BE Broadband
16 June 2008, 02:37 PM
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BE Broadband
Hi,
As per the title, anyone tried out BE Broadband, how are you finding it?
Speeds as you expected and what's the reliability like?
I am currently with Zen Internet and can't fault them, customer service is top notch and you get to speak to real techies which makes the whole process painless.
The current package I have with Zen allows me to make use of 8 fixed IP addresses, 8mbit download speeds (I average around 7mbit sustained) and about 256kb uploads however downloads are now capped at 80gb per month which I regularly go over *cough*.
I have had a look at BE's offer and like the looks of the ADSL2+ 25mbit package with 1 free fixed IP address. Initial online checks indicate I should receive something between 14mbits to 18mbits download speeds and 1.5mbit upload speeds.
But it's a new ISP and my worry is that once I switch over I will not achieve the full speed or suddenly find they are capping ports as well as the amount we can download.
Would appreciate any feedback from existing customers.
Cheers,
Fz
As per the title, anyone tried out BE Broadband, how are you finding it?
Speeds as you expected and what's the reliability like?
I am currently with Zen Internet and can't fault them, customer service is top notch and you get to speak to real techies which makes the whole process painless.
The current package I have with Zen allows me to make use of 8 fixed IP addresses, 8mbit download speeds (I average around 7mbit sustained) and about 256kb uploads however downloads are now capped at 80gb per month which I regularly go over *cough*.
I have had a look at BE's offer and like the looks of the ADSL2+ 25mbit package with 1 free fixed IP address. Initial online checks indicate I should receive something between 14mbits to 18mbits download speeds and 1.5mbit upload speeds.
But it's a new ISP and my worry is that once I switch over I will not achieve the full speed or suddenly find they are capping ports as well as the amount we can download.
Would appreciate any feedback from existing customers.
Cheers,
Fz
16 June 2008, 02:47 PM
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ive been with them for a few weeks now, no problems at all. I switched from sky llu as I am cancelling my sky tv and so couldnt keep the broadband as well. Upto now with BE my sync speeds are slightly higher than it was with sky, even though they use the same technology. Also the speeds are much more consistent. I sync at around 15mb and from fast servers can download at 1.4mb/sec. Uploads are also good, my upload sync rate is 1300kbps.
BE will also let you tweak your line to the max by changing settings for you if you think you can get faster.
Also in general for me web browsing seems slightly faster than when I was with sky even though people have had problems with BE's DNS servers
BE will also let you tweak your line to the max by changing settings for you if you think you can get faster.
Also in general for me web browsing seems slightly faster than when I was with sky even though people have had problems with BE's DNS servers
16 June 2008, 02:52 PM
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80Gb a month! What do you people download to hit that per month? If it's films, tv, music etc then I've no idea how you find the time to watch or listen to it. I guess console games are part of that.
16 June 2008, 03:10 PM
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I've just checked their website again and apparently my exchange will be enabled this month. Have been waiting ages to get their service and only question is what is their download policy when it comes to unlimited? There must be a cap/fair usage policy?
Edit - just spoke to their sales line and I wont get any faster speeds than I have now because I live 2 miles from the exchange so will get the same speeds as normal ADSL
Edit - just spoke to their sales line and I wont get any faster speeds than I have now because I live 2 miles from the exchange so will get the same speeds as normal ADSL
Last edited by Bravo2zero_sps; 16 June 2008 at 03:29 PM.
16 June 2008, 03:32 PM
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they have a fup but there isnt any cap (not on the unlimited svs anyway)
I have downloaded loads in the few weeks that I have had it and not had any notification from them (I didnt from sky either but Im sure sky used to throttle me a bit)
I have downloaded loads in the few weeks that I have had it and not had any notification from them (I didnt from sky either but Im sure sky used to throttle me a bit)
16 June 2008, 04:26 PM
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I very dubiously jumped from Zen to Be* about 18 months ago and they have been brilliant. If I download a popular file I will regularly get 1.7mb/s. There have been two outages in those 18 months, each for about 2 hours. One was their DNS (which was easy to get around) and the other was just their network. Customer service is okay, I haven't used it very much but they logged the ticket and fixed my problem.
I didn't like the Speedtouch modem they supply, so I use a Netgear DG834N.
Steve
I didn't like the Speedtouch modem they supply, so I use a Netgear DG834N.
Steve
16 June 2008, 05:19 PM
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I live 2 miles from my exchange too. I switched last week, so far I'm getting 50% more than I was.
What is your "attenuation downstream" - mines 52, I get about 4meg down & 1 up
What is your "attenuation downstream" - mines 52, I get about 4meg down & 1 up
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16 June 2008, 09:08 PM
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The BE sales person said that my line even on llu would only connect at 3000kbps due to the distance so I said thanks but no point me changing then.
17 June 2008, 10:01 AM
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Mines 44db but noise margin is only 8db which is very poor. I connect at 3488kbps and so only get a throughput of 3000kbps after the overhead.
The BE sales person said that my line even on llu would only connect at 3000kbps due to the distance so I said thanks but no point me changing then.
The BE sales person said that my line even on llu would only connect at 3000kbps due to the distance so I said thanks but no point me changing then.
they tend to err on the side of caution.With your attenuation, I would expect around about 6mb, definately 5mb, its not just the speeds though, when I was with bt max a few years back (through ZEN) I synced around about 6.* mb but most of the time throughput was 4mb and lower, however with BE because its there own equipment speeds should be more consistent
17 June 2008, 10:17 AM
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To improve your line stats and noise attenuation try this. worked wonders for me and improved speeds.
DSL ZoneUK - Improve your speed - Extension wiring and Disconnection help
DSL ZoneUK - Improve your speed - Extension wiring and Disconnection help
17 June 2008, 10:49 AM
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To improve your line stats and noise attenuation try this. worked wonders for me and improved speeds.
DSL ZoneUK - Improve your speed - Extension wiring and Disconnection help
DSL ZoneUK - Improve your speed - Extension wiring and Disconnection help
17 June 2008, 12:49 PM
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maybe the html version of the page gives more info?
DSL ZoneUK - Improve your speed - Extension wiring and Disconnection help
DSL ZoneUK - Improve your speed - Extension wiring and Disconnection help
17 June 2008, 01:11 PM
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Plugged it into the test socket and got a sync speed of 5184kbps but have seen this before where it disconnects after a few hours and resyncs back at 3 with the throughput not having gone up.
Will leave it and see what happens, I know it used to take 48 hours for the throughput to update if you got a better sync rate but think BT have changed this now to only 2 hours to update.
Will leave it and see what happens, I know it used to take 48 hours for the throughput to update if you got a better sync rate but think BT have changed this now to only 2 hours to update.
17 June 2008, 03:03 PM
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You may find there is a junction box hidden somewhere and then the wires run to the extension sockets, but if you remove one, the others stop working etc
17 June 2008, 03:44 PM
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17 June 2008, 04:58 PM
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Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 8.0 / 15.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 27.0 / 14.5
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 8,096
My stats and BE are going in this month, currently on BT so hoping for more speed!
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 27.0 / 14.5
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 8,096
My stats and BE are going in this month, currently on BT so hoping for more speed!
I bet you are
18 June 2008, 08:58 AM
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I reckon you have an slight issue with internal wiring as well as you should be able to sync higher than that.
