Discussion
http://samknows.com/broadband/search.php
I originally posted this in another thread but then thought I should start my own thread.
After having a look round the above site because I was thinking of changing my supplier Orange say I have a line capable of 2 meg, Virgin use BT estimates & say my line is capable of 5 meg, BE say it's capable of handling 14 megs, data again supplied by BT.
So my question is, why such a variation in estimated speeds? I just don't understand.
I originally posted this in another thread but then thought I should start my own thread.
After having a look round the above site because I was thinking of changing my supplier Orange say I have a line capable of 2 meg, Virgin use BT estimates & say my line is capable of 5 meg, BE say it's capable of handling 14 megs, data again supplied by BT.
So my question is, why such a variation in estimated speeds? I just don't understand.
Mostly comes down to two things, in order for them to estimate the "up to" speeds you'll see, and those are how noisy your coppery wiry bits are, and how expensive the black boxes with LEDs are in the local exchange.
A noisy line (using 40 year old copper) will be slower than nice shiny new copper wire for that last little bit from the junction box. This info comes from BT, and doesnt change per provider. The capabilities of the switch that the provider has fitted in the local exchange might well, and that will change the speed they offer you.
Virgin fibre notwithstanding, nor the age of your router, speed of your browser etc etc.
A noisy line (using 40 year old copper) will be slower than nice shiny new copper wire for that last little bit from the junction box. This info comes from BT, and doesnt change per provider. The capabilities of the switch that the provider has fitted in the local exchange might well, and that will change the speed they offer you.
Virgin fibre notwithstanding, nor the age of your router, speed of your browser etc etc.
Thanks for the replies, I'm getting it now.
How did you know my house/line was exactly 40 years old? That's quite spooky. 
I'm with Virgin at the moment & my speeds get ridiculously slow at peak times, phoned them up & they basically said that my maximum speed is 5meg but I rarely see 3 & it has even gone down to 1 on a couple of occasions that I've noticed. I am thinking of going with BE but don't expect to get the 14meg they say my line can handle, I'd be more than happy if I got a steady 5.
How did you know my house/line was exactly 40 years old? That's quite spooky. I'm with Virgin at the moment & my speeds get ridiculously slow at peak times, phoned them up & they basically said that my maximum speed is 5meg but I rarely see 3 & it has even gone down to 1 on a couple of occasions that I've noticed. I am thinking of going with BE but don't expect to get the 14meg they say my line can handle, I'd be more than happy if I got a steady 5.
109 Bob said:
Thanks for the replies, I'm getting it now.
How did you know my house/line was exactly 40 years old? That's quite spooky.
I'm with Virgin at the moment & my speeds get ridiculously slow at peak times, phoned them up & they basically said that my maximum speed is 5meg but I rarely see 3 & it has even gone down to 1 on a couple of occasions that I've noticed. I am thinking of going with BE but don't expect to get the 14meg they say my line can handle, I'd be more than happy if I got a steady 5.
Bob -don't rely on the Asian connection helping you .After a few times of slow speeds ( 2m on a 10 line),and "escalations" - I got hold of the complaints section on their web page ,and had a call from their tech support ( funnily enough it's in the UK).Since then -they've "solved"the problem . How did you know my house/line was exactly 40 years old? That's quite spooky. I'm with Virgin at the moment & my speeds get ridiculously slow at peak times, phoned them up & they basically said that my maximum speed is 5meg but I rarely see 3 & it has even gone down to 1 on a couple of occasions that I've noticed. I am thinking of going with BE but don't expect to get the 14meg they say my line can handle, I'd be more than happy if I got a steady 5.
olimeads said:
Will you all stop complaining about 2mb speeds. i live some 10 miles from my exchange and get a whopping 512Ks at its best, usually half that.
i can only dream of not having to wait for youtube to load.
Sorry. i can only dream of not having to wait for youtube to load.
I don't know much about them, but wouldn't you do better with a mobile type dongle internet thingy or would there be low download restrictions?
109 Bob said:
I don't know much about them, but wouldn't you do better with a mobile type dongle internet thingy or would there be low download restrictions?
Its fair to assume that if he lives somewhere sparsely enough populated to live a long way away from an exchange, that the mobile providers wont be falling over themselves to stick 3G infrastructure in the bottom paddock 
And yes, the cap on downloads disappears quite quickly just sitting there browsing YouPorn.
Yes I see your point, I was just thinking out loud was all.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/68...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/68...
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