Slow FTTH Speeds

[Theuksbest]

@pippincp thanks for clarifying, makes sense.

I’d assumed @h3x1e  was meant to be on the full 900 since he’d joined this thread, but you’re right i dont think he mentioned anywhere actually.

for absolute clarity all the measurements I’ve been sharing have been in Megabits per second

I’m going to call BT FTTH Team Monday/Tuesday probably, but not hopeful 

[Theuksbest]

i called BT again today, and went how i expected.

They told me first that their minimum SLA is only 450 which i actually didn’t know. I would have been told about this when i subscribed to the service apparently. That sounds significantly different from a marketed 900 service, than a service with a minimum speed of 450!

I explained all the tests that i have done and the representative said they only recognise and acknowledge results from their own Home Hub. So i plugged in their router and they ran a speed which was around 800.

I haven’t been able to get close to that speed in reality and in fact most of the time if i monitor it is below their threshold as you can see below:

The experience of the BT service and support has been the worst i have ever had, and considering i pay almost £100 a month for that frustrates me a lot. 

Two main issues i have  is they wont acknowledge any of my concerns regarding speed despite what tests i have done my side. They dont monitor the speeds on their home hub and is so optimised that it does not match reality with how everybody will manage their own setups. The second is both times where i have wanted to raise a formal complaint, they have told me they have but closed it again straight away. The representative says they’ve raised the complaint and closed it straight away which i am sure cannot be legal, if i wanted to complain about the representative then i couldn’t. 

I would not recommend to anyone to buy a service from BT unless you have too, and thats the problem i dont think there are any other choices... 

So in the end zero help, the representative was basically telling me he was fed up with talking to me at the end of the call and would not escalate anything. He also never sent me through the case details which he said he would do so i dont even have a record of the call/complaint.

How are BT operating a legitimate complaints procedure here and service that is focused on treating customers fairly....

Disappointing 

[jamie1985]

@Theukbest

Oh no that's not good 😞

I would maybe call again, sounds like you maybe had someone on bad day maybe? ithe majority off those can be understanding and here to listen.

As for the 450mb that bit is correct, on my contract via email i was told my guaranteed minimum would be 450 and nothing below that.

However their upto 900 service so for lets say 32 houses were to connect to gpon that would mean sharing of 2.4gb between everyone. Of course not all will be uing it at the same time and i am very sure not all 32 in your area will be using the FTTP service, just depends how many @your local postcode has ONT installed outside.

So the more people joining and using it more may affect speeds at some points of the day due to bandwidth.

I still do believe you may have issue though, i would expect you to see at least 900mb at some points during the day/night.

Hopefully you get this sorted out and you get the speds you are happy with.

[pippincp]

@jamie1985  No one has an ONT installed outside.

[Theuksbest]

@pippincp  - what were your thoughts on my experience, were you expecting a different one when you recommended I call them?

@jamie1985 - thanks for the support, I do think there is an issue too. But even if there’s not you’d expect they adjust the billing to better match the speed I’m getting in reality. Even if it’s something in good faith because they don’t officially support the results from third party devices but can acknowledge the valid tests I’ve done.

I don’t think I’d call back again 

[Q-D]

Found this thread as I’m having the exact same experience.

Had fibre 900 installed for circa 8 months, no issue, last week or so, speed test capping out at around 520 but varying between 450 and 520.

Typically a solid 900 - 918.  Was going to wait until next week before I looked into it, as like you assumed some local area throttling.

Not concerned about the speed loss particularly but if it is something BT have done, just wish there was better comms than hiding behind the “450 guarantee” as the default answer.

I get they have a business to run and a network to manage, I don’t need 900mbps all the time but lately no matter the time of day I seem to be capped at 520 (latest test is 470).

Sounds like you didn’t have a fun time calling them so I’ll put that off as long as I can! Fingers crossed normal service resumes next week.

[iniltous]

FTTP , unlike ADSL or VDSL isn’t a rate adaptive system, where the connection ( sync ) rate is dependent on the line characteristics ( mainly line length )  if the light level at the ONT is sufficient then  you ‘connect’ , and that connection is at whatever rate you pay for ( assuming the ISP has provisioned you at the appropriate level )....the minimum speed guarantee is more to reflect the fact that the 2.5Gb download bandwidth is shared by upto 32 users, if they are all using the service , then it’s not likely to deliver 900Mb throughput to anyone, but even if they all were 900Mb customers  then that’s what they are connected at, there is no need to ration that, although they would know throughput will likely suffer.
If BT have checked and state they are seeing better download speed than you , why would they try to mislead you , after all , if it’s the OR kit malfunctioning, then it’s OR not BT that are responsible.

If your connection is set up correctly ( 900 ) and the throughput is above 450Mb, then that’s what you agreed, if you have tested at a time when the chances are most of the bandwidth should be available and you still don’t get close to 900Mb , when connected to the ONT directly, perhaps it’s your device that’s the bottle neck.

[Theuksbest]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I totally agree with the pipe vs. the bandwidth analogy you explained, in theory that means we should all see a 900 connection though. Although I appreciate that’s not quite right in reality so I’m considerate of that in my frustration.

I also agree with your point around our kit is OR not BTs. I’m not trying to get them to support my kit but I think in reality everybody has there own  setup and if there was really a genuine speed profile to the ONT then it’s likely it wouldn’t make much difference which type of legitimate equipment you plug into it, you should get the same results. The fact you don’t get the same results across the four different routers I’ve tested it on is probably more of a signal of a problem.

if you look back to the beginning of my thread, I’ve used some pretty decent routers to test against, and different computers. 

also I have a friend who is connected into the same exchange and getting 800 to his USG unit.

I find it really hard to see how this is possibly something I’m doing wrong since I’ve tested quite a few options.

I’d probably be ok if they just said ow yeah it’s not working then there’s no point you paying to be on the 900 plan, let’s down grade you to the next one down where we know you can achieve most of what I’m paying for - but instead it’s just a denial of my experience which is backed by some pretty reasonable data points.

not really out to get anyone, just don’t feel like I’m getting a good deal or experience for what I’m paying for.  

[busterboy1]

@Theuksbest 

Hi mate apologies in advance for asking these questions.

My 900/110 package has worked perfect since I had it installed some weeks back.

A couple of things you might like to try, I have set these settings and it does help.

Maybe you could try, If it helps then all well and good, if not you have lost nothing.

Again I'm sorry if I seem to be telling you how to suck eggs but just trying to help.

1: Apply a total reset to your network on the computer.

2: Check the WiFi status in the Network settings to assure you are equipped to receive such high speeds, 1.2Gbps on mine.

3: Disable Interrupt Moderation in the "Controller Properties"

4: And finally Disable "Packet Coalescing" in your WiFi Network Adapter.

As stated earlier I am using an Asus RT-AX88U router and my speeds never drop at any time of the day.

Worth a try mate. Nothing to lose. 🙂

[iniltous]

Downgrading to a slower package may well be the rational choice ( if your ISP agrees to let you do this for ‘free’ ) but BT don’t market all the ‘profiles’ that OR have to offer , so ( AFAIK ) you would presumably go for the 300Mb package.

I would think the minimum speed guarantee would be  proportional to the package so if 900 is 450 , then 300 may well be 100-150Mb range, although if it were something in your set up that was incapable of benefiting from the higher speed, you may get  consistent performance from a lower speed service.

Its understandable for an ISP , especially if it’s a mass market provider , to limit support to the equipment they provide , if the customer chooses to use something else, they should do so understanding that they ultimately are responsible themselves for supporting this third party equipment, if a higher level of support is needed there are ISP that would be amenable, but they tend to aim at a market that prioritises service above cost, and charge more.

If not already done, have you connected a device ( PC ) directly to the ONT , using PPPoE, previously confirming that the PC is capable of Gb speeds  when connected to another Gb capable network , and testing at what’s likely to be the quietest time of day ( say after 11pm ), if you have and you are sure that there is a problem not under your control,  then it’s difficult to see where you can go, if the ISP insists the service is within contractual limits, but there is no real reason to suspect that your ‘connection’ isnt what you are paying for , if the throughput is above minimum but so far below maximum that it’s hard to justify the extra expense , perhaps a  downgrade makes sense.

You may also be unlucky to be on a PON with several demanding users and they and you are competing for the available bandwidth.