Speed problems with 20mb

[BunnyX]

Hi all,

Just over at my parents house for the weekend and have noticied that their broadband is pretty slow for 20mb. They are paying something around 40 pounds a month and the fastest I can seem to get regardless of the time of day is a fair bit under 10mb speed. I've tried calling customer support but after being on hold for 20 minutes I had an Indian woman tell me to reset my pc twice before having her tell me that I was getting an acceptable speed for 20mbit which seems to be a little bit weird...

Speedtest.net result;

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2008/10/15.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

From the modem web config thing;

Type : Ambit ETH/USB Combo Cable Modem

Downstream Frequency : 586750000 Hz
Downstream Receive Power Level : 1.5 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 32.6 dB

Upstream Frequency : 42800000 Hz
Upstream Transmit Power Level : 57.50 dBmV

Is this actually all they can expect for 40 quid a month or is there some kind of problem somewhere along the line that can be fixed? If this is in fact par for the course I'm going to get them off cable and switch over to adsl for half the price and roughly the same performance.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light on the situation for me.

[whydoIneedatech]

Upstream is on the high side.

What model is the modem it has a sticker on the base.

[XFS03]

Have you checked the Operation Config page to check the Maximum Downstream Data Rate? It should be 20480000 for the 20Mbps service.

.

[frogstamper]

@whydoIneedatech, I was under the impression that if you continue to get less than half your paid for speed, as in BunnyX case, VM offer you a discount...is this correct?

[whydoIneedatech]

@whydoIneedatech, I was under the impression that if you continue to get less than half your paid for speed, as in BunnyX case, VM offer you a discount...is this correct?
Seen posts in that vein but never come across it in work.

[ultimate]

My speed is not up to scatch I complained a number of times and I get a discount. You have to complain complain and complain....

[whydoIneedatech]

My speed is not up to scatch I complained a number of times and I get a discount. You have to complain complain and complain....
You probably speak to Retentions as we have no dealings with that type of complaint.

[ultimate]

I wrote a number of letters to Swansea, and also to Wythenshawe, eventually an Indian woman rang and offered to upgrade my 4mb line to 20mb at no extra charge, I also confirmed with them this is not a new contract so if I want to leave I can leave straight sway, thus I doubt if this is retention. Anyway this 20mb line is good only at times, I have experienced anything from 2mb to 18mb depending on the time of the day.

[BunnyX]

Upstream is on the high side.

What model is the modem it has a sticker on the base.

All it says on the bottom is NTL:200 along with the mac address. Maximum Downstream Data Rate is 20480000 in the modem config.

Having had a whole weekend to fiddle with their internet the speed they currently get is remarkably constant, the fastest I can push out of the modem is a speed roughly of 1100 KB, this maximum varies obviously depending on the site in question but I can never get more than this regardless of the time involved (getting up early on Sunday and doing some tests at 4:30 am gave the same results). This to me doesn't seem like something that would be caused by overcrowding because surely the connection would fluctuate performance wise.

Having checked the cabling the run from the wall to the cable modem has a fair bit of slack in it, certainly a couple of metres worth, it seems unlikely to me but could this be a problem?

[whydoIneedatech]

All it says on the bottom is NTL:200 along with the mac address. Maximum Downstream Data Rate is 20480000 in the modem config.

Having had a whole weekend to fiddle with their internet the speed they currently get is remarkably constant, the fastest I can push out of the modem is a speed roughly of 1100 KB, this maximum varies obviously depending on the site in question but I can never get more than this regardless of the time involved (getting up early on Sunday and doing some tests at 4:30 am gave the same results). This to me doesn't seem like something that would be caused by overcrowding because surely the connection would fluctuate performance wise.

Having checked the cabling the run from the wall to the cable modem has a fair bit of slack in it, certainly a couple of metres worth, it seems unlikely to me but could this be a problem?


I think that even though the modem you have is classed as 20mb capable I would probably lean towards replacing it via a Tech visit who could then also check the power levels while installing your new modem.

[Impz2002]

would also be worth having a look here too :- http://www.virginmedia.com/help/20mb-broadband-optimisation.php

Impz

[BunnyX]

I think that even though the modem you have is classed as 20mb capable I would probably lean towards replacing it via a Tech visit who could then also check the power levels while installing your new modem.

Ok, thanks. Now to attempt to get some indian on the helpdesk to send someone out to me.