NGB Broadband - Very slow speeds

DRose1

Line stats:

ADSL:

Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 3072 384
Noise Margin (dB) 12 20.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.8 30.0
Output power(dbm 19.1 11.9



I am on Eircom 3mb NGB Broadband.

What happened to the consistant speeds regardless of the time of the day?

For what its worth, I got the same results as above using Eircoms speedtest from their website.

DRose1

Here is a test from last month and these are generally the best speeds I can get from my line.



If only I got those speeds 24/7 as was advertised by Eircom and their NGB product.

Sponge Bob

There is no such thing as 3mb NGB, 8mb or nothing subject to line quality.

Looks like your line is long ( 52db around 3 miles) so unless you unplug everything from the line including filters...plug modem straight in no filter and get an improvement then you are stuck on 3mb

DRose1

Sponge Bob wrote: »

There is no such thing as 3mb NGB, 8mb or nothing subject to line quality.

Looks like your line is long ( 52db around 3 miles) so unless you unplug everything from the line including filters...plug modem straight in no filter and get an improvement then you are stuck on 3mb

Thanks for the reply but I dont think you read my posts correctly.

I am not looking to improve upon my 3mb connection; as much as I would like that, I know its not going to be possible.

The issue as posted above is the terrible speeds I was getting at the weekend, as highlighted by the speedtest screenshot. According to the NGB advertising, I should be getting consistent speeds at the max level of what my line can take - In my case that should be about 2.5mb/s download... That is obviously not the case.

eircom: James

DRose1 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply but I dont think you read my posts correctly.

I am not looking to improve upon my 3mb connection; as much as I would like that, I know its not going to be possible.

The issue as posted above is the terrible speeds I was getting at the weekend, as highlighted by the speedtest screenshot. According to the NGB advertising, I should be getting consistent speeds at the max level of what my line can take - In my case that should be about 2.5mb/s download... That is obviously not the case.

Hi DRose1,

There may be something we can do to improve the connection for you. As mentioned above, the max speed is being restricted by distance but if you PM me the account details I'll check the connection and see if we can get to the bottom of the speed drops. There are some things we can look at not related to the line such as how many devices are connected at certain times and also are any of these devices scheduled to perform updates on specific days. Send on the details and I'll test the signal to rule out the line as the issue and we can then look further into it.

Regards

James

eircom: James

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for the PM, have been able to test that line and broadband signal for you. The first thing I noticed is that you are not currently using an eircom modem. Our tech support can only troubleshoot eircom equipment and we can't guarantee that the device you are using will deliver the best possible results. Did you receive a modem from us at the beginning? If so, can you set that one up so we can run the test again please.

I can confirm that you are connected to an NGB exchange so congestion shouldn't be a problem here. Can you confirm how many broadband devices are connected at any one time? This is the most common cause of "random" speed drops but due to the non-eircom modem I can't log in to check it. Set up the eircom modem (if you don't have on you can request one from tech support) and then either get back to us here or contact technical support directly on 1890 260 260 (8am - 10pm, 7 days) and we can troubleshoot this further for you.

Regards

James

DRose1

Yea, I got a new Belkin router last month after the Zyxel one I had failed. I was sent a new one by Eircom but didnt feel like using another one of them again.

I will keep an eye on the speeds over the next week and if I still have issues, I will ring tech support.

Sponge Bob

Jeez Anything but Belkin, how could you!

DRose1

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Jeez Anything but Belkin, how could you!

Yea, I know their rep, but it has worked out ok for me so far.

Honestly, the router/modem went down on a Friday with a bank holiday Monday on the way and Eircom told me it would take at least 5 working days for a new router/modem from them to reach me... So I couldn't be without DSL access for around a week and the Belkin was the best of a bad bunch available in Harvey Norman.

If I had more time, I would have bought something better from Amazon, but as I said above, its been decent so far.

eircom: James

DRose1 wrote: »

Yea, I know their rep, but it has worked out ok for me so far.

Honestly, the router/modem went down on a Friday with a bank holiday Monday on the way and Eircom told me it would take at least 5 working days for a new router/modem from them to reach me... So I couldn't be without DSL access for around a week and the Belkin was the best of a bad bunch available in Harvey Norman.

If I had more time, I would have bought something better from Amazon, but as I said above, its been decent so far.

Hi,

If you call the 1890 260 260 number and request a replacement modem they will give you the options. You can still use the Belkin in the meantime but at least if you get the modem they can help troubleshoot for you. To be honest, I don't think the Belkin is the cause but using an eircom modem will allow a remote login from tech supports side and should give them a better insight into the problem.

Regards

James

DRose1

Going to be fun trying to explain this one.

Timeline: 16 - 06 - 2012. Start this thread and highlight the fact that we are getting terrible speeds on our NGB connection. See above for my line stats etc. That was a Saturday. By Monday, we were back to getting our normal speeds on the line:



Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 3072 384
Noise Margin (dB) 12 20.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.8 30.0
Output power(dbm 19.1 11.9

All seems to be working ok, up until about a week ago, when for no particular reason, our connection dropped and when it came back, our line stats looked like this:

Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 1760 384
Noise Margin (dB) 6.0 22.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.2 30.0
Output power(dbm) 18.9 11.9

Nothing was changed in the house like installing a new sky box or new phone etc. So I ring Eircom on the 29th of June and explain all the issues. They say that the line stats above are the best my line can take, despite the fact that for probably 10 years, my line stats/sync was significantly better. So after some back and forth, they agreed to send out an engineer...

Timeline: 03-07-2012- Engineer arrived this morning at about half ten and he just left there a few minutes ago. He said that despite my relatively long line, I should be getting around 3mb/s but didnt have a clue why I was not getting it. He went around the various exchanges, telephone poles etc around the area and checked everything. He can not see an issue with the lines and said I was stuck with the huge reduction I got about a week ago and left with no alternatives. He admitted that there may in fact be a fault somewhere along the line, but that Eircom were not going to go replacing all the lines to solve the issues I was having.

So to summise; Had broadband with Eircom for probably around 10 years now. In that time, my line was capable of receiving roughly the following speeds:



However, in the past week my line has been downgraded by about 1mb downstream and it appears I have been told just to accept it :mad:

Can someone from Eircom please weigh in on this?

Fwiw - I wouldn't really care if I was getting something like 10mb and went down to 8mb - Not really that big of a deal in the greater scheme of things as It wouldn't impact that much on download speeds, streaming etc (i.e It would still be really fast by Irish dsl standards). However, when you go from approx a 2.5 mb connection to a 1.5 mb connection, it makes a huge difference and I now struggle to stream online, download speeds are much slower etc...

DRose1

Here is my current speed fwiw:

eircom: Ant

DRose1 wrote: »

Here is my current speed fwiw:

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for posting on the eircom Boards Forum.

I have checked with Technical Support. They've advised me that your broadband is considered as 'amber', or in an Extended reach area. That is, your premises is 2.5KM or more from the local exchange.

As advised (here before on boards), there is no cast iron guarantee of providing Adsl fixed line broadband even if the phoneline is right beside the exchange. The nature of Adsl, rate adaptive, technology is invariably bound by the length of the phoneline from your premises to the local exchange.

I've looked at your broadband. It is currently synced at 1.76Mb and is provisioned at 3Mb. Your broadband, however, prequalifies for just 2Mb. This will impact on your broadband and it's capacity to achieve higher speeds and therefore it is the likely cause of your low attainable rates. This in turn will affect your overall data throughput.


In this situation, I would normally advise dropping the profile slightly from 3Mb to 2Mb. Generally you should expect an average of 2.5Mb on a 3Mb connection, or an average of 1.4Mb on a 2Mb connection.

In your case, I would expect an average of around 1.5Mb. That is, if you tested your speed on one computer with all applications closed down, and wireless disabled and one PC connected over Ethernet cable.

I appreciate what you say and about how important speeds are with regards streaming or gaming etc. Most high bandwidth manufacturers need you to have at least 3Mb to run their programmes. I also appreciate that you have achieved higher speeds of up to 2.5Mb in the recent past, however I still need to refer to the rate adaptive nature of Adsl technology and my opening point. That is, your broadband phoneline is considered 'amber'. This will have a major bearing on your broadband capacity to achieve higher speeds.


Let me know if I can assist or advise further.

Best regards,
Ant

DRose1

eircom: Ant wrote: »

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for posting on the eircom Boards Forum.

I have checked with Technical Support. They've advised me that your broadband is considered as 'amber', or in an Extended reach area. That is, your premises is 2.5KM or more from the local exchange.

As advised (here before on boards), there is no cast iron guarantee of providing Adsl fixed line broadband even if the phoneline is right beside the exchange. The nature of Adsl, rate adaptive, technology is invariably bound by the length of the phoneline from your premises to the local exchange.

I've looked at your broadband. It is currently synced at 1.76Mb and is provisioned at 3Mb. Your broadband, however, prequalifies for just 2Mb. This will impact on your broadband and it's capacity to achieve higher speeds and therefore it is the likely cause of your low attainable rates. This in turn will affect your overall data throughput.


In this situation, I would normally advise dropping the profile slightly from 3Mb to 2Mb. Generally you should expect an average of 2.5Mb on a 3Mb connection, or an average of 1.4Mb on a 2Mb connection.

In your case, I would expect an average of around 1.5Mb. That is, if you tested your speed on one computer with all applications closed down, and wireless disabled and one PC connected over Ethernet cable.

I appreciate what you say and about how important speeds are with regards streaming or gaming etc. Most high bandwidth manufacturers need you to have at least 3Mb to run their programmes. I also appreciate that you have achieved higher speeds of up to 2.5Mb in the recent past, however I still need to refer to the rate adaptive nature of Adsl technology and my opening point. That is, your broadband phoneline is considered 'amber'. This will have a major bearing on your broadband capacity to achieve higher speeds.


Let me know if I can assist or advise further.

Best regards,
Ant

Thank you for the response Ant.

While I appreciate the lengthy reply, it completely avoids my issue/question. I am fully aware of how rate adaptive technology works and how far we are from the exchange. However, I have to reiterate, for around 10 years we were getting certain speeds/stats on our line. However, in the past week that has changed in a huge way...

I cant just accept that and get on with it. Something has changed on the line which has significantly reduced our service. Its not like we were just getting higher speeds for a few weeks or something... it was for years...

I would also point out that only recently, we were 'upgraded' to NGB - Around the 20 of April this year. I was getting almost 3mb before AND after that change to NGB....

eircom: Ant

DRose1 wrote: »

Thank you for the response Ant.

While I appreciate the lengthy reply, it completely avoids my issue/question. I am fully aware of how rate adaptive technology works and how far we are from the exchange. However, I have to reiterate, for around 10 years we were getting certain speeds/stats on our line. However, in the past week that has changed in a huge way...

I cant just accept that and get on with it. Something has changed on the line which has significantly reduced our service. Its not like we were just getting higher speeds for a few weeks or something... it was for years...

I would also point out that only recently, we were 'upgraded' to NGB - Around the 20 of April this year. I was getting almost 3mb before AND after that change to NGB....

Thanks DRose1,

Understand how you feel. I certainly am on your side and will do everything I can to assist.

The latter point you make about being recently upgraded to NGB. This in itself may have caused the change. I've noticed this on a few occasions when the line was upgraded to the NGB, it sometimes becomes more 'sensitive'. Before, with standard broadband, you may have got away with perhaps a faster speed up to 3Mb. The quality of your copper phone line and of course the distance may have become more exposed with a stronger generated signal, once NGB was applied to the exchange.

I'm not an expert by any means, though this may be the reason for the slight change in speeds. In the long run, however way you look at it, I would still refer you to the earlier post. Your broadband is Extended reach and it is invariably the reason that you won't be able to get higher broadband speeds. The NGB upgrade may have exposed this more. In most Extended reach cases, the maximum broadband speeds are normally around 1Mb to 2Mb at most.

I know this doesn't help improve your situation, although it may assist in explaining this.

Best regards,
Ant

DRose1

eircom: Ant wrote: »

Thanks DRose1,

Understand how you feel. I certainly am on your side and will do everything I can to assist.

The latter point you make about being recently upgraded to NGB. This in itself may have caused the change. I've noticed this on a few occasions when the line was upgraded to the NGB, it sometimes becomes more 'sensitive'. Before, with standard broadband, you may have got away with perhaps a faster speed up to 3Mb. The quality of your copper phone line and of course the distance may have become more exposed with a stronger generated signal, once NGB was applied to the exchange.

I'm not an expert by any means, though this may be the reason for the slight change in speeds. In the long run, however way you look at it, I would still refer you to the earlier post. Your broadband is Extended reach and it is invariably the reason that you won't be able to get higher broadband speeds. The NGB upgrade may have exposed this more. In most Extended reach cases, the maximum broadband speeds are normally around 1Mb to 2Mb at most.

I know this doesn't help improve your situation, although it may assist in explaining this.

Best regards,
Ant

So the NGB 'upgrade' may in fact have downgraded my already slow line by a full 1mb :rolleyes: You really couldnt make this stuff up.

Not much else I can say really.

eircom: Ant

DRose1 wrote: »

So the NGB 'upgrade' may in fact have downgraded my already slow line by a full 1mb :rolleyes: You really couldnt make this stuff up.

Not much else I can say really.

Cheers DRose1,

I appreciate how you feel and sorry that your broadband speed has changed slightly. I can't say if the*NGB upgrade would definitely have impacted on your connection, though it will have improved your overall broadband signal strength. In reality this upgrade shouldn't affect your speed. On occasions the upgrading to *NGB will allow a clearer and true speed to come through. This itself may expose existing interference or line noise that may be associated with your connection. Often interference like this is associated with internal wiring and this is why Broadband support always advise that your connection should be tested on the main phone socket (mdp). The following post on our Community Forum refers to this - Broadband Check


The trade off in upgrading to *NGB now is that your broadband usage will become more consistent.

Without meaning to repeat this, it is unusual to get faster broadband speeds than what your phoneline actually pre-quailifies ( i.e: 2Mb). As advised, the average expected speed for an Extended reach line is normally around 1Mb or 2Mb at max. This is bound to the nature of fixed line Adsl technology.

As mentioned above one of the benefits of the upgrading to *NGB is that your broadband will become consistent. *NGB, or Next Generation Broadband, is essentially fibre powered broadband, which guarantees consistent download speeds, whatever time of the day, even at peak times.

If you need further technical assistance with your broadband please call into :


Broadband Technical Support : 1890 260260 (locall); Hours : 08:00 - 22:00 (7 days).

Best wishes,
Ant

DRose1

Checked my line stats again just there, and low and behold my line is getting worse:

[IMG][/img]

Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 1440 384
Noise Margin (dB) 7.0 22.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.3 30.0
Output power(dbm) 18.6 11.9

So sick and tired of this product at this point and time, but there are no other available alternatives out there for me.

DRose1

Different day and yet another decrease in speed. I will be down to dial up speeds by the end of next week at this rate;

Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 1280 256
Noise Margin (dB) 7.0 27.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.3 30.0
Output power(dbm) 18.5 11.9

DRose1

Good news






ADSL
Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 3072 384
Noise Margin (dB) 13 23.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.3 30.0
Output power(dbm) 19.4 11.9

Now if only my stats could stay like that...

Still seems to be a major issue with my line though; my phone lines have been down since yesterday at 4pm and my monitored alarm as well. Very strange that my broadband has been working through that period though... Engineers are apparently working on it.

eircom: Ant

DRose1 wrote: »

Good news






ADSL
Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 3072 384
Noise Margin (dB) 13 23.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.3 30.0
Output power(dbm) 19.4 11.9

Now if only my stats could stay like that...

Still seems to be a major issue with my line though; my phone lines have been down since yesterday at 4pm and my monitored alarm as well. Very strange that my broadband has been working through that period though... Engineers are apparently working on it.

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for posting on the Forum. There is a fault logged on the your line and engineers have been assigned to investigate this. I notice that you mention you have a monitored alarm. If this is third party, just ensure that it is insulated correctly by the sub contractor, if connected to the eircom phoneline system.

Will PM you the reference on your logged call. If you need an update free call Customer Care /Line Faults on 1901 and quote your reference in any correspondence.

Best wishes,
Ant

DRose1

eircom: Ant wrote: »

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for posting on the Forum. There is a fault logged on the your line and engineers have been assigned to investigate this. I notice that you mention you have a monitored alarm. If this is third party, just ensure that it is insulated correctly by the sub contractor, if connected to the eircom phoneline system.

Will PM you the reference on your logged call. If you need an update free call Customer Care /Line Faults on 1901 and quote your reference in any correspondence.

Best wishes,
Ant

Thanks. I am hoping it is short term pain (no phone line, alarm) for long term gain (stable, 3mb+ broadband) - Ideally completed before tomorrow evening.

DRose1

I doubt many people are following my rants at this stage (:)) but just in case there are a few out there ... My 'quality' DSL connection has looked like this since Thursday evening:

ADSL
Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 1376 384
Noise Margin (dB) 6.5 23.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.0 30.0
Output power(dbm) 18.6 11.9





They couldnt even give us one day of proper service :mad:. (see my post above for the speed/stats I was getting on Thursday morning)

Oh, and my phone line and alarm have been down since Wednesday the 11th of July, with no sign of either returning any time soon.

Thanks Eircom.

eircom: Mark

DRose1 wrote: »

I doubt many people are following my rants at this stage (:)) but just in case there are a few out there ... My 'quality' DSL connection has looked like this since Thursday evening:

ADSL
Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 1376 384
Noise Margin (dB) 6.5 23.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.0 30.0
Output power(dbm) 18.6 11.9





They couldnt even give us one day of proper service :mad:. (see my post above for the speed/stats I was getting on Thursday morning)

Oh, and my phone line and alarm have been down since Wednesday the 11th of July, with no sign of either returning any time soon.

Thanks Eircom.

Hi DRose1,

I appreciate you are frustrated with the speeds your are getting at the moment and that the issue has been ongoing for the last few weeks.

However I can assure you that engineers are still looking into the issue REF: 11354224 and the last update was on the 12/07/12 - "section of cable damaged by lightening, working on replacing"

I will track and push the engineers and let you know when we have any further updates.

Did you call eircom phonewatch directly regarding the alarm?

Thanks, Mark

DRose1

eircom: Mark wrote: »

Hi DRose1,

I appreciate you are frustrated with the speeds your are getting at the moment and that the issue has been ongoing for the last few weeks.

However I can assure you that engineers are still looking into the issue REF: 11354224 and the last update was on the 12/07/12 - "section of cable damaged by lightening, working on replacing"

I will track and push the engineers and let you know when we have any further updates.

Did you call eircom phonewatch directly regarding the alarm?

Thanks, Mark

Hi Mark,

Our alarm is with an independent company, so nothing to do with Eircom phone-watch. However, with the phone line down, it is rendered useless...

I saw a couple of Eircom vans on the road near my house today, so that may be them working on my line...

As for the broadband speed issues, if you look at post #20 above that I made on 12-07-2012, 11:29; you can clearly see what my line is capable of. Those were the speeds/stats I was getting for years before all these issues arose and for some reason, I managed to get them again, albeit for less than 24 hours, then everything went down again.

My fear is that the phone line will come back on-line and my broadband will remain at a slow speed, even though it is obviously capable of reaching higher speeds, if the line is working properly...

eircom: Mark

DRose1 wrote: »

Hi Mark,

Our alarm is with an independent company, so nothing to do with Eircom phone-watch. However, with the phone line down, it is rendered useless...

I saw a couple of Eircom vans on the road near my house today, so that may be them working on my line...

As for the broadband speed issues, if you look at post #20 above that I made on 12-07-2012, 11:29; you can clearly see what my line is capable of. Those were the speeds/stats I was getting for years before all these issues arose and for some reason, I managed to get them again, albeit for less than 24 hours, then everything went down again.

My fear is that the phone line will come back on-line and my broadband will remain at a slow speed, even though it is obviously capable of reaching higher speeds, if the line is working properly...

Hi DRose1,

We need to wait for the repairs to be complete and hopefully the lower speed issue will be rectified.

So as soon as we get any news we will let you know.

Thanks, Mark

DRose1

Phone line still down, broadband still slow and Eircom don't seem remotely confident it will be sorted by the end of this week :rolleyes:

eircom: James

DRose1 wrote: »

Phone line still down, broadband still slow and Eircom don't seem remotely confident it will be sorted by the end of this week :rolleyes:

Hi,

Have checked the fault notes and it seems there is still some work required to repair the fault. There is a works order made on the account which means there is some physical replacement of equipment happening. Have requested some more detailed info so I'll let you know as soon as I get a reply.

Cheers

James

DRose1

No update?

Still the same here...

eircom: Ant

DRose1 wrote: »

No update?

Still the same here...

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for your post.

I've checked with our Faults Handling Team and they advise that your phoneline is pending clear.

Can you advise me if your phone line is back. I will re-escalate this case if you're still having an issue on the line.

Regards,
Ant

DRose1

eircom: Ant wrote: »

Hi DRose1,

Thanks for your post.

I've checked with our Faults Handling Team and they advise that your phoneline is pending clear.

Can you advise me if your phone line is back. I will re-escalate this case if you're still having an issue on the line.

Regards,
Ant

Hi Ant,

As of Friday, the phone line is back working. Disgraceful how long we had to wait.

As for the broadband, I am getting the following:

ADSL
Type Interleave Path
Status Show Time
Downstream Upstream
Data Rate (kbps) 1952 384
Noise Margin (dB) 6.5 22.0
Attenuation (dB) 51.2 30.0
Output power(dbm) 19.1 11.9

Not the lowest it has been, but still nowhere near what we should be getting. See post number 20 in this thread for what our line is capable of if everything is working correctly:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=79688535&postcount=20

I got a phone call from broadband support a few minutes ago and he arranged an engineer visit for Wednesday. However, I fear this is just going to be a waste of time if we get the same 'engineer' that we have been dealing with. He quite literally has no clue about broadband and looks at me as if I have two heads when I mention things like noise margin etc. He also insinuates that I am lying about the speeds we used to be getting on the line; strange stance to take that; what exactly do I have to benefit from taking time off from work to continuously deal with Eircom engineers?

I requested a different engineer on the phone, but the guy said he has no control over it...