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Author Topic: Rural Internet speeds  (Read 4409 times)
janaage
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« on: Friday, December 19, 2014, 20:20:00 »

we've just moved out to a village and our internet speed is shite. Sky tell me I have to pay an extra £13 pm, which I wouldn't mind if it was a good connection, but according to a speed checker I've just used I have a connection speed of 0.03 to 0.44 mb/s which is painful. Is it even worth trying other companies or is your speed your speed no matter provider?

Not the biggest problem in the world we'll get used to it but if there's a way to overcome the problem, that doesn't involve moving back its be good to know.

Thanks in advance for any help.
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Batch
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« Reply #1 on: Friday, December 19, 2014, 21:34:59 »

It likely to be distance from the exchange that's the issue. Somewhere on the BT website there is a speed estimator that tells you got fast they think your broadband should be if you switch to them. If its massively different maybe there is a fault on your line.

I assume there is no fibre offering in the sticks Smiley this would be good as it's distance to the cabinet that counts, not the exchange.

edit:

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/speed-checker/

Also check what Sky think you should be getting:

https://my.sky.com/mysky/myaccount/mybroadband/
« Last Edit: Friday, December 19, 2014, 21:40:32 by Batch » Logged
Barry Scott

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« Reply #2 on: Friday, December 19, 2014, 22:50:14 »

I think your speed does vary by provider, certainly with ADSL. My dad's was speeds like yours with Tiscali (latterly TalkTalk) and moved to IDNet and got 8mb, but he's very close to the exchange.

Sky are not good - apparently. stfcinbmth's mate sorted me out and explained how the cheap providers "stack them high, sell them cheap" filling the "pipes" with shed loads of unlimited connections, clogging them up and giving no throughput and shit speeds.

My sister's Sky BB was unusable, it was utterly pathetic, dial-up would've been better. She'd phone and they'd do god knows what and she'd miraculously get a boost of a couple of meg for up to a week then all goes to shit again. She fortunately received fibre in the end, which moved her off the dreaded ADSL line and away from Sky.

If all you can get is ADSL, then I'd guess Sky should be near the bottom of your list and in my experience it's worth paying a bit more. Have a look at http://www.idnet.net
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janaage
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« Reply #3 on: Friday, December 19, 2014, 22:54:11 »

Batch, Barry, thanks, very useful. Will go away and see what I can find out. Can't carry on like this though, paying a premium for f'all.
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janaage
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« Reply #4 on: Friday, December 19, 2014, 23:05:31 »

When I agreed to carry on with sky they did say that because we we're out of town we'd have to share bandwidth during peak times. I'm wondering if peak time is up til 2300, as I've done another speed check now and it's gone up to 5mb/s. Will keep an eye on things as that's gonna be a right pain in the arse.
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jonny72

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« Reply #5 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 00:13:58 »

You can check line speed and providers available to you here;

https://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker

Not sure how accurate the line speeds are as I get more than they say I should.

Think how much you pay depends on how big the exchange is and whether the provider has their own kit in it.

I've just switched from Orange to Plus.net - only been with them a few weeks but speeds have improved and their customer service is ace. Orange on the other hand are the biggest bunch of c*nts in the world and I'll never go near them again.

Also worth checking the mobile signals you get as 3G/4G is an option.
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« Reply #6 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 08:26:33 »

When I agreed to carry on with sky they did say that because we we're out of town we'd have to share bandwidth during peak times. I'm wondering if peak time is up til 2300, as I've done another speed check now and it's gone up to 5mb/s. Will keep an eye on things as that's gonna be a right pain in the arse.


Ahhh, right. So next time its slow then double check you router stats synchronisation speed.

Then, if that still looks like 5 mbit/sec synchronised but pathetic throughput then its probably exchange congestion. In which case a change of provider could help.

There is a VERY useful Sky employee at this forum called Scubbie, they should be able to tell you if your exchange has a known congestion issue, and if there is an ETA for fix. Or it could of course have been a temp fault. You should be able to find your exchange from the samknows website that Johnny posted, Scubbie can be found here:
      http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/

If the router synch stats are way down when it goes slow, I'd suggest that its a line issue. This may go away be changing provider,  but the fact is all providers use the same line so unless the issue is further upstream you will probably need to get openreach out to fix it anyway - even if it only to change which twisted pair of wires you are using!

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/view-routerstats.html

Lastly its always worth checking the sky status page here to make sure it isn't a known issue:

   https://servicestatus.sky.com/#/uk/login
« Last Edit: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 08:28:32 by Batch » Logged
jayohaitchenn
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« Reply #7 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 09:38:49 »

If your mobile signal is good might be worth considering a 4G aerial.
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« Reply #8 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 10:01:34 »

Good luck getting a good data allowance with 4G if you intend to tether
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jayohaitchenn
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« Reply #9 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 10:33:30 »

You can get proper home 4G aerials these days. About £250 for installation then about £30 a month.
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janaage
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« Reply #10 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 10:43:32 »

Unfortunately mobile signal is completely shite too, big draw back of moving out of town I suppose.
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jayohaitchenn
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« Reply #11 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 11:03:44 »

Get some pigeons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers
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The Grim Reaper

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« Reply #12 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 16:37:37 »

Live in Abbey Meads and used to have an okish Sky connection of around 10mb but it become slower over the last couple of years and was lucky to get 4mb at best. Then they put the price up. Had Virgin put in for same price. It claims speeds up to 152mb although mine varies between 130-140mb.
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chunky monkey

« Reply #13 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 16:50:47 »

PM sent
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sonicyouth

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« Reply #14 on: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 19:06:55 »

also worth looking for local broadband offerings which are increasingly common in rural areas with poor broadband
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