Paying for 8mb Broadband. Getting 1mb.

[katakidoushi]

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be posted here, so please move it if it's not >.<

Ok, I have a BT Voyager 2000 router supplying 4 computers in the house, and maybe a laptop or two too. It's connected to my computer via an ethernet cable, and to all of the others via wireless.

My parents currently pay for BT Total Broadband, "Option 3", which is supposed to give 8Mb Broadband, unlimited downloads, etc. It's £27.00 p/m.

Yet recently, I took a speedtest on the internet, and "my" (The computer connected to the router with an ethernet cable) download speed is only 1Mb/s, when it should be 8Mb, right?

So.. I tried to eliminate possibilities. I searched and looked at information about my router on the internet, thinking maybe my router only lets through 1Mb, and can't handle the full 8Mb my parents pay for... Nope. =/ My router is capable of channeling 8Mb/s.

So.... I'm at a dead end, I have no idea why we're only recieving 1Mb broadband when we're paying for 8Mb. Any ideas? >.<


*Oh, and on a side note, I think BT is screwing up. I game on my computer a bit, and i've been getting some pretty high latency, such as 200/300 since about a month ago now.. I thought at first it was just the ISP, and would stop soon. After a week or so, I assumed it must be something wrong with my computer, but finding nothing wrong, I got a friend to ping my router, which had a latency of on average 324ms... High =/ So... That deduces that it must be BT screwing up?

Any comments on that issue would also be extremely helpful. Thanks ^^

 

[blackjack]

It might be down to this in the BT BROADBAND OPTION 3 rules

7.What is the Fair Usage Policy on the "unlimited" Option 3?
BT Total Broadband's Fair Usage Policy is designed to make sure that the very few excessive users on the Option 3 Unlimited product do not use their service at the detriment of other customers.

BT will monitor network performance and may restrict the amount of bandwidth available to very heavy users during peak time to ensure that the majority of the customer base has a good customer experience. There will be no restriction imposed outside of these peak times.

If you don't use Peer-to-Peer or file sharing software or if you don't download very large files continuously at peak times, then it is very unlikely you will be affected by this policy.

8. Does this mean I can't use Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications?

No, we are not stopping people using any P2P service. We are simply ensuring that bandwidth is shared fairly between all customers at peak times, generally in the evenings. Outside of these times P2P will have full bandwidth access. It is worth noting that P2P is not a time-sensitive application.

A minority of users (around 2%) far exceed all others in terms of bandwidth demand, some using 600 GB per month. We have taken the decision to limit bandwidth available to these users at peak times.

9. What about watching on-demand TV content on BT Vision or making call on Broadband Talk? Do using these services count towards my usage allowance?

No, neither BT Vision usage or BT Broadband Talk counts towards your monthly usage allowance. So you are free to watch as much TV on-demand entertainment or talk for as long as you want without adding to your monthly usage.

 

[muz]

Well it depends cos if they are selling 8 megabit broadband then that is only 1 megabyte
What are you using the do the speed test ? cos if the speed tester is measuring in megabytes but BT are selling it in megabits then you are obviously gonna get a different reading

 

[blackjack]

I have just found out that BT peek times are 6pm-midnight, so your usage may be capped between those hours that would explain low speeds, run a speed check at 8am then at say 7pm then after midnight, your first and last results should be substantially higher.

 

[DJ-CHRIS1]

Also note it's UP TO 8mb service. This depends highly on the line and equipment conditions.

It seems as you have some old line running to your house.

 

[xTRIxEDGEx]

also take what muz said into account. its most likely 8 megabits instead of 8 megabytes as thats usually how they sell it. and 8 megabits is calculated as 1 megabyte. just as the optimum online service sells 15Mbps but i can only get 1.875 Mb/s approximately at maximum.

 

[blackjack]

Take a look what BT say

How fast is 8Mb? File type
Approx download time at 8Mb/sec

1.2MB Digital photo (.jpg) 2 seconds

2.5MB Music file (.mp3) 5 seconds

20MB Movie (Windows Media File) 40 seconds

1GB 2 hour DVD quality movie 5 minutes



There are 8Mb (Mega bits) in 1MB (Mega Byte). An 8Mb connection can download approximately 8,000,000 bits in a second (1MB per second) at the peak speed


It will alo depend on how close to the exchange you are aswell, the further away the weaker the signal.

 

[muz]

Take a look what BT say

How fast is 8Mb? File type
Approx download time at 8Mb/sec

1.2MB Digital photo (.jpg) 2 seconds

2.5MB Music file (.mp3) 5 seconds

20MB Movie (Windows Media File) 40 seconds

1GB 2 hour DVD quality movie 5 minutes



There are 8Mb (Mega bits) in 1MB (Mega Byte). An 8Mb connection can download approximately 8,000,000 bits in a second (1MB per second) at the peak speed


It will alo depend on how close to the exchange you are aswell, the further away the weaker the signal.

That is what i said , if they are selling it as 8megabitss which i think is the fastest ADSL you can get other than ADSL2 then that will only be one megabyte . It is confusing i know but
8Megabits=1 Megabyte
If you where told on the phone that the connection would be 8Megabytes the person whoi told you that has no clue what they are on about . In fact you could prolly have them for false advertising there

 

[katakidoushi]

Aaah, ok. That'll be it then I knew 8bits were in a byte, but I didn't interperet it into the situation. 8megabits per second are on sale. I thought it was 8megabytes. Because it's 8megabits, then that's 1megabyte, explaining the speedtest. ^^

Well... Thanks for the help =D

Umm.. To me, £27 a month sounds alot for just 1Mb/s.. Would you guys say it's reasonable?

**I think I may be mixed up again. Is this correct? :
Mb = Megabyte
MB = Megabit

 

[katakidoushi]

Ah no, I just read some posts above again. It's the other way around ^^

Mb = Megabit
MB = Megabyte

=D Ty