Why do BT sell their broadband as "up to 8 Meg" when my connection speed is dismally 1.97 and at best 2.1

Question

Guys, here is some interesting info, round at my next door neighbours, he advised testing the line by putting your phone number in the performance tester on BT web site. Interesting results, in the same street. his line returned 4.5. mine returned 1.65 and a colleague over the roads number returned 3.5....

I'm on the 6 month sign up package at £8.95 per month. If I was sceptical I would say my connection has been throttled back by BT> ?

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information. IP profile for your line is - 1750 kbps DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 2112 kbps(DOWN-STREAM) Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1642 kbpsIf you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP. If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance. Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester.

Answer 1

8 Meg is what it can do at "optimal" settings. Then you have to factor in a number of other things, mainly the distance you live from the transfer point, and that then gives you your actual speed.

Also, speed usually depends on how much you're paying. Faster speeds usually mean muc more expensive packages.

Answer 2

1.97 is up to 8 meg - what did you expect? If you're connected to the BT exchange down a bit of copper wire installed in 1928, that's the best you can hope for. I twigged years ago when I found that my old 33.6K modem ran faster than my 56K modem and realised that broadband down the telephone line won't go any faster. If you're more than 400 metres from the BT exchange, have a word with Mr Virgin.

Answer 3

Because they can receive up to 8 megs; most websites don't connect at anywhere near that speed. If you have a choice between broadband and DSL, everyone will tell you broadband, but the truth is they connect at pretty much the same speed on most websites.

Answer 4

Your bandwidth at any given moment is determined by demand for that same bandwidth, so it follows that there will be slack periods. However, I've found that performance can be enhanced if you attempt to make multiple connections via the same point.

Try opening IE more than once!

Answer 5

It just meant it can reach 8, doesnt meant you will get 8, the speed depend on many factors, line quality being the main one, distant from the exchange is another.

Answer 6

They key word is ' up to ' , anything below that is fine , I find their download and upload speeds are faster than some 16Mb connections, dont ask me how.

Answer 7

key words in the phrase "up to" which means it might not get anywhere near that, it depends on how far away from the phone exchange you are, how fast your computer is and connections

Answer 8

That is the best speed under ideal conditions. It's just a marketing ploy.

Answer 9

DON'T KNOW.............but one cannot get through to B/BAND i have sent 3 E-mails about my new contract and they have actually put me on a contract which i was to get £5 cheaper as one day it took me 45minutes to get to talk to someone I was b/b Total option 3 paying 23.99 month I AM JUST SO fed up with broadband i thinking of cancelling it all together.
HOW DO I GET TO BROADBAND HELP DESK. i HAVE A letter letting me know that i am to get the £5 OFF and i want to send it through to accounts but cannot get a emai of them either. PLEASE PLEASE Do you know anything a bout B/T

Answer 10

the key words are "up to" under idea conditions you can expect 8. but if it's download speed your talking about you gotta remember you can only get it as fast as the sender can give it.