Fibre with Halo 1 reduced speeds

[JohnW3]

I was contracted for BT Fibre 2, which my bill confirmed, and I was getting average download and upload speeds of 67Mbps and 19Mbps, respectively, which were the advertised speeds.

Then, without me doing anything, the description on my January 2021 Bill changed to Fibre with Halo 1 and my average upload and download speeds went down to 55Mbps and 15Mbps, respectively, which just happen to be within the advertised speeds for Fibre with Halo 1. My ping times to a server I frequently use in London also went up from 10ms to 20ms disrupting my use of audio software I was running.

I did have an Email from BT saying I was being put onto Fibre with Halo 1 at no extra cost but there was no mention of speeds reducing. I contacted BT Customer Services via Chat and was assured that my service had not been downgraded. I telephoned and spoke to a BT adviser who said my lower speeds were within contract but agreed to book an engineer appointment for Sat 6th Feb 2021, which is the day after tomorrow, to look at my router and line.

I believe my service has been downgraded but nobody is admitting to this. I have no problem with paying a bit more for a service equivalent to the one I was getting under Fibre 2 but there doesn't now seem to be such a package available. I would like my speeds to be restored to those I was getting under Fibre 2 for which I would be prepared to pay a bit more per month if necessary.

Anyone else had this sort of experience and were you able to get a satisfactory resolution?

[garybs29]

Halo 1 is just an add on so doesn't affect your speed in any way & you should get the same speeds as Fibre 2 so you definitely haven't been downgraded. There may be an issue somewhere which is causing the speed degradation, do you get any noise on the line when doing the quiet line test for example (on 17070)

[JohnW3]

Thanks for your response, Gary. This is the first time I've done the quiet line test so it's a bit difficult to know what I'm listening for. I would say there was a bit of noise but not really bad crackling. 

Regarding reduced speeds, the advertised average speed for Fibre 2 was 67Mbps download and Fibre with Halo 1 is advertised as 52Mbps to 57Mbps with a guarantee of 47Mbps. See below from BT websites.

It seems such a coincidence that when my service was changed from Fibre 2 to Fibre with Halo 1 my speed went down from 67 to 55.

• BT Fibre 2

• 67Mb average speed
• Unlimited usage
• PAYG calls

Fibre with Halo 1

52Mb - 57Mb

Download speed range

16Mb-18Mb Upload speed range

47Mb Stay Fast Guarantee

[garybs29]

• 67Mb average speed

That's an average speed of everyone in the country & not specific to your line. The halo 1 estimated speed range is specific to your line, have you got any documentation showing you were meant to get 67 on Fibre 2?

[JohnW3]

Hi Gary.

Thanks for your reply.

The Fibre 2 and Halo 1 speeds advertised by BT which I quoted from were clearly intended to give potential customers a view of what speeds they could expect if they signed up for a particular service. There was no distinction in the advertising between "everyone in the country" and "my specific line". So if BT say in an advert "Average 67MBps" for Fibre2 and "52Mbps to 57Mbps" for Fibre with Halo 1 then is it reasonable for a customer to assume that Fibre with Halo 1 is slower than Fibre 2?

I'm not clear why, if Fibre with Halo 1 advertising is specific to my line, then Fibre 2 advertising is not. Can you explain? 

Can you give me some indication of where I might find documentation showing I was meant to get 67Mbps with Fibre 2?

Thanks again. Your responses are much appreciated. Cheers. 

[garybs29]

You'd have to look at your account & any order confirmation, when you place any orders you'd get a speed range for you line (like the halo 1 you provided earlier) & not the average so you'd need to check what your speed range & guarantee was on Fibre 2

[imjolly]

in order for the forum members to help please can you post the stats from your router (if hub enter 192.168.1.254 in your browser) and if  HH5 then go to troubleshooting then helpdesk and if HH6/SH2 then advanced settings then technical log information . 

Have you tried the quiet line test? - dial 17070 option 2 - should hear nothing - best done with a corded phone. if cordless phone you may hear a 'dull hum' which is normal     any noise is a problem is a problem for your broadband

the advertised speeds are as already posted by @garybs29 are an average (not your average) as directed by ofcom

enter your phone number and post results  remember to delete number   https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Someone may then be able to offer help/assistance/suggestions to your problem

[pippincp]

---

@JohnW3wrote:

Thanks for your response, Gary. This is the first time I've done the quiet line test so it's a bit difficult to know what I'm listening for. I would say there was a bit of noise but not really bad crackling. 

Regarding reduced speeds, the advertised average speed for Fibre 2 was 67Mbps download and Fibre with Halo 1 is advertised as 52Mbps to 57Mbps with a guarantee of 47Mbps. See below from BT websites.

It seems such a coincidence that when my service was changed from Fibre 2 to Fibre with Halo 1 my speed went down from 67 to 55.

• BT Fibre 2

• 67Mb average speed
• Unlimited usage
• PAYG calls

Fibre with Halo 1

52Mb - 57Mb

Download speed range

16Mb-18Mb Upload speed range

47Mb Stay Fast Guarantee

---

I can see why you are confused so lets get the dross out of the way. Halo 1 is an addon that has nothing to do with speeds. It can be added on to both Fibre 1 and Fibre 2 products.

The 52 - 57mbps is for your line as it also includes your minimum Stay Fast Guarantee.

Hope that helps.

@posting the info @imjolly has asked for will futher clarify.

[JohnW3]

Hi Gary.

I've managed to find my order confirmation which I received on 15th September 2017.

This is an extract from it.

Broadband - Unlimited BT Infinity 2

Your broadband will start by midnight on: 18 Sep 2017 There's no need to be at home on the day as we don't need to visit to start your broadband. How fast will it be?We estimate your download speed will be between 61Mb and 80Mb, and your upload speed will be between 19Mb and 20Mb. The minimum guaranteed speed you can expect from your broadband will be 55Mb. We comply with the Ofcom Broadband Speeds Code of Practice We'll always aim to give you the download speed shown, but if your actual speed is slower you should call us on 0800 111 4567 and we'll do our best to fix it. If we can't improve it and it stays that way, you'll be able to cancel your broadband contract without having to pay early termination charges. How much can I use?There's no usage limit on your broadband service, so you can use the internet as much as you like.

It's for Infinity 2 which is what Fibre 2 was called then. As you can see, at that time BT estimated my download speed as between 61Mbps and 80Mbps. The get out, though, is that the minimum guaranteed speed was 55MBps which is exactly what I'm getting now. Note though that the guaranteed minimum has now been reduced to 47Mbps.

Anyway, soon after my Infinity 2 Broadband started on 18th Sept 2017 I did a speed check using the Which? Magazine checker and I have dug out the email from Which? confirming the results of 67.5Mbps  upload and 18.5Mbps upload. I was obviously very happy with those and I have been getting those speeds up until January this year.

Thanks for using our broadband speed checker

JOHN, your vital statistics are below

Date of test: ‎18‎/‎09‎/‎2017 ‎14‎:‎49‎:‎45
Download Speed: 67.5Mbps
Upload Speed: 18.5Mbps

[imjolly]

sorry you really need to post the information I requested so the forum members can help  at present there are no current stats nor current estimates of connection speed range   as more people are added to cabinet crosstalk becomes a problem resulting in lower speed