Does any ISP still provide "Fixed"2Mbps line

Sorry this is fairly long but it is the distillation of 6 months of angst.

My previous ISP changed me from fixed 2Mbps line without warning earlier in the year.
To see speeds about 2.8 Mbps was a surprise but not a pleasant one as I had once tried the "up-to-8Mbps" and rejected it because too often the speed fell to 1Mbps (or worse).

My experience with ADSL2+ and ordinary ADSL with a new,much respected ISP, has been dreadful with a couple of hours above 2Mbps but frequent disconnections (day and night). Some times the disconnection is triggered by an incoming phone call,less frequently by an out going call..My local exchange has a history of problems but on the occasion a OR engineer visited he found nothing wrong with my wiring but re-attached the cover on a big junction box attached to a pole next to my garden fence.When he was with me I showed him a speedtest giving 3 Mbps.... a once every 6 months result. The previous week had been about or below 1 Mbps.

I get the same pattern of speeds and disconnections with a wired connection via a ZyXEL Prestige 600 router and with a wired or wireless connection using a Linksys WAG 160N.

Results with the WAG160N are the same when connected to the test socket as when connected to the extension which is usually used with my desktop.

I have not yet recently tried the ZyXEL via the test socket due to the difficulty (for me) of taking equipment downstairs. I will do this in the next few days.


The following statistics are typical:-

Today, 6.30 am

noise margin downstream: 15 db
output power upstream: 12 db
attenuation downstream: 52 db
tone 0- 31: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 32- 63: 02 46 65 47 77 66 77 07 78 67 76 25 66 55 66 55
tone 64- 95: 07 77 77 27 77 66 55 66 66 66 65 33 44 44 55 55
tone 96-127: 45 55 55 35 55 55 54 44 44 33 32 22 00 00 00 00
tone 128-159: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

noise margin upstream: 10 db
output power downstream: 16 db
attenuation upstream: 31 db
tone 0- 31: 00 00 00 07 89 aa a9 99 98 88 87 76 66 66 55 54
tone 32- 63: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

tbb speedtest 09/10/12 06:39 Tue 1182 Kbps 510 Kbps

Subsequent test show download S/N as:-

10.15am

noise margin downstream: 4 db
output power upstream: 12 db
attenuation downstream: 52 db
tone 0- 31: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 32- 63: 02 45 65 47 77 67 77 07 77 77 77 35 66 66 76 56
tone 64- 95: 07 77 77 27 77 65 55 66 66 66 65 33 44 44 55 55
tone 96-127: 45 55 55 34 55 55 44 44 43 22 32 22 00 00 00 00
tone 128-159: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

and

11.50

noise margin downstream: -1 db
output power upstream: 12 db
attenuation downstream: 52 db
tone 0- 31: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 32- 63: 02 45 65 47 77 67 77 07 77 77 77 35 66 66 76 56
tone 64- 95: 07 77 77 27 77 65 55 66 66 66 65 33 44 44 55 55
tone 96-127: 45 55 55 34 55 55 44 44 43 22 32 22 00 00 00 00
tone 128-159: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

tbb speed 09/10/12 11:50 Tue 1184 Kbps 510 Kbps

As recently as 27th August 2012 I got this result

13:32:03 Up 434 Kbps Down 2942 Kbps

You can see why I would like a "Fixed 2Mbps" line!

Comments and suggestions please.There is much more I can add such as not finding loss of connection related to any electrical equipment in my terraced house or next door where phone line goes to same pole as mine and gives 3.7Mbps download speed...after 4 BT/OR visits.
BT Complaints seem to be in denial even when reporting a crackling line using the test socket they could not find a fault.

I have of course tried different filters and leads and where possible position of equipment.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

ISP if using the BT Wholesale Max or WBC platforms have the option of requesting a fixed speed 2 Meg profile

The attenuation and bit loading is largely useless if we do not know the actual connection speeds too.

Thanks for speedy reply.

Statistics now :-

noise margin downstream: -1 db
output power upstream: 12 db
attenuation downstream: 52 db
tone 0- 31: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tone 32- 63: 02 45 65 47 77 67 77 07 77 77 77 35 66 66 76 56
tone 64- 95: 07 77 77 27 77 65 55 66 66 66 65 33 44 44 55 55
tone 96-127: 45 55 55 34 55 55 44 44 43 22 32 22 00 00 00 00
tone 128-159: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

noise margin upstream: 10 db
output power downstream: 16 db
attenuation upstream: 31 db
tone 0- 31: 00 00 00 07 89 aa a9 99 98 88 87 76 66 66 55 54
tone 32- 63: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

System up Time: 16:18:03
CPU Load: 1.08%

WAN Port Statistics:
Link Status: Up
Upstream Speed: 608 kbps
Downstream Speed: 1408 kbps

Downstream Upstream
1189 Kbps 513 Kbps

Does that help? I will find out from ISP about which platform they use.

Dont forget that fixed speed services are being phased out, so even if you can go back to one (and you pay more for it now than an ADSL Max line) you wont be able to keep it for long.

Based on the -1dB for the noise margin and that was with 1408 Kbps then at that time a fixed speed service would probably offer no connection at all.

There is an imbalance in the attenuation figures, that is edging towards showing a problem. In short the line looks to have issues, and unless you get those fixed I think that on a fixed 2 Meg you might see periods of the day with no service or a total failure in the future.

That said the WAG160 is not what I would consider an ideal device for poor lines, look more at the Billion 7800N and 2 Wire family.

While old IPStream Home 2000 2272 and 288 Kbps is on the way out, there are replacement fixed speed options on Max and WBC, and the option of profile banding on WBC too.

Thank you both for your replies.

Later today I hope to have moved my desktop etc to within a couple of feet of the master socket and will see what results I get with different routers.
I am prepared to get a 2-wire router if it will solve my problem. I've even considered a second line for bonding but I will see if BT can give me anywhere near the 3.7Mbps my neighbour says she gets.

We are both 2.35km from the Ingatestone exchange.

2.35km in a straight line, but phone cables do not go in straight lines, they have to follow streets, so you have a line around 5km long in actual fact

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

so you have a line around 5km long in actual fact

How did you work that one out?

Hi mikebear,

Let us know how you get on. If your service provider is BT I can look into this further for you, so if you have any more problems with your speeds feel free to send in your details at:

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4950

Thanks,

Stephanie

In reply to a post by mikebear:

<snip>
Some times the disconnection is triggered by an incoming phone call,less frequently by an out going call.
<snip>

I am surprised that no one has commented on the above. That is the "smoking gun". Somewhere within the length of your pair there is a joint that has gone HR (high resistance) or semi-conducting.

What is the result of performing a quiet line test from a classic wired telephone, that is the only device connected to the pair, via the test socket behind the front faceplate of the NTE5/A?

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

so you have a line around 5km long in actual fact

The fact is more like 3.8 km.

As a very rough guide device the downstream attenuation by 12 to get line line distance in km

My apologies for the delay in replying to you all but you would not have wanted a blow by blow account of my dealings with BT.

After a week or so of slow speeds with the occasional 2+Mbps after a daytime power off/on I eventually lost telephone connection completely.
Having reported the fault I was given 2 dates when the fault would be fixed,which came and went and eventually,after 8 days, got a dialing tone but still had occasional bursts of noise and poor connection speeds.

A further complaint via 151 eventually resulted in an engineers visit by an excellent chap who took the time (3hours) to check everything and was able to show me his diagnostic machine showing green ticks in all boxes.
The last 400m of cable from the exchange is aluminium and there was fault was in a joint in the box on the post outside my house.I think he described it as a "blue"joint,I guess due the corrosion in a copper/aluminium connection.
This probably fits in with the HR/semi-conducting idea given by burakkucat above.

For the past 9 days I've had a steady 2.4Mbps.

Going back to the question of distance to the exchange: I've measured the distance by road (the overhead line runs alongside for much of the way) and with a guess as to the route of the last few hundred meters I would say the distance is about 4.5km.

Now that the line is OK I may start to look for an ISP giving 24/7 support as most of my problems have happened after 6pm on a Friday....at least I cam shelve my search for a "fixed 2 Mbps" line,for now.
Thank you all for your support.

NOTE: An ISP that has 24/7 support is very different to a service where you can submit the fault report to Openreach 24/7

The ability to do this is/was called Enhanced/Total Care (brain is a bit mushy today so not 100% sure) and is a cost option

Re. Total Care or Enhanced Care.

Thank you for the reply Mr.S. I found this link :- http://www.armstrongbell.co.uk/downloads/Fixed-Line-...
via Ask Jeeves.
The prices look not unreasonable if you need extra muscle to get a fault fixed.
I suppose I just want someone to talk to other than BT 151.

I had not heard of Armstrong Bell until today.Their site http://www.armstrongbell.co.uk/
could be of interest to some members.

BT151 should only be called if you have Line rental with BT Retail - so you can avoid calling them by buying the voice line rental from one of many providers if that is what you want

Broadband issues of course always going through the broadband provider

In reply to a post by mikebear:

<snip>
The last 400m of cable from the exchange is aluminium and there was fault was in a joint in the box on the post outside my house. I think he described it as a "blue"joint, I guess due the corrosion in a copper/aluminium connection.
<snip>

My apologies for not acknowledging your post over a week ago. I do not know how I missed it.

I am pleased to read that you had an appropriate grade Openreach technician tasked to your fault and, thus, it has now been successfully resolved. Your assumption is 'spot on' with regards to that defective joint.

There is no need to apologise for a few days delay in replying;doubtless you have other things to do besides forum watching.

So far my speed has held at about 2.4 Mbps despite all the rain we've had.In the past it would have collapsed to 1 Mbps or worse.

I still get the occasional short duration loss of connection for incoming calls.Would this get worse if I go to ADSL2+? I suspect any increase in speeds may not be worth the risk.

May next project is to find an alternative to Thunderbird which now seems to "do it's own thing".

To avoid getting my knuckles rapped I will start a new thread.

In reply to a post by mikebear:

I still get the occasional short duration loss of connection for incoming calls.

That is disconcerting. When you say 'loss of connection' do you mean loss of sync between the modem/router and the DSLAM?

Would this get worse if I go to ADSL2+?

There should not be any disruption to the broadband service when the baseband POTS is being used, regardless of the ADSL mode currently in use.

For your line, usage of ADSL2+ would be quite pointless. I would recommend trying ADSL2 mode and see how that compares to using the original G.Dmt mode. Then use whichever one that gives you reliable performance.

That is disconcerting. When you say 'loss of connection' do you mean loss of sync between the modem/router and the DSLAM

The AAISP log shows a pink balloon with legend "Loss of service,probable loss of synch" and vertical purple bar with info below :-

"Yesterday 11:25:46 Yesterday 11:26:12 BT Test xDSL Status Check:Pass Standalone sub test passed successfully.Pass DSL Status Check Successful Circuit In Sync
BRAS=2484Kb/s FTR=2278Kb/s MSR=2848Kb/s ServOpt= I/L=A
Up Sync=640Kb/s LoopLoss=34dB SNR=10.2dB ErrSec=0 HECErr=0 Cells=672
Down Sync=2848Kb/s LoopLoss=55dB SNR=15.5dB ErrSec=2 HECErr=N/A Cells=672 auto@a
Yesterday 11:25:46 Tx rate (adjusted) 2475774 to 2503998 -Auto-
Yesterday 11:24:59 Yesterday 11:25:21 BT Test xDSL Status Check:Pass Standalone sub test passed successfully.Pass DSL Status Check Successful Circuit Out of Sync
Up ErrSec=0 HECErr=0 Cells=659
Down ErrSec=2 HECErr=N/A Cells=659"

Which does not mean a lot to me !

In the past such an interruption was enough to change download speed...sometimes for the better.

Edited by deleted (Tue 27-Nov-12 23:05:44)

Loss of service, probable loss of synch.

So nobody actually knows, it is speculation on A&A's part!

I can happily read all of their report but making a sensible interpretation thereof requires knowledge of what that type of report is designed to convey.

If you still experience problems, give A&A the full details and let them chase Openreach on your behalf. After all you are paying a significant price for their (A&A) services, so ensure you get value for the payments you are making.

Thanks for the reply so early in the morning!

I'm so pleased to have a +2Mbps connection that I've not followed up the loss of sync incidents.

Googling for information shows this is a long running problem and not just in the UK.
This thread seems to confirm your previous idea re. HR joints
http://community.bt.com/t5/BB-Speed-Connection-Issue...

If the problem continues I will raise the issue with A&A.

Excellent.

Please update this thread if/when you have any further information.