In reply to a post by lowe88:

I'll be honest I don't know what a junction box is or what it looks like, but I can follow the wire into the cupboard, which then goes into the bathroom (at which point I lose it). SO I went outside and took some pictures. I don't know if it's related to it or not.

http://imgur.com/6NxQ0jI http://imgur.com/snV7Ims http://imgur.com/X6uWLuj

IMHO, pretty poor 'craftsmanship' with the wiring from the external junction box to your master socket. Could well be to your advantage to have it replaced and possibly relocating the master socket. If you can get it done for free, good luck to you, but I guess it's an Openreach chargeable job with a price tag of £130.

Unfortunately I find no sign of any small box or any cabling in the bathroom. The only area I can't see in the bathroom is on the floor as it's boxed off piping.

Ripping that out is not feasible! Have to assume it is OK.

Get a VDSL face plate and install it - things night improve and you will have a neater installation.

Apart from that - it could be that you are unlucky and have a line with either a lot of noise or high attenuation. You could go one plenty of wild goose chases, but if all is stable, then you nay have to accept it is all you can get.

Where can I buy a VDSL face plate? Do I need to connect wires and such or is it just a case of screwing it in?

If I was a bit better off financially I'd consider paying for them to move the master socket, but I just don't have that kind of disposable cash right now.

Don't know the best place - the one I might have recommended seems to have a few issues. Someone sould be able to recommend a supplier of the latest version.

It is just a case of plug it in to the test socket, two screws to secure and that is it.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs that they are calling it fibre

Just a little update. After bitching to sky about the speed, they sent out an engineer this morning. He said the wire was like 30 years old or something so he replaced it and moved my master socket to the livingroom. (yay!) Unfortunately the speed did not improve. He said they estimated 15mb and doesn't understand why the checker I used estimated 19-27.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy that my master socket was moved and that he replaced the old wire, even if it didn't improve the speed.

Old wires are not normally an issue if they are twisted pair. Older wires were often of a larger gauge (diameter) so on long runs could be an advantage. Re-making the terminations to remove any localised corrosion can be useful with old installs as would changing out non-twisted pair.

He said something about it going through the bathroom to be a bad thing. I don't know.

This time he's put it around the wall into the livingroom, and it's actually syncing (ever so slightly) slower. Not bothered right now. Just glad not to have a power adapter stretched across my hall. Kids used to come down trip over it and pull the router plug out.

I just hope FTTP becomes something I can realistically get in the next 10 years. Because it's extremely unlikely I'll move again.