Sudden Dramatic Drop In Download Speeds

Hope this is in the right area! At the end of last week my download speeds suddenly dropped from an average of 2.7MB to about just 56k for no apparent reason. I have been on ADSLMAX for about the last 10 months, the last four months with my current ISP & I have had no problems & a stable connection. (Prior to this I was on a 1 MB service) I asked my ISP to help & all they can say after numerous calls every day since last week is that the speed I am getting is the best I can get & they have checked with BT who say the same & there is no fault on the line & I am synching & download speeds are 'acceptable' for my location!

My router is still synching at round about 4200 kbps, which it has done since I got MAX, but as I say, something has happened as my downloads & browsing is at dial up speed when they where perfectly acceptable & stable at about 2.7MB before, but no one seems able to help me. I have reinstalled windows, tried another modem, microfilter, cables, master socket, new firmware, old firmware - everything so I would appreciate any advice!!

ISP say there is nothing more to do & BT aren't interested as they aren't my ISP... Please help, I'd appreciate any advice! Thanks for reading.

ADSL is available in your area
Your exchange is also enabled for ADSL Max services

According to BT Wholesale, your line should be able to support a 5Mbps or greater ADSL connection via ADSL Max.

Standard ADSL RAG results:
You can receive 2Mbps ADSL
You can receive 1Mbps ADSL
You can receive 512Kbps ADSL
You can receive 256Kbps ADSL

You are approximately 2.10km from the exchange (straight line distance).

Edited by jing (Tue 06-Feb-07 16:37:49)

Which ISP?

Ooops! ISP is ADSL4less (Hotchilli). Was on their 1MB service for about 20 months no issues, switched to Fusion to go MAX, then came back to ADSL4less MAX about 4 months ago.

The reason I asked was I wondered if you'd hit the FUP limit and had your speeds throttled. It seems their "No Limits Broadband -- Completely Unlimited" 8MB offering is actually limited to 30gb a month (during peak times):

"If you use our unlimited broadband service then our Fair Use Policy applies to you."

If you download more than that, they reduce you to a 64Kbps transfer rate. Could this have happened to you?

I suddenly feel very, very stupid! I guess that this must be the case, the speeds certainly match those described. All the time I've been with them I've never had a cap & so simply didn't think that this would be the case & I wasn't even aware they had started a FUP. Damn. Thank you so much for pointing out the blindingly obvious! Thanks again m8!

Bizarrely, I'm on hold with them at the moment trying to find out when the counter 'resets' & they are denying there is a FUP,despite what it says on their website insisting that the unlimited service is totally unlimited & telling me that the current slow speed is because it's the best I can get...

Edited by jing (Tue 06-Feb-07 17:24:38)

Well, don't feel stupid. I was stunned to discover Demon's FUP had a hard/fast cap of 50gb, and their misleading FUP was in place when I joined. I was naieve enough to think less than 1% of the userbase would be affected by it (as it states), but given the number of complaints popping on the net since mid-December, I reckon they've changed the rules without mentioning it. If ADSL4Less _have_ capped you, I'd be tempted to complain to Consumer Direct because they go to considerable lengths to emphasise how unlimited this package is:

http://www.adsl4less.com/

"No Limits Broadband
Completely Unlimited!
[blah]
All packages are unlimited"

http://www.adsl4less.com/cheapest-broadband.htm
"No Limits Broadband" section contains no indications or footnotes to suggest an FUP applies, nor do the ordering steps you have to follow. In fact you come across _another_ page (step 3) clarifying again the nature of this service: "ADSL4LESS 8MB Unrestricted Access (BT IPStream)"

Only if you read the FUP do you realise that an FUP applies to this product. Very misleading in my opinion. :/

Good luck anyway.

Edited by dneb (Tue 06-Feb-07 18:11:24)