Would I get better results on ID NET.?

[tillymint]

I am with Plus Net and am very seriously considering going to IDNET.I  am on the end of a rural line with a max speed of 512kbps, but am not getting anything like that.  Speed tests have given me results of  IP profile 350 - 750 kbps , IP throughput 195 - 446 kbps depending on time of day.   Would I get better results on ID NET.? Am a non -tech elderly lady!!!

[Simon]

Hi Tillymint, and  

One of the more techie folks will be along soon, who will hopefully be able to advise you, but in the meantime, have a welcome karma! 

[Rik]

Hi Tilly and welcome to the forum, have a karma. 

Your speed is, to a great extent, controlled by the length and characteristics of your BT phone line. Unfortunately, there's nothing that any ISP can do to change that portion of the link.

Where IDNet score is that they guarantee that, once you reach their network, you will go as fast as your line can. In addition, support is provided by real people, who answer the phone without you having to go through a menu system, and who don't work from a script, so with IDNet, you'll get the best you possibly can.

The fact that you know enough to tell me what your profile range is says that you are not as non-techie as you think.

That sort of result suggests you get a lot of noise on your line, which causes the modem/router to re-sync reasonably frequently, sometimes at quite low speeds. There are ways we can help you to improve on that if you feel happy to play with your phone wiring a little, or have a friend/partner who could help.

Unfortunately, I have to go an eat in a minute (or Sue puts my dinner in the dog ), but if you're interested in trying to improve things, can you tell me:

1) How you connect, ie do you use a router or a modem (a brand would be helpful)?

2) How many telephone sockets do you have?

3) Do you use extensions plugged into any of them and, if so, are they round or flat?

4) What other equipment is connected to the line, eg phones, Sky box etc.

[Sebby]

I am with Plus Net and am very seriously considering going to IDNET.I  am on the end of a rural line with a max speed of 512kbps, but am not getting anything like that.  Speed tests have given me results of  IP profile 350 - 750 kbps , IP throughput 195 - 446 kbps depending on time of day.   Would I get better results on ID NET.? Am a non -tech elderly lady!!!

First and foremost, welcome to IDNetters.  

Usually, the answer is easy: yes you'd benefit from moving to IDNet, as they're the best ISP around!

In your case, being on a long, rural line, I see the issue to be whether you could benefit from moving to ADSL Max (that's assuming that I've understood you correctly, and you are on a fixed 512k product at present). If the answer to this is yes, you could certainly improve your current situation, though it may not necessarily be worth moving to IDNet. The reason I say that is as follows. Generally users move because they are unhappy with the speed they get from their current ISP. By speed, I mean the speed you can achieve given your current connection rate. For you, the issue isn't PlusNet, but actually your long line.

Anyway, enough of the theory. How do you connect at present; modem or router? And a model number would be useful. Then I can explain how to extract some information that will allow us to see the current state of your line, and hopefully advise you further.

I hope this helps.

[Noreen]

tillymint from one elderly lady to another.

[tillymint]

Very many thanks gents for rapid and hopeful replies.   I am using a (newly bought) Linksys AM200 ethernet ADSL modem.  We have 3 BT phone sockets. 2 have splitters with phones attached. One has an extension lead plugged in, which leads to a socket in another room, which m y son-in-law fitted to take my internet connection.   This extension has a splitter with the modem and a phone attached.  I am on PlusNet option 1 with upto 8 MB speed and 2 GB download allowance, but all the tests I have tried on the line tell me I can only get 512k.  Hope this helps.
Thank you to Noreen for welcome-  we oldies must stick together !!!!!!

[Sebby]

Right, first let me just give you my thoughts on your setup. You're on a long line, and unfortunately, you won't be able to improve anything caused by that, as I'm sure you probably know. But, you might be able to get more out of your connection by making everything within your property as good as it can possibly be. I'm concerned about the extension lead that goes to the modem. Extension leads - especially those of poor quality (which is most of the normal stuff you can buy in the shops, as it's really intended for voice) - can have a major impact on the rate you connect at. Due to their low quality (voice doesn't need particularly high quality cable, unlike ADSL) they are prone to picking up noise, and your modem has to connect at a lower rate to compensate for this.

I've been onto the Linksys site and downloaded the manual for your modem, but unfortunately it's only a quick installation guide so I can't see if there's a way to get hold of your line stats. Usually I'd say this is paramount, but I think there are certainly improvements that can be made to your setup that would more than likely help without having this information.

First of all, do any of your sockets look like this (i.e. with a panel at the front that can be removed)? If so, I would suggest doing the following:

1. Fit a filtered faceplate, such as the ADSL Nation XTE-2005. What this does is terminate the ADSL signal at the point the telephone line enters your property, meaning that noise pickup inside of your property should be minimal.

2. Replace the extension lead fitted by your son with some high quality, twisted pair cable; this will plug straight into the filtered faceplate, which has one socket for ADSL and one socket for telephone. I assume that the other extension you referred to is fitted by BT and therefore hard-wired; the beauty of a filtered faceplate is that this extension socket will already be filtered, so you won't need microfilters anymore. Again, ADSL Nation sell various lengths.

I may have got your setup slightly wrong with regards to the extensions. I've assumed that you have one extension fitted by BT (in which case it will be hard-wired inside the BT master socket), and that the one your son fitted is one that plugs into the front of the socket (i.e. just like a telephone would), though what I've said will largely stay the same.

If you don't have the socket that I mentioned earlier, there are still things that can be done; just let us know if this is the case.

Regarding your original question, you can probably be aware now that the cause of your low speeds is actually your line and not PlusNet. Let's assume that I've correctly understood your setup and you made the improvements I've suggested above, it's still unlikely that you'll connect at a rate high enough that you'd be disappointed with the download speed you could achieve with PlusNet for whatever connection rate you went on to achieve, i.e. it will still be low enough that you'd probably never notice if PlusNet had speed issues (e.g. caused by a lack of capacity at their end). That said, if you don't like PlusNet as a company and are looking to move, then you'll do no better than IDNet.

Sorry for the huge post and I really hope this helps, and if there's anything I haven't explained well, please just let me know.

[Rik]

Thank you to Noreen for welcome-  we oldies must stick together !!!!!!

You may be surprised to know that the forum has a majority of silver surfers, Tilly, and IDNet has a large number of 'more mature' customers - it's something they specialise in.

[Lance]

Something else which wouold probably help your line is the removal of the ring wire from all telephone sockets. It is usually orange/white, but always terminal 3 in the socket. This should help reduce any noise pick up on your line

[DaveH]

You may be surprised to know that the forum has a majority of silver surfers, Tilly, and IDNet has a large number of 'more mature' customers - it's something they specialise in.

Maybe a rename as SagaNet would be in order?

[cavillas]

You may be surprised to know that the forum has a majority of silver surfers, Tilly, and IDNet has a large number of 'more mature' customers - it's something they specialise in.

They had no choice in the matter, we know what's good.

[Rik]

Maybe a rename as SagaNet would be in order?

Ah, you've read some of my posts then? 

[tillymint]

Well folks, I certainly started something by revealing my vintage. Seems I`m not alone in being a VERY silver surfer.
To get back to the matter of improving my line.  Very many sincere thanks to Sebby for that long post .   We have looked long and hard at the possibility of replacing the wiring on the extension but as my son-in-law (plus my daughter and their family) is now in NewZealand and the wiring goes under the floor and through walls, we abandoned the idea.  However, I decided to play around with the connections.   I took out the splitter, disconnected the attached phone and connected the modem directly to the extension.  Magic !!! An immediate big improvement.   As it is now early in the day, I`m keeping the fingers crossed and will try it again later in the day and in the evening.
  I am very impressed by the interest and help I have received from the forum members and will report further later but it looks as though the surmise that the ISP is not at fault may well be right.

[Rik]

Hi Tilly

If you saw a big improvement by removing the phone, it sounds like it wasn't filtered. When you refer to splitters, are you talking about a socket doubler, or a micro-filter? I get the impression that it was possibly the former, in which case it would explain a lot. Whatever plugs into the phone line must be filtered, with the exception of the modem. The ADSL side of the filter is, in fact, unfiltered.

[Sebby]

Yep, it certainly does sound that way, Rik.

Incidentally, Tilly, you don't need to re-wire the existing extension; you can forget about it entirely and use a new piece of cable from the master socket straight to the modem.

[tillymint]

Many thanks to Sebby and Rik for advice and help. We could not put in a fresh extension as it still means going under floorboards and through walls as the pc is in a totally different room. As there has been some improvement since removing the phone, I have decided to leave well alone for the time being, until BT upgrades or extends the line. Incidentally, the phone was on a micro filter.  Thanks again.

[Sebby]

Fair enough. If you're happy with the improvement for now, then we're happy.

[Lance]

Have you considered moving the router to nearer the master socket, and using wireless to connect - getting rid of the need to have the extension all together! Sorry if this has been mentioned at all - I've only quickly glanced through this.

[Sebby]

That was my thought, Lance. Or even powerline networking.

[tillymint]

Have now joined IDNET and installed powerline networking  -  improvement all round and husband  -  in yet another room  -  delighted!!!   Using my older Netgear modem router and working fine.   Great to be able to have a reliable evening service,  for a change.   Again thanks for help and interest.

[Rik]

Great news, Tilly, have a karma to help your celebrations.

[Inactive]

A warm welcome from me as well Tilly, I was with Plusnet before coming here, my speeds went up and have stayed up ever since, I am not saying that will happen your line, it did on mine.

I just plain like it here, from another Silver Surfer.



Have a welcome Karma.

[Sebby]

Great news. Welcome.

[Malc]

  to our happy place!

[Simon]

Welcome to paradise, Tilly!