BT, 76mb/s fibre optic running at less than 4mb/s

[nitrosurf]

Hello all,

 

Been a long time since I've frequented this site, good to see it's as useful as ever! I've recently aquired a BT Infinity fibre optic line, rated at 76mb/s max dowload speed,19bm/s max upload speed. I've had it installed for about a month and had nothing but trouble with it. The speed is very consistant, unfortunately it is consistantly slow; 3.9mb/s max UP, regardless of the time of day. I am using an AMD Phenom II X4 995 processor with 4 GB RAM on a windows XP Pro operating system. I've never had issue with my hardware and tend to keep it in well fettled form. I am hard wired (ethernet) into the BT router with this machine and all testing is performed with all the other equipment in my home switched off. I get the same results on this site with my partner's rather fetching pink ASUS laptop via the wireless connection also. Streaming is poor, with anything vaguely HD requiring a lot of buffering, and my file download rate very rarely goes beyond 200KB/s on most sites or P2P. XBOX Live also has a habit of randomly disconnecting, and Netflix on the XBOX 360 is usually in 'standard' definition and stops to buffer a LOT. I've had some less than useful advice from BT over the phone and had an engineer visit (whilst my partner was home and I was in work). Both the operators and the engineer have confirmed that yes, we do have an issue but haven't been specific as to what it is. Most annoyingly when they 'speed test' my line with BT's own boradband tester my line reads as having a stable 39mb/s UP 18mb/s DOWN connection, which is quite obviously a load of old tosh. Does anyone here have any suggestions as to what to do? Is there anything I can do to speed my end up?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Liam

 

::.. Internet Speed Test Result Details ..:::
Download Connection Speed:: 3871 Kbps or 3.9 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 3.2 MB or 3296 kB or 3375104 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 484 kB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 1572 Kbps or 1.6 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 672 kB or 688128 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 196 kB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2013-04-04 18:07:22 Local Time
Location:: Newport, GB GB >> Destination:: Dallas, TX US
Validation:: https://testmy.net/db/6Qz0O2D.ZALMPcs
TiP Measurement Summary (Download):: Min 2.95 Mbps | Middle Avg 4 Mbps | Max 4.17 Mbps | 22% Variance
TiP Data Points:: 3.09 Mbps, 4.08 Mbps, 3.49 Mbps, 4.09 Mbps, 4.03 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 4.17 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 4.11 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 4.09 Mbps, 4.11 Mbps, 4.09 Mbps, 3.09 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 4.09 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 2.95 Mbps
More Stats:: https://testmy.net/quickstats/nitrosurf https://testmy.net/compID/743992307845
User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0 [!]


 

 

[nitrosurf]

Hello all!

 

It's been a long time since I've been into the forum section, it's good to know it's as useful as ever!

I have recently aquired a 76mb/s DOWN 19mb/s UP fibre optic connection from BT, I've been using the connection for about a month. Since day one the speed has been a steady but extremely dissapointing 3.5mb/s - 3.9mb/s DOWN and 1mb/s - 1.5mb/s UP. I've had several dead end conversations with BT telephone operators that have drilled through the usual scripted nonsense, and an engineer has visited (whilst my partner was home). BT have determined that I do indeed have a problem, though they haven't been very specific as to what the problem is. The engineer apparently said he has rectified the issue, though this does not seem to be the case. The most frustrating thing about all this has been that BT keep using their own broadband tester to deduce my line speed, and when they do it reads as being almost my max possible speed. However, when video streaming has to constantly buffer, file downloads and P2P rarely best 200KB/s and XBOX Live keeps disconnecting when it's not even being taxed something is very wrong. I have read the explanation as to why the majority of Flash based speed testers are so wildly inaccurate, but surely a massive corporation like BT would incorporate a tool that truely reflects the average/max speed of a connection? Not all their customers are daft enough to just believe whatever number is thrown up despite the evidence surely?

Any how, the results from my most recent speed test are below. I really hope someone can help me out. BT have been really good to me in that their customer service has been very polite and communicative, and their higher tier complaints management is pierless compared to others I have experienced. But at the moment the huge speed defecit (over 70mb/s away from my 'expected' or 'MAX' speed) is overshadowing this slightly...

 

 

:::.. Internet Speed Test Result Details ..:::
Download Connection Speed:: 3666 Kbps or 3.7 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 2.1 MB or 2112 kB or 2162688 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 458 kB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 1172 Kbps or 1.2 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 672 kB or 688128 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 147 kB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2013-04-04 20:54:28 Local Time
Location:: Newport, GB GB >> Destination:: Dallas, TX US
Validation:: https://testmy.net/db/dz6lYtA.irPbc8v
TiP Measurement Summary (Download):: Min 2.02 Mbps | Middle Avg 3.83 Mbps | Max 4.1 Mbps | 41% Variance
TiP Data Points:: 2.19 Mbps, 3.24 Mbps, 4.03 Mbps, 3.97 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 3.98 Mbps, 3.99 Mbps, 4.01 Mbps, 4.01 Mbps, 4.02 Mbps, 3.93 Mbps, 3.79 Mbps, 3.81 Mbps, 3.93 Mbps, 2.19 Mbps, 3.98 Mbps, 4.06 Mbps, 4.04 Mbps, 2.02 Mbps
More Stats:: https://testmy.net/quickstats/nitrosurf https://testmy.net/compID/743992307845
User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0 [!]

 

 

:::.. Internet Speed Test Result Details ..:::
Download Connection Speed:: 3666 Kbps or 3.7 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 2.1 MB or 2112 kB or 2162688 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 458 kB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 5 Kbps or 0 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 672 kB or 688128 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 1 kB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2013-04-04 21:14:16 Local Time
Location:: Newport, GB GB >> Destination:: Dallas, TX US
Validation:: https://testmy.net/db/dz6lYtA.RG841ji
TiP Measurement Summary (Download):: Min 2.02 Mbps | Middle Avg 3.83 Mbps | Max 4.1 Mbps | 41% Variance
TiP Data Points:: 2.19 Mbps, 3.24 Mbps, 4.03 Mbps, 3.97 Mbps, 4.1 Mbps, 3.98 Mbps, 3.99 Mbps, 4.01 Mbps, 4.01 Mbps, 4.02 Mbps, 3.93 Mbps, 3.79 Mbps, 3.81 Mbps, 3.93 Mbps, 2.19 Mbps, 3.98 Mbps, 4.06 Mbps, 4.04 Mbps, 2.02 Mbps
More Stats:: https://testmy.net/quickstats/nitrosurf https://testmy.net/compID/743992307845
User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0 [!]
                                               

Edited April 4, 2013 by CA3LE
Topic Merged

[CA3LE]

Glad to see you back. Returning visitors rule.          

 

First, it looks like you've hit a bottleneck.  See how your speed holds steadily at almost the same rate all the way through the test.  A super low variance can point to a bottleneck along your route. (Super low variance can also mean it's running really good too... obviously not the deal in your case.)

 

Change the test server to the one in Europe and test again... let's see if you get similar results.  Then you'll know if the bottleneck is closer to home or if it's in International routing.  If there is a bottleneck and it's closer to home, your results will be identical or similar.  Could be BT, BT's peers or it could be within your own network.  We'll try to help you figure it out and resolve it.

[nitrosurf]

Hi Ca3le, thank you for the welcome and the reply. Here are the results using the Central Us mirror;

 

:::.. Internet Speed Test Result Details ..:::
Download Connection Speed:: 3616 Kbps or 3.6 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 3.6 MB or 3648 kB or 3735552 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 452 kB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 1662 Kbps or 1.7 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 896 kB or 917504 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 208 kB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2013-04-09 18:47:13 Local Time
Location:: Pengam, GB GB >> Destination:: Dallas, TX US
Validation:: https://testmy.net/db/8eHoCb1.9QxfJFY
TiP Measurement Summary (Download):: Min 1.44 Mbps | Middle Avg 3.76 Mbps | Max 3.96 Mbps | 54% Variance
TiP Data Points:: 2.65 Mbps, 3.95 Mbps, 3.95 Mbps, 3.94 Mbps, 3.94 Mbps, 3.31 Mbps, 3.41 Mbps, 3.43 Mbps, 3.96 Mbps, 3.93 Mbps, 3.8 Mbps, 3.95 Mbps, 3.94 Mbps, 3.94 Mbps, 2.65 Mbps, 3.94 Mbps, 3.95 Mbps, 3.94 Mbps, 1.44 Mbps
More Stats:: https://testmy.net/compID/10010094404047
User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0 [!]

 

and now the European one;

 

:::.. Internet Speed Test Result Details ..:::
Download Connection Speed:: 21628 Kbps or 21.6 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 19.2 MB or 19648 kB or 20119552 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 2704 kB/s or 2.7 MB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 9070 Kbps or 9.1 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 5.4 MB or 5504 kB or 5636096 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 1134 kB/s or 1.1 MB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2013-04-09 18:49:41 Local Time
Location:: Pengam, GB GB >> Destination:: Amsterdam, NL / Europe
Validation:: https://testmy.net/db/V92ynJf.okyTgYR
TiP Measurement Summary (Download):: Min 11.48 Mbps | Middle Avg 22.11 Mbps | Max 23.6 Mbps | 41% Variance
TiP Data Points:: 18.19 Mbps, 17.92 Mbps, 17.73 Mbps, 21.09 Mbps, 22.34 Mbps, 22.76 Mbps, 22.14 Mbps, 23.01 Mbps, 23.6 Mbps, 22.76 Mbps, 22.58 Mbps, 23.6 Mbps, 22.76 Mbps, 22.01 Mbps, 23.34 Mbps, 23.12 Mbps, 22.34 Mbps, 22.76 Mbps, 11.48 Mbps
More Stats:: https://testmy.net/quickstats/nitrosurf https://testmy.net/compID/10010094404047
User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0 [!]

 

A BT engineer visited today (an unsheduled visit, which was strange) and said he can't understand what the issue is. Interestingly my speed has risen using the European mirror, though it is still a far cry from 76mb/s. The engineer says he tested our line and we were receiving 80mb/s...what do you make of my situation?

Again, many thanks for looking into this for me!

[nitrosurf]

[LemonDrop]

I had issues with my 100mbps service occasionally. Was getting periods of service where the speed was cut in half. I had made what were correct changes to TCP with DrTCP. This program worked very well as long as you had input the correct TCP receive as well as a correctly calculated MTU.

To correctly calculate MTU this link may help. http://old.testmy.net/t-7808

When I began getting more issues I had no idea that my settings had changed and now I check them every month or so or when I begin to get bad speed results. I also found that TCP Optimizer works even better. The changes that it made to my OS have me rocking at 90mbps even at peak time periods.

I hope this helps anyones speed problems.

Edited April 10, 2013 by CA3LE
Added link to Speedguide.net's TCP Optimizer

[CA3LE]

I had issues with my 100mbps service occasionally. Was getting periods of service where the speed was cut in half. I had made what were correct changes to TCP with DrTCP. This program worked very well as long as you had input the correct TCP receive as well as a correctly calculated MTU.

To correctly calculate MTU this link may help. http://old.testmy.net/t-7808

When I began getting more issues I had no idea that my settings had changed and now I check them every month or so or when I begin to get bad speed results. I also found that TCP Optimizer works even better. The changes that it made to my OS have me rocking at 90mbps even at peak time periods.

I hope this helps anyones speed problems.

I agree, great program. Been referring people to speedguide's TCP Optimizer since... I think Windows ME was just released. I edited your post and added a link for people.

I love that there is still tons of useful information on old.testmy.net forum .. cool to see people linking there still.

[nitrosurf]

Well, I've had a bit of a play with TCP Optimizer. You're right, it is a wonderful little program. However my speed is still no where near the speed BT insist I'm getting. I've talked to an 'executive level' technician over the telephone today, very nice guy but he was less experienced than me and I'm obviously no expert! The line tests show I am getting a steady 80mbps to the router according to them (these tests were done by the visiting engineers and remotely by the call centre). Their own speed tester (speedtest.btwholesale.com) is showing 44mbps, whilst testmy.net's results are as follows;

 

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I told him about this site and it's accuracy, he ran some tests from his connection and got a similar result as me, the BT tests scored higher than testmy.net. He didn't seem very keen on going into why that was...he kept banging on about setting a DMZ for my Xbox 360, but that obviously wont affect my other devices...He is having another team look into the issue, they're getting back to me Tuesday. Is there anything from my results that I can tackle that would have a positive effect?

 

Thanks again!

[LemonDrop]

Did you find your optimun MTU using http://old.testmy.net/t-7808 ?

 

TCP Optimizer still suggests and loads and saves an MTU of 1500 when my calculated MTU of 1365 gives me the max d/l speeds.

 

TCP Optimizer gives you the option of loading your own MTU and saving it with it's other calculations. Saving alters your registry slightly.

 

This change for me 'doubled' my d/l speeds.

[nitrosurf]

Hi!

 

Apologies for the long delay, been away for a while. Yes, I discovered my ideal MTU setting and entered it into TCPOptimizer. I have found a notable difference in the speed of the connection, in that it now records faster than ever before. However, it is far from stable and is so erratic as to be infuriating. It maxes out at a stupid speed around the 100mb/s mark, but can drop dramatically to such an extent that using more than one device is very taxing on the router. Leaving a large file download and watching full HD streaming video is a breeze one minute but a teeth grinding pixelated mess the next...please help me find out why, because no matter what I say to BT they are convinced I am getting 90mb/s every second of every minute of every day...regardless...They have the most optimisitc (i.e. bunk) speedtest (speedtest.btwholesale.com) ever...

 

 

 

Thank you again for taking an interest.