Fibre 2 or not Fibre 2 ... that is the question

[ByJings]

I'm totally confused.

I've had BT fibre broadband (FTTC) and BT TV for 6 years, although my broadband package has changed it's name several times. It started out as 'Unlimited BT Infinity 1' (with download speed up to 78 Mbps), then in mid-2018 it became 'Superfast Fibre 1 Unlimited', changed to 'Fibre 1 and Calls' in spring 2020 and changed to 'Fibre 1' in autumn 2020.

I ran some broadband speed checks (BT and several others) in 2017 and a few since then, and they consistently reported my download speed was around 55 Mbps. I'm not sure what speed the various packages were supposed to offer, but I gradually got the impression that BT were reducing the speed of Fibre 1 and introducing Fibre 2 at a higher price for average download speeds of 45-68 Mbps and as a result I changed my package to Fibre 2 in December 2022.

Over the past few weeks my BT TV box has occasionally reported a problem with the internet connection but seemed to resolve itself after a few minutes. I now believe this was due to a faulty BT Mini Connector which finally completely failed last night (no power light and dead) and rectified as I fortunately had a spare. However, over the past week or so while checking my internet connection as advised by the BT TV message, I checked my router and ran some new broadband speed checks.

To my surprise, my download speed was now only around 43 Mbps (down from 55Mbps previously), yet My BT product details (and my bills) say I have Fibre 2 and all my internet searches suggest that this still  provides download speed of 45-68 Mbps. I should say that I have always switched off my ASUS modem router every night before going to bed, so I was concerned that has resulted in my line being capped at Fibre 1 speed.

I was on a web chat with BT this afternoon to discuss this (I'm hearing disabled so can't make phone calls) and the agent told me the following;

Fibre 2 @ £39.17
This package gives you:
An estimated download speed of between 40-45 Mbps
An estimated upload speed of between 12-14 Mbps
This package includes:
Stay Fast Guarantee
Unlimited monthly broadband usage
UK and Ireland call centres - you will always speak to one of our team based in the UK & Ireland when you call us

I told the agent that download speed looked like Fibre 1 and the reply was that Fibre 1 and Fibre 2 had the same download speed.

Before sending lots of details of my settings, logs and BT Broadband Availability Checker results , can any of the Distinguished Sages please tell me if what the agent said is correct and if not, then what are the Fibre 2 speeds that I should expect.

[licquorice]

He was correct in a way. If your line is only capable of a download speed of less than 55M, it matters not whether you are on Fibre1 or Fibre2.

Continuously switching your router on and off is not going to help your cause.

[iniltous]

F1 upto 55Mb download / 10 upload , F2 upto 80Mb download /  20 upload , because your estimated upload is over 10Mb , it must be F2 regardless of the estimated download being below 55Mb.

The  overriding factor is line length , but defects on the line can impact the speed, if a ‘clean’ line had a download limit of around 40Mb -50Mb primarily due to its length , arguably purchasing F2 is pointless unless the extra upload is sufficient to be worth the extra cost, if the  max attainable is ( for arguments sake ) 60Mb and it’s a defect holding the line down to 40-50Mb  , obviously fixing the defect should get the download speed back up towards the maximum attainable, that’s where the router statistics will help 

[ByJings]

Thanks

I understand both replies but wanted to be sure that there can be higher speed for Fibre 2 if conditions are right.

No point getting an engineer out if they are designed to be the same as claimed by the chat agent. FYI here is my Broadband Availability Checker result ...

I've also found that my DSL connection has been going up and down a lot. Twice on Sept 11, 14 times on Sept 13, 54 times yesterday Oct 4 and 8 times today Oct 5.Been fine on all other days.

Never had anything like this before so clearly some fault has developed on the line or in my ASUS modem router. I'll swap that tomorow and revert to the BT HH6 which will also allow BT access for testing and diagnostics. I'll book an engineer if I still get the problemm with the HH6.

[iniltous]

Potentially better speeds are available according to the DSL checker , but without reference to the router statistics you will never know for sure

[Midnight_Voice]

@ByJings 

You should not switch your router off overnight.

BT’s end, when looking at what speeds might be achievable for you, will notice this as a  failure,  and tend to back off your speed in order to avoid this.

Leave your router on instead, and you should hope to see your speeds climbing back towards the theoretical maxima you expect.

[imjolly]

@ByJings 

can you post stats from your hub - hub manager/advanced settings/technical log information this will give more helpful information especially attainable connection speed

[ByJings]

Yes, I've seen that advice lots of times. If it is correct, then it indicates a pretty shoddy alorithm for detecting stability issues.

A router going offline every night around 11pm and remaining offline for 9 hours and often more can surely be recognised as different from an unstable line.

After 6 years without any issues, my line now seems to be unstable for as yet unknown reason(s) and the DSL connection is dropping sometimes every few minutes. This can go on for a couple of hours and then the connection will remain up for a day or days.

This recent change in the stability is why I started to investigate and found the lower download speed, but I don't know how long it has been like that and is why I started asking what is the 'potential' speed of Fibre 2 vs Fibre 1 under ideal conditions after the BT chat agent told me they were both the same !

[imjolly]

without you posting your hub stats as requested it is like trying to help you blindfolded

[ByJings]

@imjolly  here are screenshots of the logs and settings on the ASUS DSL-AC68U router. Although not the BT HH6, they should provide equivalent information.

DSL Information

DSL Line Stats

DSL Settings

At the time of the screen grabs, you will see that my DSL line has been up for over 17 hours since last line Down/Up occurred at approx 8pm last night.

I will be reverting to my BT HH6 this afternoon and will post an update and new hub stats some time tomorrow perhaps.