Sporadic broadband service

Spit62500

Hi,

Our line was recently enabled for broadband so we got it straight away. We went for a 3mb connection with UTV Internet as we already had flat rate diallup with them. We got connected within about a week but we've only had sporadic service since (the adsl light takes anything from 1 to 6 hours to stay steady and can drop again at any point). After complaining to UTV they came back and said that Eircom had since told them that the line wasn't suitable for a 3mb connection and that we should downgrade to 2mb. We still have the same sporadic service so we've complained again and it looks like a downgrade to 1mb is on the cards. UTV say that Eircom will not say in advance what a line will support so this trial and error approach is the only way.

Is there anything else that we can try? I've read about interleaving but can't find any settings on the modem or computer to change.

We can connect using broadband in the morning around six and sporadically at weekends. We generally don't have a signal in the evening at all. We can't get a wireless signal here and can't justify satellite broadband charges or compromises so broadband through the phone network seems to be the only option

We're using an iMac with a Voyager 210 router...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.

Sponge Bob

UTV are wrong, they _generally_ have data available which shows what speed the line will support before they sell the package.

if you try the netsource line checker what does it let you order ?? they have the same information as UTV. if they interpret it that you can only get 1mbit then UTV should have done the same. See

http://www.netsource.ie/#

dub45

Check your line stats via your router and then have a read of these articles which might help you to see what your line is capable of.

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/linestats.htm

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm

Most importantly email the ever reliable and helpful carl@u.tv (dont forget to include your phone number and account number) and ask him nicely could he have a look at your line for you. If there is any hope of anything happening for you within UTV Carl is the one that will do it for you.

Spit62500

Thanks to you both.

The netsource linechecker seems to be offline at the moment - it says to contact their sales dept even when I put in Dublin numbers that I know are good.

I checked the line stats and found that we have 60db attenuation with noise of 7.1 db and a speed of 1024 kbs on download which seems dismal. Those links suggest that 60db is borderline for 1Mbs. I'll check again tomorrow and see if there's any improvement.

Probably a dumb question, but how do I calculate the signal/noise ratio?

Sponge Bob

try this line checker.

http://www.digiweb.ie/athome_broadband_dsl_index.asp?i=1&i2=4&i6=34

I suspect your line was always 60db ish or 1mbit capable only and that this was in the database, I could be wrong but you should check and see if some providers will not sell 3mbits because of that .

You may also have a duff filter , try the dsl modem into phone socket with no filters in any socket ( BB will work but your phone won't whiel you run with no filters for testing purposes.)

if the db level drops to 25-35db which is more like where it should be then its the filter innit.

Blaster99

You don't have a great line for sure. Not dissimilar to my own, but my speeds are pretty steady. I'd say your line might experience noise bursts which is what's causing the problem. If the modem syncs at 1024kbps then that's what you should pay for. It's irrelevant what eircom thinks might be a suitable speed, the modem doesn't lie. Lowering the speed to 1Mbps is not likely to make your connection more stable but at least you will be paying the right amount for the service you're receiving.

Spit62500

Thanks,

Spongebob - the Digiweb linechecker only says that an engineer will visit to see if the line is suitable so the line must be borderline. I'll try with no filter tonight if we have a service (I have to use the wife's laptop for that as our iMac won't display the modem configuration page....)

Blaster99 - I was thinking the same thing about paying a bit less for essentially the same service. One of the links in the earlier posts implied (I think) that reducing the line speed would increase the stability of the connection.

www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowsnr.htm

Sponge Bob

Spit62500 wrote:

Thanks,

Spongebob - the Digiweb linechecker only says that an engineer will visit to see if the line is suitable so the line must be borderline. I'll try with no filter tonight if we have a service (I have to use the wife's laptop for that as our iMac won't display the modem configuration page....)

Then its a 1mbit line you have and EVEN then ideally only after an engineer call to check the wiring Its whats called an AMBER line in eircom , marginal in other words. You did not touch anything or fiddle inside any sockets in the past few months did you ????

How UTV managed to sell you an unsustainable 3mbit package on that I do not know although a line test in the summer when it was dry may have passed you for 3mbits but a more recent test in wet weather may have picked up the line degradation caused by water ingress .

Get onto the ODCA about this, odca@entemp.ie is their email .

As your line cannot sustain 3mbits you should not have been sold an unsuitable package . Its not "Fit For The Purpose" which is the legal test.

Spit62500

Thanks Sponge Bob....

UTV came back to say that Eircom have 'discovered' that the line can only support 1Mbit so we're to be downgraded again....

No wiring has been disturbed since the original line was put in about 5 years ago.

Do you (or anyone) know where I could buy a Netgear D834 / D834G or a DLink DSL G604T or the later versions of these? They were recommended in one of the above links as being better for marginal lines. It seems that Peats, Maplin or Marx computers don't sell them.

Thanks for all the help

Sponge Bob

That downgrade should be free as well seeing as they all agree on it. you are also entitled to a free engineer call.

how far is it, sounds like 3-4 miles out from the exchange

try elara.ie for the sturdy beast DSL routers , the model numbers may have changed subtly..usually a letter at the end has changed but its the same.

Foxwood

Spit62500 wrote:

Do you (or anyone) know where I could buy a Netgear D834 / D834G or a DLink DSL G604T or the later versions of these? They were recommended in one of the above links as being better for marginal lines. It seems that Peats, Maplin or Marx computers don't sell them.

NoWaffleComputers in Firhouse list the Netgear, but that may just mean that they can get their hands on it from a distributor. ATOS in Kildare says that they have it in stock.

dub45

D-Link and Netgear here if you want to try mail order.

http://komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10296

In Dublin city centre IT direct have good stocks of Netgear at the moment.

skearon

Spit62500 wrote:

Do you (or anyone) know where I could buy a Netgear D834 / D834G or a DLink DSL G604T or the later versions of these? They were recommended in one of the above links as being better for marginal lines. It seems that Peats, Maplin or Marx computers don't sell them.

Thanks for all the help

I changed my ADSL router to a DG834 recently as I was getting regular disconnections on my Eircom 3MB ADSL line and it is certainly better than either the Eircom Netopia or SMC routers I had before.

Spit62500

Sponge Bob wrote:

That downgrade should be free as well seeing as they all agree on it. you are also entitled to a free engineer call.

how far is it, sounds like 3-4 miles out from the exchange

try elara.ie for the sturdy beast DSL routers , the model numbers may have changed subtly..usually a letter at the end has changed but its the same.

We're only about 2 or 3 miles at most from the exchange - depends on how the lines run but that's the distance by car.

I might try atos.ie as suggested by another poster as they're just up the road from me and I might as well support the locals!

I'll see how the downgrade goes and then see about the engineer call - commuting makes it very difficult to be around when the engineer is likely to make an appearance...