Up-to-24 Mbps ADSL2+ Broadband: How�s it going?

When Simon announced the new product range, I was nearly sick with excitement at the prospect of an immediate upgrade. Online calculators suggest I would benefit with download speeds of around 17-18 mbps.

I put things on hold when I read about connection problems related to Thomson SpeedTouch 585 router and its firmware. I decided that before upgrading I�d buy a Netgear router from IDNet, get my network up and running and then order the new product. Now I�m in two minds.

75% of my is dying to forge ahead. The other 25% is reminding me that I have a rock solid connection that�s pretty fast with downloads often above 7 mbps and rarely below 6 mbps. I need my connection for work as well as play and don�t want to jeopardise it.

A few questions:

1. Do customers who have enjoyed a stable connection still have the same or are there any sync problems?
2. Have IP profiles risen as expected or are people expiring the �stuck profile� issues that some folks suffered with DS Max was introduced?
3. How about download speeds? Are your great expectations met?

Any comments about the fast new products welcome.

Thanks!

We're running a couple of stickied threads over at Netters, one for woes and one for joys. So far, a few people have encountered stuck profiles, but they are gradually clearing. Very few people have had an out and out failure to connect, a few have been disappointed with the gain. Because BT screwed up the ordering process, the numbers to have migrated are not as high as we had expected by now, but by the middle of the week, we'll have a lot more people reporting their experience.

Thanksm, Rik. I'll keep a close eye on both forums. How long do you think it will be before a clear picture emerges.

We'll have a pretty good indication by the end of next week, I think.

I was regraded yesterday and I'm very disappointed. Gone from a very impressive 7168 / 832kbps on an 8mbit Home SuperMax connection to a paltry 9476 / 888kbps (it's down to 9312 since a powercut last night) on a 24mbit line. That's about ~30% increase for my downstream and a ~7% increase on my upstream. Not what I was expecting!

I've been told ADSL to ADSL2+ results in an increased line attenuation, but I'll plead ignorance here and say I don't understand how that relates to getting such a low sync speed in comparison to my predicted upgrade speeds.

Brief tests last night show my IP profile had risen in line with my new connection speed, but such mild differences in sync speeds means I'm hardly seeing much improvement.

ADSL2 is much more sensitive to line conditions, so noise can take a bigger bit, proportionately, out of your signal. What are your downstream noise margin and attenuation (and do you have them for ADSL Max)? What router are you using, and do you know which make of MSAN you are connected to?

I posted my line stats in the other thread, but here they are again:

Downstream
----------------
Connection Speed: 9312 kbps
Line Attenuation: 37.0 db
Noise Margin: 9.1 db

Upstream
------------
Connection Speed: 888 kbps
Line Attenuation: 17.0 db
Noise Margin: 11.2 db

I don't have any stats from ADSL Max unfortunately. I wish I did, but I didn't think to keep them I have no idea which make of MSAN I'm connected to. Is there a way to find out?

I would have hoped for more speed, but it looks like the target margin has been raised, which suggests noise on the line. Interleaving has probably also been turned on.

Some routers indicate a code for the MSAN/DSLAM, others don't bother. Check your stats pages and see if there are any clues.

Doesn't look like there is anything at all about the remote part of the connection. Unless it's hidden away somewhere. Netgear DGN2000 (Very similar to DG384GT with wireless N) if anyone knows any different?

Overnight my sync speed changed again,with the router now reporting 9470 / 1180kbps. So the upstream has gone up significantly, but the downstream is still down very slightly compared to my initial sync of 9476 kbps.

With regards to the interleaving, is it possible to have it turned off to see if it improves anything?

You'll have to wait for the training period to complete but then, yes. If it comes back on again, though, BT are generally unwilling to change the setting a second time.