Are there better ADSL modem routers out there?

I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.

What's the likelihood of increasing my download speed by a) upgrading my
router's firmware and/or b) by getting a 'better' modem/router? If
that's an option, who are the market leaders?

The service is quite solid at the moment, but I use VoIP for my calls
(voip.co.uk) and occasionally I get drop-outs.

In article <B5OdnW-(E-Mail Removed)>,
Bypass <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
>Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.

What does your modem actually sync at? If it's syncing at 8Mb and you're
only getting 5Mb then it's either a BT virtual-path capacity problem in
your exchange (remember you're 50:1 anyway) or theres issues insude your
ISP. Upgrading your modem won't help any of these, so start by looking
at your ADSL hardware and seeing what it's giving.

Gordon

In article <B5OdnW-(E-Mail Removed)>,
Bypass <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
>Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.
>
>What's the likelihood of increasing my download speed by a) upgrading my
>router's firmware and/or b) by getting a 'better' modem/router? If
>that's an option, who are the market leaders?
>
>The service is quite solid at the moment, but I use VoIP for my calls
>(voip.co.uk) and occasionally I get drop-outs.


For your VOIP problem, I'd look at your uplink speed. Others may be
able to comment on features that apply to QoS for voice. I'd
like to hear if any exist.

I'm of the opinion that 8Mb/sec is a walk in the park for any modern,
properly functioning modem/router combo. It's not that fast.

You can use XP's pathping command to show ping times and dropped
packet counts between your PC and any host service on the net you have
problems with. An occassional dropped packet isn't bad, but most of
the time there should be none.

The echo times should be examined as a source of problems for VOIP,
but the solution is probably upstream and you have to address it via
your ISP.







--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Harrison for Congress in NY 13CD www.harrison06.com
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

Bypass wrote:

> I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
> Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.

Where are you getting this download speed from?

What is the signal strength, SNR, downlink and uplink speed shown as?

Gordon Henderson wrote:
> In article <B5OdnW-(E-Mail Removed)>,
> Bypass <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
>> Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.
>
> What does your modem actually sync at? If it's syncing at 8Mb and you're
> only getting 5Mb then it's either a BT virtual-path capacity problem in
> your exchange (remember you're 50:1 anyway) or theres issues insude your
> ISP. Upgrading your modem won't help any of these, so start by looking
> at your ADSL hardware and seeing what it's giving.
>


Modem Status

Link Status Connected
Us Rate (Kbps) 448
Ds Rate (Kbps) 8128
US Margin 25
DS Margin 13
Modulation MMODE
LOS Errors 0
DS Line Attenuation 15
US Line Attenuation 14
Path Mode Interleaved

Gordon, I take it that this is exactly what you mean?

Bypass wrote:

> Gordon Henderson wrote:
> > In article <B5OdnW-(E-Mail Removed)>,
> > Bypass <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> >> I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
> >> Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.
> >
> > What does your modem actually sync at? If it's syncing at 8Mb and you're
> > only getting 5Mb then it's either a BT virtual-path capacity problem in
> > your exchange (remember you're 50:1 anyway) or theres issues insude your
> > ISP. Upgrading your modem won't help any of these, so start by looking
> > at your ADSL hardware and seeing what it's giving.
>
> Modem Status
>
> Link Status Connected
> Us Rate (Kbps) 448
> Ds Rate (Kbps) 8128
> US Margin 25
> DS Margin 13
> Modulation MMODE
> LOS Errors 0
> DS Line Attenuation 15
> US Line Attenuation 14
> Path Mode Interleaved
>
> Gordon, I take it that this is exactly what you mean?

Now go here....
http://speedtester.bt.com/

Be patient, it's crap and run the test until it gives you some data rates and
your *profile*.

If your profile's 7150kbps and it likely is - any speed issues aren't the ADSL
connection at all.

In any case 'only' 5M is very good.

Graham

Bypass wrote:
> Gordon Henderson wrote:
>> In article <B5OdnW-(E-Mail Removed)>,
>> Bypass <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>> I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their
>>> 8Mb Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.
>>
>> What does your modem actually sync at? If it's syncing at 8Mb and you're
>> only getting 5Mb then it's either a BT virtual-path capacity problem in
>> your exchange (remember you're 50:1 anyway) or theres issues insude your
>> ISP. Upgrading your modem won't help any of these, so start by looking
>> at your ADSL hardware and seeing what it's giving.
>>
>
>
> Modem Status
>
> Link Status Connected
> Us Rate (Kbps) 448
> Ds Rate (Kbps) 8128

8128Kbps is the maximum line speed. You've got a very fast ADSL
connection and a different router won't increase this speed.

> US Margin 25
> DS Margin 13
> Modulation MMODE
> LOS Errors 0
> DS Line Attenuation 15
> US Line Attenuation 14
> Path Mode Interleaved

The Margin figures (aka signal to noise ratio) are good as are your
line attenuation figures.

Am I right in thinking your download speed of 5Mbps is from a download
test tool?

Given the high quality of your basic ADSL connection (8Mbps) the cause
of your lower download speed (5Mbps) is to be found further up the
network. Given that you're getting VoIP dropouts I suspect congestion
further up the network.

Unfortunately there's little you can do sort of changing to a service
with a better than 50:1 contention ratio.

>
> Gordon, I take it that this is exactly what you mean?


--
Guy
-- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Guy Dawson I.T. Manager Crossflight Ltd
(E-Mail Removed)

Eeyore wrote:
>
> Bypass wrote:
>
>> Gordon Henderson wrote:
>>> In article <B5OdnW-(E-Mail Removed)>,
>>> Bypass <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>> I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
>>>> Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.
>>> What does your modem actually sync at? If it's syncing at 8Mb and you're
>>> only getting 5Mb then it's either a BT virtual-path capacity problem in
>>> your exchange (remember you're 50:1 anyway) or theres issues insude your
>>> ISP. Upgrading your modem won't help any of these, so start by looking
>>> at your ADSL hardware and seeing what it's giving.
>> Modem Status
>>
>> Link Status Connected
>> Us Rate (Kbps) 448
>> Ds Rate (Kbps) 8128
>> US Margin 25
>> DS Margin 13
>> Modulation MMODE
>> LOS Errors 0
>> DS Line Attenuation 15
>> US Line Attenuation 14
>> Path Mode Interleaved
>>
>> Gordon, I take it that this is exactly what you mean?
>
> Now go here....
> http://speedtester.bt.com/
>
> Be patient, it's crap and run the test until it gives you some data rates and
> your *profile*.
>
> If your profile's 7150kbps and it likely is - any speed issues aren't the ADSL
> connection at all.
>
> In any case 'only' 5M is very good.
>
> Graham
>
I live only 70m from the local exchange and get the same 448 and 8128.
My modem router is currently on the end of about 50 feet of very poor
looking extension wire. I usually get 4 - 5 megs but occasionally 6.5
I suspect local contention is the problem. Alternatively Newnet could be
a bit overwhelmed. They have just greatly increased their prices for
heavy users to protect their network.

Guy Dawson wrote:

> Am I right in thinking your download speed of 5Mbps is from a download
> test tool?

I'm with Madasafish. They provide their own 'broadband speed test' on
their website. That's all I use.

In article <sDxnh.53378$(E-Mail Removed)>,
Nick <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>"Ted B" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed). ..
>> Bypass wrote:
>>
>> > I'm only a few yards from the BT exchange. I'm with MAAF on their 8Mb
>> > Max account and I'm getting a download speed in the region of 5Mb.
>>
>> Where are you getting this download speed from?
>>
>> What is the signal strength, SNR, downlink and uplink speed shown as?
>
>Not necessarily in answer to this question, but it may help and can be
>applied in any ADSL configuration.
>The use of good quality filters and better still "active" rather than
>passive
>filters can improve the quality of connection dramatically.
>For best results do not use a filter.
>If you need to use a filter, place the filter where the line enters the
>premises,
>"Y" off at this point and use one leg for all telephony and the other line
>for all data.
>You'll only need one filter in this scenario and therefore reduce losses.
>
>


Try removing all phone devices other than your modem and run speed
tests. If you see a speed improvement, put the phones back one at a
time, test, and see if one of the phones is a problem.



--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Harrison for Congress in NY 13CD www.harrison06.com
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001