In reply to a post by Oliver341:

When things aren't artificially slowed down by traffic management they run at line speed.

Well that is one aspect of traffic management but I understood that it was not the only one. For example, there is still prioritisation of some types of traffic over others and that is traffic management.

In reply to a post by kasg:

Well that is one aspect of traffic management but I understood that it was not the only one. For example, there is still prioritisation of some types of traffic over others and that is traffic management.

So in effect Plusnet have messed around with the meaning of "line speed", just as various ISPs have messed around with the word unlimited? Tremendous.

The whole idea of OFCOM bringing in the code of practice, along with protocol/time/speed grids was to give customers a good idea of what goes how fast and when. If companies like Plusnet start saying "line speed, subject to prioritisation" it renders the effort useless.

But sadly, it's no surprise whatsoever.

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

The whole idea of OFCOM bringing in the code of practice, along with protocol/time/speed grids was to give customers a good idea of what goes how fast and when. If companies like Plusnet start saying "line speed, subject to prioritisation" it renders the effort useless.

Sorry, but I don't agree with that at all. Traffic prioritisation works both in the ISP's and the customer's interest. Hopefully someone who knows a bit more about it than I do will chip in.

This says otherwise (it is taken off that very page):

Why do we manage traffic?

Our broadband service is provided over a shared network. Bandwidth (the amount of data that can be transmitted) is shared between everybody who's connected to the network. This industry-wide method allows us to provide a reliable, high-speed service at an affordable price.

As customer numbers and usage grows, we have to increase the capacity of our network to make sure there's enough bandwidth for everyone. When the network is busy, it's easy for things to get out of control. Peer-to-peer, video streaming and large file downloads can flood the network quickly and use up the bandwidth. If this happens, it reduces the speed of web browsing, email, gaming and other types of web traffic. Traffic management prevents this from happening.

With Traffic management we can do lots of useful things to make sure everyone gets a good, fair online experience. For example we can:
�Make sure things that need to be fast (like VoIP, VPN and gaming) are always prioritised - if these run slowly, they won't work properly
�Protect your interactive activities like web browsing and email from download traffic such as music downloads
�Provide a service relative to the amount each customer pays in terms of usage allowances and experience
�Flex the network in the event of unusual demands in traffic or disaster situations (such as a network failure)

Oh ok, it doesn't run at line speed at all times of day then, as advertised.

Thanks for posting that ~ helps me with my BE / Fibre choice. Still don't know what I'll choose, but not PlusNet. Probably stay with BE or move to Infinity 2.

There appears to be confusion by all discussing this as to what "prioritisation" means in this context.

It has always existed on BT Wholesale products, and is also present in the Openreach fibre DLM.

It is nothing to do with speeds per se. It is to do with what happens if there is congestion, where packet loss occurs.

The prioritised services are the last to suffer packet loss for that specific customer. It does not confer any advantage over any other user.

There's a lot of difficult description in SIN 472 (WBC) and 498 (OR), but both state this unequivocally.

Thanks Bob, probably worth reading this page as well for the Plusnet line on traffic prioritisation:

http://www.plus.net/residential/traffic_prioritisati...

In reply to a post by cleudo:

Phoned PN up this morning, and they said John Lewis BB is traffic managed as well. Got offered an unlimited package to try out, so will see how that performs before deciding to leave or not - John Lewis doesn't seem to be the answer though...

What do you mean they offered you unlimited to try?.

It is normal when being moved to a new package from a package which is no longer sold to allow you to go back to the old package within a month if it doesn't suit
I image that this is somewhat similar

Edited by deleted (Thu 24-May-12 16:41:16)