UK broadband is ranked 35th in the world

[BigShot]

TEB - I know they can't say how much, but to sell something that is impossible without living in the exchange and having noone else on that circuit is shoddy. Even considering ratios, lines, distances and so on, selling an 8mb connection to a house where even a straight run of lines from exchange to house could never deliver more than 2 to 4 is inexcusable.

[piskieinboots]

This'll make ya laugh - this is my speeds...

Broadband connection details:
Downstream 256 Kbps
Upstream 448 Kbps

[BigShot]

What?
How!?

I'd kill for upload speeds like that when I've got to send off a big file for work.

[Guttata]

It can't be called false advertising because they say "up to" which in itself means they can't promise you will get the full speed. The ASA made them make it more prominent in the ads so it wouldn't be misleading as before they did it was tiny and so people missed it.

A lot of us heavy users have known for a long time that broadband was going to slow down as more people joined it. It was talked about quite about amongst file sharers long before FUPs/AUPs and throttling were even considered let alone introduced. This is regardless of the legitimacy of said sharing as those who are part of groups who share FOSS are also affected.

We want an upgraded network but as has been shown here we are not willing to pay for it, on the whole. Personally I see no problem with the £6 thing if it means we get fiber optics and a better service.

[Guttata]

This'll make ya laugh - this is my speeds...

Broadband connection details:
Downstream 256 Kbps
Upstream 448 Kbps

That's bad Piskie. Get your line tested both by BT and your supplier. Who is your supplier.

I have just tested my line again BS and this is the speed:
DL 6.5meg
UL 0.8Meg

This is from the thing broadband speed test:
thinkbroadband :: Broadband Speed Test

[BigShot]

Call it mis-selling then. They could write "up to" in 3 foot high letters and the speed in the tiny text they used to use for the "up to" bit before the ASA got on their case but it still wouldn't excuse selling an 8mb connection to someone who will never be able to see more than 2 at best.

[HotStuff]

The two numbers after the ranking in the OP are the number of unique IP addresses detected by the testing software and the number of tests taken, NOT population, adult or otherwise.

The speed you actually get when you connect to a particular website depends on so many things, all it takes is one weak link in the chain.

I have Virgin's 20Mb package and generally get a reasonable speed, enough to watch iPlayer thru my Wii console without any glitches. For some large file transfers I used to do I regularly achieved sustained speeds close to the 20Mb, that's equivalent to about 7GB per hour.

Regarding the "upto" in broadband ads, what makes me laugh is now you get other products using the phrase, in particular one hair product that promises, "upto 100% grey coverage", what a nonsensical statement.

[HeyWayne]

I may as well live in Zambia.

Currently 0.256MB connection at home.

Had the Virgin dude round last night. 9.odd MB here we come!!

I can't update my blog at home, online shopping takes an age and as for photos....

Virgin dude reckons we can get near 10MB with them, but even at a fifth of that we'd be happy!

Yes BT, if you are reading this (see Lily Allen) then you're wideband service is rubbish for me.

[matthew2riches]

Speed Down 9399.46 Kbps ( 9.2 Mbps )
Speed Up 461.56 Kbps ( 0.5 Mbps )

Just done the speed test and results are above for my home. Will try at the office later.

[piskieinboots]

That's bad Piskie. Get your line tested both by BT and your supplier. Who is your supplier.

Oh tell me!! Drives oi nuts it do!!

BT is the 'both' - they tell me I am at the end of the pipe - story of my life hehehe

[bobleponge]

Oh tell me!! Drives oi nuts it do!!

BT is the 'both' - they tell me I am at the end of the pipe - story of my life hehehe

Whilst your broadband misery is a sorry tale of woe Pisk, if I read your comment with a French accent it makes me smile.
Apologies in advance to any French speaking infants or sensitive adults.

The French figure may be of average download speed, but for the testers to actually find a house that didnt have broadband problems in order to take the readings would have taken many a moon.

[piskieinboots]

....if I read your comment with a French accent it makes me smile..

Try as I moight, oi can only 'ear Cornish

[Pumpy]

As a bit of an old hand in the IT industry, it makes me smile to hear you all talking about broadband speeds.

15 years ago, if you owned a computer, you didn't shout about it and if you had a modem as well, you were either a hacker about to set off WW3 or a serious anorak

When I go to peoples houses and they tell me the "Internet is broken", you'd think they'd lost a limb. When I do my other job of a carpenter and the owner has lost acces to the internet, they describe not being able to get emails or do anything as a "nightmare".

Strange how this computer stuff has so rapidly become a central part of our lives.

[Guttata]

Oh tell me!! Drives oi nuts it do!!

BT is the 'both' - they tell me I am at the end of the pipe - story of my life hehehe

Try different ISP sites and enter your phone number. Some actually check the connection and say approx what speed you should be able to get. How far away are you Piskie from the exchange? I don't know the area you are in but are you in a rural setting or a city/town one? Are the PCs connected by wire or wireless connection? All of these can also affect your connection.

Also is the router connected directly to the socket or on an extension?

HW I hope you're not talking Virgin.net which is the ADSL over BT line if so I wouldn't recommend them, yes I am with them. Their customer support can be very poor for ADSL customers, we even have to pay for the call. Virgin Media is the cable company, though I think Virgin.net has changed its' names to something else now.

I have been on the phone too many times for comfort with Virgin.net. For customer support and reliability I think they are rubbish. Take a look at their own forums for ADSL and you will see what I mean.

HS again hair colouring is a known quantity provided by the manufacturer. As such an incorrect analogy you can't compare a known quantity to an unknown. It is impossible for an ISP to know the quality of the line at any point. As you said it only takes one week link.

BS still not mis-selling. They state upto and that is clear enough.

[Bigmallly]

Like many things Pumpy, we soon come to rely on them..........I need to invent a thing finder to find things when I lose them things.