Maybe, maybe not, Roberto, but totally irrelevant in relation to this thread. I WAS under the impression that it was 40/20, but would like a reliable 38. which is more relevant.

My line syncs at a constant 80/20, error free. Download speed tests from various sites vary between 70 to 75 meg .... that's the nature of the beast, who said you'd get 'a reliable 38' every time you test ?

er, nobody, and not me. Stay on topic? Of course, it is obviously line length causing your drop........

Edited by mikejp (Wed 06-Jul-16 20:21:39)

You just in effect contradicted yourself.

You want a reliable 38Mbps throughput but accept nobody said that was what you would get.

We would all like a reliable full speed throughput for our sync, which is in effect what you are asking for. I tried to find the legal bit where the ISP throughput speeds are given on the archived versions of PN's website but as it is a drop-down it doesn't work so far as I can see. If it was 38/19 as I surmised, then you are getting perfectly good results.

You historic problem which was solved by a line switch is historic. Like a Monthy Python parrot.

Stay on topic? Of course, it is obviously line length causing your drop........

What are you on about ?

Are you saying that line length causes me not to get max throughput on a speed test, then you are not understanding what other posters are telling you.

In reply to a post by mikejp:

Batboy - Homeplugs are disconnected for the test - see
"This speedtest is via a Homeplug

Your problem is due to you using Homeplugs as I said and you have confirmed.

I'll jump back in here... it's complicated!

You've been sold a service that runs equivalent to 40/20 sync speeds. But what does that mean for throughput speeds?

If it were an official 40/10 package from Openreach, then your modem would not sync any higher than 40/10. However, your 40/20 package from Plusnet uses an underlying 80/20 package from Openreach, so those become the maximum sync speeds. Plusnet then slow you down in their systems so you get the same throughput as though the 40/20 limit applied to the sync speed.

So ... When the sync speed is 40Mbps, what kind of throughput can we expect? Like any protocol, there is an overhead to carrying the payload, and the payload is what gets measured for throughput.

Once overhead is removed, the best throughput speed would be expected to be around 37.5Mbps. Lines running at 40Mbps sync will not get higher throughputs; that's the best result you could get if you bought a 40/10 package from another ISP.

However, the routers used by Plusnet, which they use to employ their traffic management (keeping QoS policies alone on 80/20 lines, and keeping you to 40/20 limits on your package as well as QoS), seem to take a further chunk out of the best possible speeds. If you see throughput speeds of 36Mbps+ on a real 40Mbps sync speed, then you're probably getting the best you can hope to achieve.

In your case, that top speed of 40Mbps is artificially controlled by their routers with settings for each individual subscriber - that "current line speed" value - and their underlying settings are a matter of their choice. They could set their routers to allow throughput to match lines with 40Mbps sync, or they could choose a slightly higher limit. I don't know, but I imagine it is the former.

I suggest, therefore, that speed test results of 36Mbps are the top end of what you can expect. With that set as the high water mark of expectations, you can perhaps decide how badly you are being served in the other tests.

The BTW speed tester is being fooled by Plusnet. It sees the sync speed (and the IP profile calculated from it), and sets its minimum/maximum expectations based on that. It knows nothing about the artificial limits put in place by Plusnet. Any resulting quality indications can be ignored as inappropriate.

Finally that matter of 38/19... When we talk technically about 40/20, we mean sync speeds, and speeds that aren't visible in speedtesters,. Ofcom don't like that ... and their rules mean that the services must be marketed at lower speeds. You're likely to see these as 38/9 and 76/18 or so. Ofcom rules dictate these marketing limits, and Plusnet have to comply like everyone else. However, because the "40" in your case is artificial, the exact Ofcom-compliant value depends on the exact method of limitation. I would expect 38/19 or 38/18 to have been used in marketing speak. IMO, BTs estimated speeds at time of sale are line speeds, aka sync speeds.

Of course, all this appears moot. Aren't Plusnet moving 40/20 users over to 55/10 speeds? Which will be real sync speeds again, with 52/9 throughput.

"Are you saying that line length causes me not to get max throughput on a speed test, then you are not understanding what other posters are telling you."
Zarjaz - eckiedoo will explain it to you.


WWW - thank you for bringing some long overdue sanity and knowledge into this forum. I understand what you are saying, but out of interest I am not using a PN router. The move to '55' (whatever that will be??) will be interesting to see what happens to my speed.

Batboy - you are not reading well, are you?

Edited by mikejp (Wed 06-Jul-16 22:23:42)

In reply to a post by mikejp:

Batboy - you are not reading well, are you?

Yes, I highlighted the bit in your reply where you admit to using Homeplugs which you have denied.

In reply to a post by mikejp:

35.62 is one of the highest the BTW test has produced, so maybe things are 'mending'?

Incidentally, I have never found the BTW tester to be one for recording the highest speeds, nor the most consistent.

I've always thought of it as producing figures in the right ballpark, but no more.

In reply to a post by mikejp:

I understand what you are saying, but out of interest I am not using a PN router.

You are using the one I meant - but that's the one you connect to within Plusnet's core network - the one that routes your traffic to/from the various parts of the internet. The router you use at home, whether a Plusnet-branded one or not, plays no part in this.

The move to '55' (whatever that will be??) will be interesting to see what happens to my speed.

I predict throughput speeds of about 43Mbps. The 55/10 package will allow you to keep the sync of 48Mbps, and your throughput will then be a proportion of that, sans overhead.