Sky Fibre Self install questions

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year!

Apologies if any of my questions have already been answered.

I am currently an (ex-)O2 broadband customer and took up an offer from Sky yesterday that I couldn't refuse for Sky Fibre unlimited (40/10).

Sky will send me the newSR102 VDSL modem/router, which I understand will come with two micro filters. My scheduled connection date is 16 January.

My current telephone wiring is a bit unusual. One master NTE-2005 socket with 6 extensions. This appears to have been done by the previous homeowner and I've found out that a maximum of only 3/4 extensions should be allowed. This is probably why my telephone line suffers from a low, audible but intermittent crackle.

My current router is connected to one of the extensions. Although my estimated line speed should be around 14Mbps down, my router connects at 10Mbps and downloads at around 9.2Mbps. I am not fussed with the additional loss in speed as a result of the current telephone wiring and plugging the router in to an extension socket.

One of the reasons I went with Sky was the fact that the new self-install VDSL FTTC option would allow me to plug the router into an extension socket (albeit with a potential loss in speed). I know this is a 'how long is a piece of string?' question but Sky has estimated my d/l speed to be 34-35Mbps. Given that I am achieving a d/l speed of around 9.2Mbps from an estimated speed of 14Mbps, would the FTTC speed follow a similar percentage loss from the estimated speed if I connect to the same extension or could it be more?

I can post current line stats once I log into a PC.

Also, can existing ADSL micro filters be used for VDSL or must I obtain VDSL specific ones? I actually need four as using three extensions in the house + master socket.

Thanks.

It's a guess, but VDSL uses higher frequencies than ADSL2+ So I'd think it would be more affected by the substandard wiring.

Yes VDSL2 will be affected more by additional loss and potential to pick up interference from having more extensions.

If you are predicted to get 80Mbps/20Mbps then on the 40/10Mbps package the likelihood is you'll still get the full package speed with slightly messy wiring... but I can only guess.

You could just pop a filtered faceplate on and have just one extension carrying the VDSL signal which should help.

You would of been better off having an engineer install an Openreach modem at the BT socket and then running Ethernet to the room you want the router in.

I think you can have multiple extensions but a maximum of 4 REN (4 connected dialling appliances)

Thanks all

I will wait and see what the speed is like.

If it really is abysmal then I might consider contacting Sky to see if they can arrange for the Mark 2 VDSL filter plate to be fitted or would I have to purchase and do this myself?

On another note here are my line stats if that helps anyone to decipher my telephone wiring mess!

Uptime: 22 days, 18:28:12
DSL Type: ITU-T G.992.5
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,300 / 10,817
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [GB/GB]: 1.41 / 3.99
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.1 / 18.9
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 18.1 / 32.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 6.4 / 6.5
System Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ----
Chipset Vendor ID (Local/Remote): BDCM / BDCM
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 2 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): -
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 62 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 628,035 / 628,035
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 198 / 8,049
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 172 / 5,259

I think the data transferred figure should actually be 131GB.

Thanks

In reply to a post by 5km:

If you are predicted to get 80Mbps/20Mbps......

Where did that come from?

Quick update for anyone else wondering how the install went. Disconnected the old router early in the morning and then when I came back from work, connected the new router, changed the microfilters and voila had entered into the world of Fibre optic broadband.

Sky's process has been smooth, they kept me informed throughout and I even had a courtesy call a few days before the install date! So kudos to Sky.

However, as suspected my connection speed is only around 28Mbps downstream. I then connected the router to the test socket on the master i.e. with all my telephone extensions disconnected. This resulted in a connection speed of around 36 Mbps.

Now having the thirst for more speed, I would like to know if the new BT VDSL M2 interstitial faceplate will allow me to connect my router at it's maximum speed without having to disturb other telephone extensions around the house.

Also, where do I buy it from, can anyone suggest a reputable seller as I've seen some cheap prices on eBay but I'm worried that they might be fake products.

Thanks.

Amazon has the MK2 from a 3rd party supplier and know others have previously ordered the mk1 version from them.

I've bitten the bullet and have formally moved from o2 to Sky Fibre broadband and phone the transfer having taken place earlier today. This was a self install changeover.
Having picked up on other posters questions and answers to this forum I first plugged the Sky hub directly into the main telephone single entry socket then using powerline plugs linked the hub to the room where my PC is situated.. Running this sites speed test my average download speed was 36.6mbps After a couple of hours I then moved the hub to same room as the PC dispensed with the Powerline plugs and plugged the Hub directly into in the rooms telephone socket. It has now been running for a couple of hours and the latest speed test reveals I'm still hovering around the same download speed as before with an upload at 9.7mbps

This is on a Sky 40mbps service and to be honest my actual is not far off that. Certainly o2's service will be a hard act to follow. I hoping I can say the same about Sky in 12 months time
Regards
Bob

Thanks Mr Saffron!

@Blinkbonny

That's good to know you're getting maximum speeds. I suspect your telephone wiring is in good nick.

Hi all

Another update in case anyone is interested. Bought and installed the BT VDSL MK2 faceplate. Thus have moved the router to the master socket and added the four (now defunct) microfilters to the other 11 microfilters that I have acquired over the last 10 years! What a difference the faceplate has made!

Connection speed shot up from around 28,000 kbps to 34,976 kbps. Average download speeds have shot up too!


Connection speeds: 34,976 kbps down and 7681 kbps up.
Line attenuation is 23.3 db downstream and 0 db upstream.
Noise Margins are 9.3 db downstream and 6.6 db upstream.

Will the cabinet dlm try and increase speeds further or is this the maximum I will achieve without disturbing my extension wiring. Not sure about the 0db upstream attenuation figure and whether this is right?

Thanks.

Edited by deleted (Sat 25-Jan-14 17:33:24)