Ok I think considering the limited choice, ultimately I will have to bite the bullet and choose one. I have pretty much narrowed my choices down to Vivaciti's ADSL2+ Variety LLU package which as far as I know and of which I think RobertoS was pointing out, runs via TalkTalk. Also Vivaciti's LLU Unlimited of which is via C&W and apparently by default, has interleaving disabled. They can manually adjust the snr aswell if required. I shall enquire directly with Vivaciti to clarify exactly what they are able to offer and make a decision from there. One thing that is very puzzling to me, and forgive my ignorance (I have always received cable broadband) adsl is new to me. My line was installed on 15/02/2012 and a line check on BT Wholesale the day after said I could receive an adsl2+ service between 18-22mb, now however it is reading as follows.

THE BROADBAND AVAILABILITY CHECKER


For Telephone Number 01273683*** on Exchange KEMPTOWN
Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 512Kbps. However, due to the length of your line, an engineer visit may be required, who will, where possible, supply the broadband service.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 1Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 750Kbps and 3.5Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 6Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 5Mbps and 7Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 500Kbps and downstream line speed of 6Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 5Mbps and 7Mbps.
The actual stable line speed supportable will be determined during the first 10 days of use. This speed may change over time, to ensure line stability is maintained.
If you decide to place an order, a further test will be performed to confirm if your line is suitable for the service you wish to purchase.
Thank you for your interest.
Please note that postcode and address check results are indicative only. Most accurate results can be obtained from a telephone number check.

I am less than 300m from the exchange so I would expect much faster speeds than the above. I know the line has not been active 10 or more days yet to give a more conclusive result, but do you think these are the max speeds I will get?

In reply to a post by LoWLatencY:

my choices to Aquiss.....

Just for the record, just to clear things up for those reading, we no longer use C&W for our Unlimited products. (we dropped them in November 2011)

We took a decision that for us C&W were accounting for more faults than other networks and the general fix time was nearly double that of other networks. For us those were at levels that were not reliable enough to meet our standards that we wish to deliver at.

Edited by aquiss (Sun 19-Feb-12 12:50:39)

In reply to a post by aquiss:

In reply to a post by LoWLatencY:

my choices to Aquiss.....

Just for the record, just to clear things up for those reading, we no longer use C&W for our Unlimited products. (we dropped them in November 2011)

We took a decision that for us C&W were accounting for more faults than other networks and the general fix time was nearly double that of other networks. For us those were at levels that were not reliable enough to meet our standards that we wish to deliver at.

Interesting. Who do you use now to supply your unlimited LLU if you don't mind me asking?

My line was installed on 15/02/2012 and a line check on BT Wholesale the day after said I could receive an adsl2+ service between 18-22mb, now however it is reading as follows.

THE BROADBAND AVAILABILITY CHECKER


For Telephone Number 01273683*** on Exchange KEMPTOWN
Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 512Kbps. However, due to the length of your line, an engineer visit may be required, who will, where possible, supply the broadband service.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 1Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 750Kbps and 3.5Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 6Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 5Mbps and 7Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 500Kbps and downstream line speed of 6Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 5Mbps and 7Mbps

Not good.

The relevant database can take 2-4 days to update to the figures for the location after the line is installed. The first reading would be that for wherever that number was last in use. The later results are for your location .

10 days is nothing to do with that, nor in fact with anything else to do performance. See this explanation. Strictly speaking, it also only applies BT Wholesale broadband supply, not to LLU. Though the LLU suppliers do have other line setup methods.

The 300 yards from the exchange does sound strange. More like the distance from a cabinet. (Forgive me saying that, but some people have thought the cabinet is the exchange).

The cable routing can be hugely different from what one would expect. Some even route to old defunct exchanges far away and back to the active one. Or along railway/waterway sides to a bulk tunnelling point then back. Some go from a premises in a direct line away from the exchange then do an unguided tour round various estates and fields before ending up at the right place.

And for quite a few lines the estimate is just plain nonsense, but even when that is proven BT refuse to alter it. That has caused problems with getting connections to such ISPs as Be.

The only good thing about nonsense estimates is that they don't affect the speed when live. The attenuation is the major factor.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

That has caused problems with getting connections to such ISPs as Be.

Be Retail...no such problems with Be Wholesale.

In reply to a post by LoWLatencY:

I was going to join BE but am told by their sales team that my exchange is at capacity for their service, and so they are unable to provide me.

Do the Be products show on our checker? We've heard a few of our new customers say that Be said they couldn't offer service due to a full exchange, but there is actually capacity.

Be (normally) only show exchanges with capacity on the results that we return, but there could always be a delay with that data.

If you'd like us to try and put an order through for you on Be, drop us a line. We'd be happy to give it a try for you.

Matt

In reply to a post by uno:

In reply to a post by LoWLatencY:

I was going to join BE but am told by their sales team that my exchange is at capacity for their service, and so they are unable to provide me.

Do the Be products show on our checker? We've heard a few of our new customers say that Be said they couldn't offer service due to a full exchange, but there is actually capacity.

Be (normally) only show exchanges with capacity on the results that we return, but there could always be a delay with that data.

If you'd like us to try and put an order through for you on Be, drop us a line. We'd be happy to give it a try for you.

Matt

Mine number shows be/o2 to be available, i'm with o2 and looking to change , so just to clarify its £48.00 connection, and 1month subs upfront ?

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by LoWLatencY:

Just as I suspected. Exactly why i'd prefer to try and find a package provided via Be wholesale or perhaps Murphx, possibly even Enta.

Give IDNet a call. It's not mentioned on their main site, but they can provide services via Telefonica:

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,27...

Many thanks for a link to the ISP you use.

I am sure IDNet will thank you for the free advertisng and maybe give you a badge with "fanboy" on it.

Bye Tony.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

My line was installed on 15/02/2012 and a line check on BT Wholesale the day after said I could receive an adsl2+ service between 18-22mb, now however it is reading as follows.

THE BROADBAND AVAILABILITY CHECKER


For Telephone Number 01273683*** on Exchange KEMPTOWN
Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 512Kbps. However, due to the length of your line, an engineer visit may be required, who will, where possible, supply the broadband service.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 1Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 750Kbps and 3.5Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 6Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 5Mbps and 7Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 500Kbps and downstream line speed of 6Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 5Mbps and 7Mbps

Not good.

The relevant database can take 2-4 days to update to the figures for the location after the line is installed. The first reading would be that for wherever that number was last in use. The later results are for your location .

10 days is nothing to do with that, nor in fact with anything else to do performance. See this explanation. Strictly speaking, it also only applies BT Wholesale broadband supply, not to LLU. Though the LLU suppliers do have other line setup methods.

The 300 yards from the exchange does sound strange. More like the distance from a cabinet. (Forgive me saying that, but some people have thought the cabinet is the exchange).

The cable routing can be hugely different from what one would expect. Some even route to old defunct exchanges far away and back to the active one. Or along railway/waterway sides to a bulk tunnelling point then back. Some go from a premises in a direct line away from the exchange then do an unguided tour round various estates and fields before ending up at the right place.

And for quite a few lines the estimate is just plain nonsense, but even when that is proven BT refuse to alter it. That has caused problems with getting connections to such ISPs as Be.

The only good thing about nonsense estimates is that they don't affect the speed when live. The attenuation is the major factor.

Hmm doesn't sound good. Thanks for shedding some light on that RobertoS. I suspect I have a long line, regardless of my close proximity to the exchange, this would obviously account for the low speed results estimated by bt wholesale checker. No doubt my line from the cab back to the exchange takes the scenic route. The only way I will ever know what speeds can be achieved is to run a service on the line and hope for the best "suck it and see" so to speak. Vivaciti have run my number through their checker, and have enquired with Be wholesale, who have said that there is capacity and that an order can be placed for my line, no speed estimates were returned however. I have placed an order with Vivaciti and am now just waiting for their carriers to get back to them with an activation date etc. stay tuned everyone to see what surprises my line has in store.