BT engineer's visit

Hi all

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but wanted to share my experiences with you.

Recently I've had really poor broadband - about a year ago I was able to synch at about 4500 kbps and would regularly get about 4000 download. Then it all started to go bad - poor synch, loss of synch and speeds varying between 100 kbps and 2000 kbps.

I complained regularly to my ISP, to little avail. I bought a filtered faceplate, all dect phones (so only one internal extension) a new modem/router, and a new cable from the BT socket to the modem.

No improvements. My ISP said that my line was only capable of 1.5mbps and so suggested that I go to a fixed 2 mbps service instead of MAX. I said no as I knew that I'd had a good service a year ago.

Eventually my ISP arranged a BT engineer's visit (this is the interesting bit ).

He came in and checked my connection and agreed it was a poor synch, saying that my line was capable of much better owing to my location and the quality of the underground line. He examined the wiring in the NTE5 socket, and traced it back to the point at which it comes into the house. There is a junction box here (which I've never touched as it's on BT's side of the wiring). He opened it up and said 'there's your problem' and pointed to a small circuit board inside that box. He removed it and said that it was a radio interference filter, probably fitted about 30 years ago when the house was built. He also said that he was surpirsed that I was getting broadband with it fitted.
He said that will help, and connected his equipment again. My synch speed was immediately 7500 kbps (never had that before). He then put in a new NTE5 box as mine was a bit damaged with having fitted the new faceplace with the wrong screws!) He said test your speed in a few hours and see how you get on.

Since then I've been getting 7700 kbps synch and a BT download profile of 6500, and I can regularly get that speed according to speedtest.net.

So, after years on broadband and about 2 years on max, I am not achieving what MAX is capable of - and all because BT came and sorted something that I could have done myself had I known it was the problem.

Now my ISP tells me that my line is capable of much higher speeds than 2meg - and indeed it is.

As I said just wanted to share my experience in case it can help anyone else.

regards

Ed

You are obviously happy with your result, ie greatly increased speed, and hopefully a stable connection.

However, one little query. Seeing that the RF filter has been there since day 1 of your broadband, how did you get your 4500 synch previously?

I'm hoping that all is now good, but there maybe something else lurking about.

In reply to:

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Seeing that the RF filter has been there since day 1 of your broadband,

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I don't really see how it can of been, RF2 filters will kill most BB lines stone dead.

HI

It's a good question and one that the bt engineer raised too. I have no idea, but everything seems fine now. I hope that that was the cause, else otherwise it might go again.\


Ed

HI zarjav

That was BT man's reaction too. He seemed surprised that it had ever worked. I'm less than a mile from exchange so don't know if that's relevant or not.

Are these RF filters common on phone lines then?

regards

ed

An RF2 filter would have to be on a VERY short line for it to allow you to sync over it, I seem to recall that it adds around 40db attenuation to a line. They aren't common, but you do see them every once in a while.

Maybe it was something else then. It was a small circuit board about 2cm square with a couple of components on it. I didn't really get a chance to see it properly.

cheers

ed

My mother in law had a similiar issue with her broadband, worked fine for about 2 years then all of a sudden just stopped, voice fine but no BB. Unfortuantely in her case it took 3 engineer visits before someone diagnosed exactly what you had, a little circuit board which he removed and the broadband started working. Mother in law is not technical, she told me me that the engineer mentioned something about radio interference and removing a circuit board. Sounds like almost exactly like yours so you have clarified exactly what was done.