sadly i made the mistake of getting my broadband from talktalk, and after months of going round the houses with them (anyone who’s ever dealt with them will know how utterly painful that is) my broadband issues (super low speeds and continually dropping the connection esp when traffic builds up at peak times) is, according to talktalk, down to the exchange.

can anyone tell me if i gave talktalk the heave-ho and went with another supplier, would i still have the same probs bearing in mind it’ll be via the same exchange?

Go here:
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=25795&s_cid=con_FURL_broadband/faster

And see what speed BT says your exchange is capable of.

Seems strange that the service should drop during heavy usage at the exchange. It should simply perform slower depending on the contention ratio (amongst other things)
If this is correct (and it seems indicative of a serious issue at the exchange) then a new supplier may not help. Unless the exchange is LLU which means the ISP installs their own hardware in the exchange.

Find out if its LLU if so go with another supplier, in my experience ADSL is quite stable in most parts of the UK.

Would have thought that speeds dropping when busy was a sign of using too high a contention ratio in the network. The contention ratio is probably down to network operator policy – the higher it is the less network equipment you need. You should be better off with one of the other providers

Worth checking with your neighbours if they have any issues.

Also, I spent a couple of months battling a slow connection and broadband that dropped out. Turned out to be a dud wireless card. Try plugging in directly to the router if you’re not already.

plusnet for me, did have an issue with speed after christmas they blame bt- bt blame plus net then it gets sorted and i go from 1meg (last 6yrs) to 6meg over night. called me to check everything ok, even supplied an 0800 number for dial up but did not have a modem AND AND they speak english from a uk call center

cheers all.

i’ve had two different modems and always the same prob. i’ve actually been with talktalk for a few years and always had issues (at one stage it could take over an hour to connect in the evenings, went on for months like that, then one day was fine again), but moved house last april so on a new contract that i’ll have to pay to sever hence the deliberation.

…at one stage it could take over an hour to connect in the evenings..

When you say “connect” – are you using an ADSL router and are you switching it off when it’s not in use? If so then don’t!

can you access your email?

When I call my m8 who is on talktalk, the ringtone i hear when calling is old. Reminds me of the 70’s. Talktalk fit antique equipment into the BT exchanges. I bet that has a lot to do with why their broadband performance is so poor.

Be.

24 meg (mines 15meg down and 1.3meg up), £17 a month, unlimited dl.

Needs bt phone line though 🙁

I’m 400 yards from the exchange, BT quote 3meg to me, Tiscali quote 3.5. I actually get 7 at 2-3am, but during evenings I’m lucky to see 1. Tiscali tell me its due to congestion at the exchange (which isnt LLU) and there’s nothing they can do. Arghh

Yep, you’re screwed coffeeking. Have you looked at cable?