Another slow Zen FTTC (Unlimited 2)

TL;DR: I'm getting 29 down, 15 up. What further diagnostics can I do to verify this isn't an installation / profile/ modem mistake or such?

I was very excited going back to Zen after a few years away due to faster ADSL2+ with another provider. When I noticed Zen provided FTTC in my area I ordered Unlimited Fibre 2 right away.

I have been spoiled with decent ADSL2+ speeds, 18Mbps down, 2.2Mbps up and assumed FTTC would be close to the marketing estimates of 80/20.

The BT engineer joked about him being very new but the installation only took 15 minutes and he was away.

It is now 8 days later and all speed tests are maxing out on 30Mbps down and 15 Mbps up.

I have contacted Zen support. 3 different support engineers have mentioned this is odd since my line syncs at 79Mbps down.

We did a few more speed tests and in the end I was told that "since I am having better speed than 16Mbps nothing more can be done" I was also asked to use a windows laptop for the speed test rather than the mac I was using

What further diagnostics can I do to verify this isn't an installation / profile/ modem mistake or such?

thanks for your time.

David

How far are you from your FTTC box in the street? To get 80/20 you need to be within around 250m. Also what were the estimates at the time of signup?

In reply to a post by davotoula:

What further diagnostics can I do to verify this isn't an installation / profile/ modem mistake or such?

Edit - you can tell us what your home phone wiring is like, how many sockets, if you have a faceplate filter or using plug-in filters etc.

Grab a spare Huawei HG612 from eBay, and install a hacked firmware. You can then use a tool such as DSLstats or HG612 Modem Stats which will reveal your sync speed, and any noise information, similar to the old ADSL days.

You can then contact Zen support with the real information about your connection.

Have you tried a BTW speedtest yet, as this will reveal your speed profile that the BT WBC network has recorded for you (and is not under Zen control): http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/

Edited by jchamier (Mon 17-Feb-14 22:32:45)

In reply to a post by davotoula:

I have been spoiled with decent ADSL2+ speeds, 18Mbps down, 2.2Mbps up and assumed FTTC would be close to the marketing estimates of 80/20.

The BT engineer joked about him being very new but the installation only took 15 minutes and he was away.

It is now 8 days later and all speed tests are maxing out on 30Mbps down and 15 Mbps up.

I have contacted Zen support. 3 different support engineers have mentioned this is odd since my line syncs at 79Mbps down.

We did a few more speed tests and in the end I was told that "since I am having better speed than 16Mbps nothing more can be done" I was also asked to use a windows laptop for the speed test rather than the mac I was using

Hi,

Can you PM me your username so I can investigate the advice you've given and look at the service? On Unlimited 2 you should get at least 40 Mbps with the sync speed you're getting, so you have been advised incorrectly.

kind regards,
Phil.

I am no more than 150m from the FTTC cabinet.

Estimated speed *:79900 download and 20000 upload

In reply to a post by jchamier:

Edit - you can tell us what your home phone wiring is like, how many sockets, if you have a faceplate filter or using plug-in filters etc.

I use only one socket where a wireless phone is connected. The BT engineer installed a new faceplate with dedicated phone socket and dedicated modem socket. He took away the old ADSL filter saying it is not needed anymore. I am not aware of any other phone sockets in the house but for sure nothing is connected to them

In reply to a post by jchamier:

Grab a spare Huawei HG612 from eBay, and install a hacked firmware. You can then use a tool such as DSLstats or HG612 Modem Stats which will reveal your sync speed, and any noise information, similar to the old ADSL days.

You can then contact Zen support with the real information about your connection.

I'll do this once I have exhausted all help I can get from Zen. I am paying premium for my broadband connection because from previous experience Zen has delivered amazing service.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

Have you tried a BTW speedtest yet, as this will reveal your speed profile that the BT WBC network has recorded for you (and is not under Zen control): http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/

I've done the speed test. It shows similar results (a bit lower) than Zen. When I try to run "further diagnostics" the test fails and tells me "The Performance Tester is currently unable to run a speed test for your broadband connection"

Zen support have told me that the BT speedtest can only be used by BT broadband subscribers.

Done, and thanks for the fast reply SkyFire

Due to the way Zen arranges some of the backhaul for FTTC services, then it is possible you are bypassing some fo the BT Wholesale network and thus the IP profile page will not work.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Due to the way Zen arranges some of the backhaul for FTTC services, then it is possible you are bypassing some fo the BT Wholesale network and thus the IP profile page will not work.

Ah yes, very likely. Zen Support mentioned they have their own equipment in the cabinet which is why I need to use the Zen speedtest.

Not in the cabinet, but at the fibre handover node, where they buy their own bandwidth onto their own network.

In my experience, ASP speed estimates are optimistic, and FTTC estimates are pessimistic. You should expect to be getting at least the estimated speed.

If you're 150M from the cabinet, 76Mb sync seems reasonable, and you should see good speeds. I expect there is a config snafu somewhere.

Zen should be able to confirm your sync speed, and the speed you get should be 80% of that or better.

Your wiring etc can only affect sync speed, so if that's good, the fault is upstream of you. But be aware that you must not test when connecting through wi-fi - use a cable or you are measuiring nothing meaningful.

In reply to a post by hoopla:

In my experience, ASP speed estimates are optimistic, and FTTC estimates are pessimistic. You should expect to be getting at least the estimated speed.

If you're 150M from the cabinet, 76Mb sync seems reasonable, and you should see good speeds. I expect there is a config snafu somewhere.

Zen should be able to confirm your sync speed, and the speed you get should be 80% of that or better.

Your wiring etc can only affect sync speed, so if that's good, the fault is upstream of you. But be aware that you must not test when connecting through wi-fi - use a cable or you are measuiring nothing meaningful.

I've had the 76 sync confirmed from Zen.

For speed tests I used a laptop connected directly to the modem via ethernet (PPoE).

I am grasping at straws here but when I transferred my 80/20 connection to Zen 18 months ago my speed dropped to below 40. It took me 3 phone calls to Support for them to accept that anything was amiss. I got the understandable response 'wait 24 hours etc'. Finally, an engineer admitted that on further investigation my 80/20 transfer had been actioned by BTOR as 40/10. It was fixed within a few hours. I am 250+Metres from my cabinet and my modem shows 93/27 max attainable speeds. My connection is not routed via a Zen POP.

I thought about that, but as getting 15 up discounted it.

That said, there are times when people get 80 down and 10 up, i.e. the config for either direction can be done wrong.

Even if they put them on a 40/20 profile (which does not really exist) if the line was short they'd get the full 40. Since the lower speed profiles still allow full use of the spectrum.