tue 17-Aug-10 20:06:33)

This shows a degraded speed TBb - 0.7Mb.

BT Speed Test results

Download speed achieved during the test was - 1162 Kbps

TBb speed test

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/results/id/1...

Congestion checkers still show Green.

No LLU at all at that exchange.

If you are downloading over 20GB per month then £19.99 is around the going rate for a BT Wholesale based connection. There are substantial quality differences though if you don't need huge amounts.

So it might be worth a switch to IDNet Home Lite. They are one of the top-flight for quality and support. Monthly contract.

See this comparison.

No LLU - yep price one pays for the rural idyll I suppose! Last on BT's upgrade list too

Thanks for the suggestion I shall certainly follow it up.

One of my colleagues living in the same village uses adsl24. Any experience of them? I notice they don't appear on TBb's comparison radar.

Cheers, Peter.