ADSL availability
Discussion
I've currently got a 1mb ADSL connection via BT and works a treat.
About a year ago they emailed me to tell me that they would upgrade me to 2mb for free - but it eventually transpired that they could not as I was too far away. So I accepted it and left it at that.
This afternoon I popped into my next-door neighbours to try to fix his new Virgin broadband connection - and he was connecting at a speed of 2.2mb.
So this got me thinking (afterwards) that perhaps our exchange has been upgraded and I can now get my 2mb connection.
But all the on-line checkers that I go to tell me that 512 is the norm and that I might be able to get 1mb .... never mind 2mb.
So my question is ....... is the virgin 2.2mb connection a true 2mb - or is it just faked in some way?
About a year ago they emailed me to tell me that they would upgrade me to 2mb for free - but it eventually transpired that they could not as I was too far away. So I accepted it and left it at that.
This afternoon I popped into my next-door neighbours to try to fix his new Virgin broadband connection - and he was connecting at a speed of 2.2mb.
So this got me thinking (afterwards) that perhaps our exchange has been upgraded and I can now get my 2mb connection.
But all the on-line checkers that I go to tell me that 512 is the norm and that I might be able to get 1mb .... never mind 2mb.
So my question is ....... is the virgin 2.2mb connection a true 2mb - or is it just faked in some way?
It's possible that his 2Mb connection is really only capable of 1Mb. You can try to get an idea of the actual connection speed with an on-line tester such as this one:
www.adslguide.org/tools/speedtest.asp
If his comes out at the 2Mb mark, then there's no reason your line shouldn't be able to do the same.
www.adslguide.org/tools/speedtest.asp
If his comes out at the 2Mb mark, then there's no reason your line shouldn't be able to do the same.
Assuming your neighbour isn't miles away, it's not just about distance, it's more about line quality. More specifically line quality in the part of the spectrum that ADSL needs. A kink, or a bad twist in the line between the green box and your house can stress the copper and effectivly caps the bandwidth you can get down that stretch of wire.
One thing you can try is phone BT (not the internet part) and ask them to increase the gain on your line.
Another way is to order a new line from BT. They will have to run new copper from the Green box to your house, and put in through a different loop from the Green box to the exchange. Although not definate, this new copper has a much higher chance of getting better bandwidth. You can then transfer your existing phone number to the new line and cancel the old one. Sadly the expence and downtime, probably isn't worth it.
One thing you can try is phone BT (not the internet part) and ask them to increase the gain on your line.
Another way is to order a new line from BT. They will have to run new copper from the Green box to your house, and put in through a different loop from the Green box to the exchange. Although not definate, this new copper has a much higher chance of getting better bandwidth. You can then transfer your existing phone number to the new line and cancel the old one. Sadly the expence and downtime, probably isn't worth it.
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