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How Can Different Providers Perform Differently on Same Line?
imacken
Posts: 141
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A basic question or two.
I am thinking of changing from BT to a cheaper alternative, e.g. Talktalk, and during a conversation with BT, they suggested that Talktalk would not be able to deliver the same speed and reliability as they - BT - can.
Now, this made me think. Is that reasonable? How can one ISP using the same equipment be worse than another?
My exchange is going to be converted to fibre on the next few months. Will the same situation occur then, i.e. could an alternative ISP to BT be much poorer in terms of speed and reliability?
I am thinking of changing from BT to a cheaper alternative, e.g. Talktalk, and during a conversation with BT, they suggested that Talktalk would not be able to deliver the same speed and reliability as they - BT - can.
Now, this made me think. Is that reasonable? How can one ISP using the same equipment be worse than another?
My exchange is going to be converted to fibre on the next few months. Will the same situation occur then, i.e. could an alternative ISP to BT be much poorer in terms of speed and reliability?
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That sounds like salesman talk, I have heard similar. There is no reason why TT or any other LLU provider will not provide the same speed or reliability as BT ... in some cases they will provide a better speed.
The LLU providers like TT, Sky etc have their own equipment in the exchange but use the existing BT network (phone lines)
The same criteria will apply with BT's fiber to the cabinet ... the reliability should be the same, the speed will be what you pay for.
There must be a technical reason but I don't know it, I'd be interested to know though if the tech/geek members can provide it.
I suppose the difference could be how they set their line management system, profiling in BT case, Cable and wireless at the time had no line management, which was good because it allows you to change your own SNR, which could give you a higher sync speed. Try doing that with a provider that manages the line and it will muck things up
Some providers will turn it off or change the SNR, like sky.
the other thing that will affect speed is traffic management and how they use it. BT was awful for me as they seemed to use it all the time, even when not required.
Surely they would still get the same speed but at a different price, download limit etc. unless they changed from copper to fibre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQyQ96aq25c
I find the bbc test test matches the prediction that BT gives for my address.
Some providers promise the earth but do they actually deliver? Maybe you could find an unbiased survey of the predictions and reallity?
Take my next door neighbours, both sides, are with BT and they get about 1-2Megabits if they are lucky, I got with the same network, 2.5-3 sync speed. I even got 4 before BT mucked around with the exchange.
They also as yet have not gone for fibre, I know the one side who I talk to a lot don't have it as she chucked the info int he bin and said she is staying as she is. It is hardly used anyway.
the other side still got a homehub 2, so they certainly not got fibre, which is a bit of a surprise as they got two kids, one left school and at college.
The problem is while one person may think ISP A is the bees knees, another person person may think it is the most useless rubbish on this earth and thhey make like ISP B, but the person with ISP A may not touch ISP B with a bargepole.
so getting a unbiased survey is impossible.
This is crucial. Sky didn't rent enough backhaul in some exchanges and experienced congestion. Apparently they are now putting this right.
As for TalkTalk I think they are constantly on the verge of being congested, or are congested in most exchanges.
That is one hell of a difference. who told you about those speeds?
A few years ago BT Wholesale might not have had ADSL2 equipment in the exchange, now they almost certainly will.
I did a check on Talk Talk's website and also on BT's website checker when I was checking into getting ADSL. I was already with O2 when I was getting 10 meg with them before they went crap and that was when I moved over to Sky.
I queried this with Plusnet, they told me they could increase the upload speed but it would degrade the download speed. I told them to change it and now have the same performance I had from BT. The download speed has not been degraded at all.
Maybe, but it is still a speed difference between Talk Talk and sky. Maybe Talk Talk did not have ADSL2+ either at that time.
If it does what you want then fair enough.
A mate of mine was suppose to be getting 68Mb/s, ok I doubt he would get that speed, but at the moment the most he is getting is 10Mb/s, 5 most of the time. He is with Plusnet, but to tbe fair we think it is a BT problem as we checked using Bt speedtest, even changing the log in on the router and went direct to BT.
I have not chatted to him since Monday, so I don't know if it been sorted.
If its under 15mb/s TT should not have installed the line, they guarantee a minimum of 15mb/s IIRC