LATEST MOAN FROM YOU AND ME 2017

I not only get the 10% discount but get both my line rate and internet at below their minimum. You need to phone them to do it and then bargain with them. I got my annual line rental at £161 (don't know why the odd £1), my Anytime calls at £5 per month and my internet (not fibre as we don't have it) £8.63 per month. Call recognition (caller display) is free which allows my Call Guardian to work.

We average between 300 and 400 calls per month which makes the £5 per month very cheap. They wanted something like £7.95 for Anytime but I told them it was too much and was prepared to argue. Didn't need to as they said "Well, how about £5.75?" and I came back with "£5 sound about right". They agreed

 

I left Talktalk because of their billing where little things/charges got added on without my knowledge or permission.

 

They all use the same lines and fibre, Linz, they just look on us as idiots and walking cash machines.

 

I think that quoted internet speeds are all dependent on the circumstances of the connections to your home!!


What is affecting my speed?
There are a number of different factors which can affect your service speed. Some factors are dependent on the technology used to deliver your connection whilst others affect all types of broadband connections.

In this guide, when we talk of 'ADSL', we are referring to a broadband service delivered over your telephone line which terminates on an ADSL modem/router. 'Cable' services refer to those provided by a cable company such as Virgin Media. There are also other types of services (mobile broadband, wireless services, etc.) so this guide may not cover every possibility.

during the World Cup, there was noticeable congestion on broadband networks.

• Congestion—If there are lots of people using the Internet in your area at peak times, it may slow your speed down. This is most likely to be visible in small communities where the link from the telephone exchange back to the service provider is likely to be smaller.

• Where you live—The distance from your home to the local telephone exchange is the most common factor which affects DSL broadband services as the signal degrades the longer it needs to travel. If you have a fibre-optic broadband connection, you're less affected as the distances are shorter (from your home to the street cabinet instead of the exchange; see thefibre broadband guide for more details)

How near you live to your local exchange will affect the speed of your broadband. If you have fibre broadband, your speed shouldn't be as affected by line length.

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Broadband ISP Peering Congestion Diagram (click to enlarge)
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adopted a policy which states that where a provider states a numerical speed claim in their marketing communications (i.e. in advertising, on the website, etc.), they should "be able to demonstrate that the speed is achievable for at least 10% of the relevant customer base". This means that if you see an 'up to 14 meg' broadband service, you would expect at least 1 in 10 users to be able to receive 14Mbps.

[paste:font size="5"]broadband speed test is a useful tool which you can use to measure the download and upload speed of your broadband connection. It works by measuring the time it takes to download a certain amount of information, and then carrying out the same test in the upstream direction. The measurement is then provided to you along with other information about the quality of your connection.

Speed test is used by various websites including the Gadget Show because of its reliability, accuracy and our capability to cope with scale. Our speed testing platform has been built from the ground up by our staff for over ten years and uniquely, it runs on a network we control so we can monitor its performance and ensure there are not bottlenecks caused by our end of the connection. Many other speed tests run on shared servers on third party networks, or even on many different networks so the results can vary depending on which server you use. Our test servers are based on dedicated hardware with direct 1Gbps connection to our core network.

The results you receive may vary from one test to the next as the performance of your connection will not always be the same. Please refer to the things affecting my broadband speed section above for more details, and remember the speed test is between your computer and our servers, so make sure it's not affected by anything under your control.


A fast download speed means information will come to you quickly. This means that for example, when you download a music album, it will finish sooner than if you were on a slow connection. A fast upload speed means it's quicker to send information, such as uploading photos or videos to a website.

Broadband speeds are usually measured in "Megabits per second", "Mbps" or "Mb/s" although this is often (incorrectly strictly speaking) referred to as 'meg' or "Mb". Sometimes you may see speeds in "Kbps" or "Kb/s" which refers to "Kilobits per second". There are 1,000 Kbps in 1 Mbps. Typical broadband download speeds range from a few Mbps through to 100 Mbps for a super-fast broadbandservice whilst upload speeds range from 250 Kbps (0.25 Mbps) to around 5 Mbps on the super-fast services.

Check the speed your ISP advised you'd be able to get when you signed up. If you're not getting the speed you're paying for, then consider a different provider, but do remember that many of the factors affecting speed may be the same (e.g. your computer, your wireless network at home, the quality of your phone line, etc.) You should raise your concerns with your current broadband provider in the first instance.

Why is my download speed faster than my upload speed?
Since the start of broadband services, download speeds have generally been several times faster than upload speeds. This is called an 'asymmetric' service and it's also the first word in the 'ADSL' acronym. The reason is primarily that with limited bandwidth available, the protocols used have been developed to maximise download speeds as more content is consumed from the Internet than is uploaded to the Internet.


There are some technologies such as ADSL2+ Annex-M which increase the upload speeds, but at a cost of slower download speeds. Also, broadband providers can use this imbalance to provide hosting services (which typically use the upload segment) and share some of the cost of running a network between different types of users.

 

I've got Sky for my landline, TV and Broadband and never had any problems with them. When my landline went down some years ago I rang Sky on my mobile and they immediately told me that they would ring me back as otherwise it would be an expensive bill for me. They sorted things out very quickly, but guess who turned up to fix the phone link............BT!!
It seems they still handle all the repairs and maintenance to the Landlines.

 

We can only get a maximum of 2mbps download and .3 upload. We're too far from the exchange . That's why I can argue the price down.

 

Yes, that's the terminology we use over here . It's against the law not to 'dip' your lights when there's oncoming traffic but I've never heard of anyone being pulled over by the police for it.

A lot of the more modern cars are now being built with it being an automatic facility, and the lights dip themselves when the sensor picks up other lights.