Broadband speeds

[Mike]

I have re-tested the BDP internet and got some amazing improvements!

[mr_e]

Confirmation that our connection is still utter crap, even taking into account that three other people may have been using it at the same time. The fact our exchange is in student central and a mile away must be affecting it, because it's nowhere near 8Mb/s.

[johnriley1uk]

4.77 download, 0.7 upload and PNG 88ms. Not fantastic and still nowhere near the advertised service.

Mind you, the server is in Dublin, which probably does not help.

[Mike]

That is okay for a home service. The corporate BDP server is expected to be much higher. The test below was done first thing in the morning before everyone was (alegedly) on facebook.



This is the best apparently for the BDP ISP

[Mike]

A home re-test to make sure that I am actually still receiving a similar service and they have not downgraded me after the initial connection.

[johnriley1uk]

I seem to be getting above average upload speeds but the download speed is below average. What is annoying is that I keep having to reboot the router twice a day, around 4pm and around midnight. This never happened before they "upgraded" the service.

[Mike]

I think it is time that you moved to O2 mobile phones and take advantage of the £7.50 broadband.

[mr_e]

Your download speed seems okay to me, but I'm biased. Unless you're downloading really large files all the time, 4Mb/s should allow you to stream video etc without any pauses. The router thing is weird, but could they be renewing/changing your IP address around then and it's having some knock-on effect?

[stimpsonslostson]

I just tested ours... using the wifi at 2300 I got-
Down-3.88
Up- 0.21

Its slower than Manchester, but I kinda expected that- they said when I signed up that its all due for replacement by the end of the summer. Then we SHOULD have MUCH faster speeds.
I'll maybe try Edinburgh Uni's connection tomorrow.

[Mike]

I suppose that the Router firmware could need updating to match the Virgin Media update. . . .

It would be interesting to see the university download speeds. Try first thing in the morning before all the students arrive to see what the potential is!

[stimpsonslostson]

36.15 down
17.51 up
for Edinburgh Uni at 0940- I suspect that it would be quicker very early in the morning, but as a representative test I think its acceptable.

[johnriley1uk]

Apart from driver updates, of which there are none for my router, Virgin recommended the following procedure:

Three times a day for 2-3 days disconnect the router from the phone line and the computer for at least 15 minutes each time. Then reconnect. Over 2-3 days this should slowly restore the reliability as the router re-synchronises with the exchange.

Day 1 is now complete - I'll let you know if it works.

[mr_e]

Did they recommend a small sacrifice as well, to be made on a Richard Branson altar/shrine? As weird as it sounds, there probably is some logic to what they've told you to do.

You all taunt me with your super broadband speeds! Meh!

[Mike]

One way to avoid being taunted is to remove the Broadband from the rent and get your own!

[johnriley1uk]

The fastest result yet - the procedure suggested by Virgin does seem to have helped.