Zens Max ADSL = 400k download Is this right???

I've been following up a problem for a month now with many phonecalls to zen
support since moving to Max Adsl package. I'm practically sitting on the
exchange and the BT engineer who called round to check my line showed me the
line can take 9.5 megs download (nice clean line).

I've done the retraining, MSR set at 8meg and BRAS profile done, but the
best download speed I've got is 3000kbps logging on to the BT speed test.
The best I've got is 2.5meg from ADSLGuide.
The zen engineer I spoke to today tells me this is contention at the
exchange (Castleham), even though I've done tests late at hight, during the
day, early morning etc., and as far as zen are concerned anything over 400k
download is regarded as not a problem and have closed the case.
Is this right????
If so, then why did all the other support team keep telling me I should
achieve better results than 2.5meg download?

I've been with Zen for years now and didn't mind paying the higher price for
a better service. But with 400k d/l being acceptable I may as well look at
any other ISP

Malkz wrote:
> I've been following up a problem for a month now with many phonecalls to zen
> support since moving to Max Adsl package. I'm practically sitting on the
> exchange and the BT engineer who called round to check my line showed me the
> line can take 9.5 megs download (nice clean line).
>
> I've done the retraining, MSR set at 8meg and BRAS profile done, but the
> best download speed I've got is 3000kbps logging on to the BT speed test.
> The best I've got is 2.5meg from ADSLGuide.
> The zen engineer I spoke to today tells me this is contention at the
> exchange (Castleham), even though I've done tests late at hight, during the
> day, early morning etc., and as far as zen are concerned anything over 400k
> download is regarded as not a problem and have closed the case.
> Is this right????
> If so, then why did all the other support team keep telling me I should
> achieve better results than 2.5meg download?
>
> I've been with Zen for years now and didn't mind paying the higher price for
> a better service. But with 400k d/l being acceptable I may as well look at
> any other ISP

Are you by chance getting mixed up between bits and Bytes? It's roughly
10:1 difference so a 400kB/s is about 4Mb/s.

This is by far the best speed test I've encountered (suggested on this
newsgroup last week) but it's not immune from contention so you need to
do it off-peak.

http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp

It measures in bits/second so it should be clear.

Dick

"Dick Middleton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:e5kleo$391$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Malkz wrote:
>> I've been following up a problem for a month now with many phonecalls to
>> zen
>> support since moving to Max Adsl package. I'm practically sitting on the
>> exchange and the BT engineer who called round to check my line showed me
>> the
>> line can take 9.5 megs download (nice clean line).
>>
>> I've done the retraining, MSR set at 8meg and BRAS profile done, but the
>> best download speed I've got is 3000kbps logging on to the BT speed test.
>> The best I've got is 2.5meg from ADSLGuide.
>> The zen engineer I spoke to today tells me this is contention at the
>> exchange (Castleham), even though I've done tests late at hight, during
>> the
>> day, early morning etc., and as far as zen are concerned anything over
>> 400k
>> download is regarded as not a problem and have closed the case.
>> Is this right????
>> If so, then why did all the other support team keep telling me I should
>> achieve better results than 2.5meg download?
>>
>> I've been with Zen for years now and didn't mind paying the higher price
>> for
>> a better service. But with 400k d/l being acceptable I may as well look
>> at
>> any other ISP
>
> Are you by chance getting mixed up between bits and Bytes? It's roughly
> 10:1 difference so a 400kB/s is about 4Mb/s.
>
> This is by far the best speed test I've encountered (suggested on this
> newsgroup last week) but it's not immune from contention so you need to do
> it off-peak.
>
> http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp
>
> It measures in bits/second so it should be clear.
>
> Dick

Just tried the link and I got 3107Kbps down and 401.3 up, like I say this
equal to the best I ever got , once, logging onto BT speedtest.
This is roughly 3 Megs down as I understand it. I was hoping to get up to
7-8
egs down at some point because I'm so close to the exchange and a clean
line.
I've done tests at all times, late at night, during the day, early morning.

Malkz

"Malkz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:447ddbf0$0$688$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Dick Middleton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:e5kleo$391$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Malkz wrote:
>>> I've been following up a problem for a month now with many phonecalls to
>>> zen
>>> support since moving to Max Adsl package. I'm practically sitting on the
>>> exchange and the BT engineer who called round to check my line showed me
>>> the
>>> line can take 9.5 megs download (nice clean line).
>>>
>>> I've done the retraining, MSR set at 8meg and BRAS profile done, but the
>>> best download speed I've got is 3000kbps logging on to the BT speed
>>> test.
>>> The best I've got is 2.5meg from ADSLGuide.
>>> The zen engineer I spoke to today tells me this is contention at the
>>> exchange (Castleham), even though I've done tests late at hight, during
>>> the
>>> day, early morning etc., and as far as zen are concerned anything over
>>> 400k
>>> download is regarded as not a problem and have closed the case.
>>> Is this right????
>>> If so, then why did all the other support team keep telling me I should
>>> achieve better results than 2.5meg download?
>>>
>>> I've been with Zen for years now and didn't mind paying the higher price
>>> for
>>> a better service. But with 400k d/l being acceptable I may as well look
>>> at
>>> any other ISP
>>
>> Are you by chance getting mixed up between bits and Bytes? It's roughly
>> 10:1 difference so a 400kB/s is about 4Mb/s.
>>
>> This is by far the best speed test I've encountered (suggested on this
>> newsgroup last week) but it's not immune from contention so you need to
>> do it off-peak.
>>
>> http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp
>>
>> It measures in bits/second so it should be clear.
>>
>> Dick
>
> Just tried the link and I got 3107Kbps down and 401.3 up, like I say this
> equal to the best I ever got , once, logging onto BT speedtest.
> This is roughly 3 Megs down as I understand it. I was hoping to get up to
> 7-8
> egs down at some point because I'm so close to the exchange and a clean
> line.
> I've done tests at all times, late at night, during the day, early
> morning.
>
> Malkz
>


its all bits & bytes causing the confusion. btw there are 8bits in a
Byte...maxdsl speeds vary to network conditions etc & how busy the network
etc...

"Stu C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:447de029$0$22906$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Malkz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:447ddbf0$0$688$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>> "Dick Middleton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:e5kleo$391$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> Malkz wrote:
>>>> I've been following up a problem for a month now with many phonecalls
>>>> to zen
>>>> support since moving to Max Adsl package. I'm practically sitting on
>>>> the
>>>> exchange and the BT engineer who called round to check my line showed
>>>> me the
>>>> line can take 9.5 megs download (nice clean line).
>>>>
>>>> I've done the retraining, MSR set at 8meg and BRAS profile done, but
>>>> the
>>>> best download speed I've got is 3000kbps logging on to the BT speed
>>>> test.
>>>> The best I've got is 2.5meg from ADSLGuide.
>>>> The zen engineer I spoke to today tells me this is contention at the
>>>> exchange (Castleham), even though I've done tests late at hight, during
>>>> the
>>>> day, early morning etc., and as far as zen are concerned anything over
>>>> 400k
>>>> download is regarded as not a problem and have closed the case.
>>>> Is this right????
>>>> If so, then why did all the other support team keep telling me I should
>>>> achieve better results than 2.5meg download?
>>>>
>>>> I've been with Zen for years now and didn't mind paying the higher
>>>> price for
>>>> a better service. But with 400k d/l being acceptable I may as well look
>>>> at
>>>> any other ISP
>>>
>>> Are you by chance getting mixed up between bits and Bytes? It's roughly
>>> 10:1 difference so a 400kB/s is about 4Mb/s.
>>>
>>> This is by far the best speed test I've encountered (suggested on this
>>> newsgroup last week) but it's not immune from contention so you need to
>>> do it off-peak.
>>>
>>> http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp
>>>
>>> It measures in bits/second so it should be clear.
>>>
>>> Dick
>>
>> Just tried the link and I got 3107Kbps down and 401.3 up, like I say this
>> equal to the best I ever got , once, logging onto BT speedtest.
>> This is roughly 3 Megs down as I understand it. I was hoping to get up to
>> 7-8
>> egs down at some point because I'm so close to the exchange and a clean
>> line.
>> I've done tests at all times, late at night, during the day, early
>> morning.
>>
>> Malkz
>>
>
>
> its all bits & bytes causing the confusion. btw there are 8bits in a
> Byte...maxdsl speeds vary to network conditions etc & how busy the network
> etc...
>
>

I know bits and Bytes can be confusing but thats not the issue here,
according to Zens website users on the Zen 8000 Active package:
http://www.zenbroadband.com/athome.aspx?page=455
"Actual download speeds will be no higher than 7150Kbps" (that's 7150 Kilo
bits per second),
and
"Average download speeds recorded to date by BT average between 5-6 Mb"
(that's 5-6 Mega bits per second).
The best I've ever got is 3107Kilo bits per second. I was hoping to achieve
at least the advertised rate at some point in tests i.e.5-6 Mega bits per
second.
These figures are all bits, not Bytes. (Lower case 'b' for bits, and
uppercase 'B' for Bytes)
Hope this has clarified the bits and Bytes issue!!!

Malkz

On 31 May 2006, "Malkz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>as far as zen are concerned anything over 400k download is regarded as
>not a problem and have closed the case.

If it is in excess of 400 kbps then BT would not consider there to be
any fault on the connection. Whether there are some portions of the
network getting overloaded, or your PC/connection is just not up to
it concerning higher, is difficult to guess. What ADSL kit do you
use (router ? PCI card ? USB modem ?) There might be something not
obvious which is limiting the traffic speed.

Things will only get slower as the remaining 3,000,000 users across
the UK get linked up at "up to" 8000 kbps, so enjoy whatever speed
you get while it lasts !! Peter M.

Malkz wrote:
> I've been following up a problem for a month now with many
> phonecalls to zen support since moving to Max Adsl package. I'm
> practically sitting on the exchange and the BT engineer who called
> round to check my line showed me the line can take 9.5 megs
> download (nice clean line).
> I've done the retraining, MSR set at 8meg and BRAS profile done,
> but the best download speed I've got is 3000kbps logging on to the
> BT speed test. The best I've got is 2.5meg from ADSLGuide.
> The zen engineer I spoke to today tells me this is contention at the
> exchange (Castleham), even though I've done tests late at hight,
> during the day, early morning etc., and as far as zen are concerned
> anything over 400k download is regarded as not a problem and have
> closed the case. Is this right????
> If so, then why did all the other support team keep telling me I
> should achieve better results than 2.5meg download?
>
> I've been with Zen for years now and didn't mind paying the higher
> price for a better service. But with 400k d/l being acceptable I
> may as well look at any other ISP

You are most probably being affected by BT closing the ticket, so Zen
can't do anything about it rather than Zen closing it
By changing ISP you will still be in BT's constraints unless of course
you go to a LLU ISP, but then you could have other problems.

MAXADSL is still very much in the early stages so if you leave it a
short while it may get better (6/6/06 is the date being banded around
by BT Wholesale at the moment but will most probably slip) if you are
suffering from one of the apparent problems which appear to be
inherent at the present moment.

"poster" <us-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...
> On 31 May 2006, "Malkz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>as far as zen are concerned anything over 400k download is regarded as
>>not a problem and have closed the case.
>
> If it is in excess of 400 kbps then BT would not consider there to be
> any fault on the connection. Whether there are some portions of the
> network getting overloaded, or your PC/connection is just not up to
> it concerning higher, is difficult to guess. What ADSL kit do you
> use (router ? PCI card ? USB modem ?) There might be something not
> obvious which is limiting the traffic speed.
>
> Things will only get slower as the remaining 3,000,000 users across
> the UK get linked up at "up to" 8000 kbps, so enjoy whatever speed
> you get while it lasts !! Peter M.

Yes I understand that BT consider 400k for a 2Mb connection to be
acceptable!, so Zen can't raise a fault. Which means that the 0.5meg deal I
was on before could run at 50k which is acceptable for BT!!! (50k, less than
dial-up!?!?).
I doubt it's my gear, Draytek 2600w connected to the master socket, testing
on Sony Vaio laptop 1.6Ghz wireless, but that shouldn't limit an 8 Mb
connection to 2.4Mb

Malkz

Malkz wrote:

>[...] "Average download speeds recorded to date by BT average between 5-6
Mb"
> (that's 5-6 Mega bits per second).
> The best I've ever got is 3107Kilo bits per second. I was hoping to
> achieve at least the advertised rate at some point in tests i.e.5-6 Mega
> bits per second. [...]
> Malkz

If everyone got "at least the average rate", then the average rate would
increase....

Zen guarantee no contention on their network, so your speed issues must be
down to one of a few things:-

1) Exchange contention - nothing you can realistically do about it, and that
includes switching ISP.
2) Errors on your line causing lots of retransmitted packets. Can be sorted
by doing up your telephone wiring and/or dropping to a lower sync speed
3) Throughput problems at your end of things. Unlikely, unless you're using
a USB 1.1 modem, or running 1.1 or 2.0 off a hub with loads of other
devices attached. Low-quality, shared 10mbps Ethernet+router could
(possibly) cause it, or an 802.11a/b network.

Anyway, look at it this way: you've gained a 50% increase in speed, at no
extra cost (although your connection is now metered)... TBH, switching to
A.N.Other ISP would quite possibly make things worse, and is almost certain
to not make them better...

xF,

....Nick

Malkz wrote:
[...]
> I doubt it's my gear, Draytek 2600w connected to the master socket,
> testing on Sony Vaio laptop 1.6Ghz wireless, but that shouldn't limit an 8
> Mb connection to 2.4Mb
[...]

Gotcha! "[...]The Access Point supports the 802.11b Wireless Ethernet
standard[...]" - the very best you'll get out of 11Mbps wireless is just
under 6Mbps TCP/IP throughput. If you've got two PCs attached, that needs
to be shared. Sub-optimal wireless networking conditions will lead to drops
in performance. IF you're still using WEP, half your bandwidth could be
being eaten up by the next-door neighbour...

xF,

....Nick