Longest permitted length BT cable

[Staffbull]

Hi, does anyone know the longest length you are supposed to run between poles? or between the house and the first pole to be exact.

I am having speed issues with BT Broadband, usually 300kbps-500kbps, I have called relentlesley over the last month, they finally said there was a fault at the exchange and i went up to 2.5M, this week though back down to 300kbps :-( The Indian call centeres are crap! they tested the line from their end and said I was getting 6.4M (not bloody likeley) I have tried all the usuall disconnecting everything apart from the router. the router is connected to the only phone point in the house (i.e. no extensions at all) I suspect the line we have from the house, it's over 100metres long and seems to have sagged over the two years its been there. (used to be on a closer pole) BT refused to send an engineer out as they could not trace a fault !! and I'm bloody furious, they could not give me a UK number to ring as all tech support comes from India!! BRITISH telecom my arse !! Next step is I'm going to cut the phone line and report a fault, they might come out if they are missing the calls!!!!

[Frank Erskine]

I'd have thought that the speed achievable on overhead wire should be at least that on underground wiring. In fact it will probably be higher, since there will be less induction from other "pairs". Unless, of course, you still have open wires!

[Mark S.]

I have a similar problem.

Started a few weeks ago with the line being unstable, would connect then drop the connection straight away or just not connect at all.

Tried all the pc end, new router and filters etc.

Took it up with Demon and BT. Bunch of tossers both of them. Have you tried this and that.. er I've been online since Amiga's were around...

They both refused to admit fault in their best broken English.

The service is supposed to be 2meg but it only ever ran at 1.1meg because the line quality is rubbish.

I then got a letter saying I was being upgraded to 8meg. :-(

Great, it's now running at 412 not even 512... ffs.

They carry out their tests and just say it's ok. One of the knobs at Demon said it had connected correctly 4 times out of 6, er great so I'll be getting a price cut for the time it doesn't work?

I'm for cutting the lines myself too... ;-)

Mark S.

[Saxman]

That wouldn't make any difference to your connection what distance it is. If they stuck a carrying pole in the middle of your 100m, do you think it would make any difference?

A lot of broadband problems are at the customer end. Is the feed into the property in good condition; no visible corrosion etc? Try disconnecting your extensions and plugging your computer (with filter) into the main socket in the house; (the first socket into the property). Too many extensions or too much equipment doesn't help.

I had connection problems, but went for a hands-free telephone with three other handsets and extended the main socket to the computer upstairs. All is fine now.

[Staffbull]

Yes I do think it would make a difference as the line seems to have sagged under its weight/wind. this would change the charecteristics of the cable considerably in my opinion. Also tried disconnecting everything, well there was only the cordless transmitter connected to the line box (six months old so no corrosion) so no issue my side. The router is connected direcly to the line box and always has been any sort of extension is going to deteriorate signal so i've never used any.

[Saxman]

Aerial cable has steel built in for strength, so I don't think that would be a problem.

Ask BT to monitor the line if possible.

[Staffbull]

Hi, did ask them, their reply was i'd have to monitor it myself using speedtester !!! Next time I see a BT van i'm going to frogmarch the guy here !!

[Saxman]

It's not his/her fault. You won't get anywhere by doing that.

What makes you think all BT drivers know about your problem? They could be stores personnel, systems engineers, clerical, survey officers, instructors, pole testers, salespersons.............

[Nick2]

Don't do that!! My broadband became intermittent then eventually died, so I reported the fault. A couple of days later the phone line itself packed up, so I call 151 to report the fault using my other (work) phone line.

"I'm sorry sir, but our system has an outstanding broadband fault logged against that number. I can't log a fresh fault until they clear the existing fault"

FFS!

[Staffbull]

It's their "dont give a damn" attitude that has gotten to me, and the inability to speak to someone in the UK. I REALLY have a thing against the Indian call centres that companies use, not in a racist way its just that I have never had any satisfactory resolution whenever I have come accross them.

[TMC]

I had this problem for about 3 months

In our area it is due to distance from the exchange I am 6.5km and the installation in the 1960's of aluminium cable from the exchange because there was a shortage of copper at that time. These ali cables are reaching the end of their useful life

There is also an ongoing issue with bandwidth at the exchanges which they won't generally admit to.

I am with BT Business broadband so get UK based call staff. After much hassle I got a complaints desk email address from the call centre and contacted them.

I was put onto the Broadband max connection which works in a different way in how it sends the packets of data

My connection speed still varies and is not brilliant at peak times but I don't get any drop of connection.

I also got a 3 month refund of charges credited to my bank account merely by asking and did not even have to quote the fault numbers as all the problems could be viewed by the accounts guy

You need to be very persistant.

However Demon are a bunch of t**ts which is why I left them years ago

Tony

[Harry Bloomfield]

Staffbull used his keyboard to write :

The distance to the pole will make absolutely no difference to your line quality. The distance will be just a tiny part of the over all length from the exchange to your home.

A long pole to house run can tend to sag and therefore be more susceptable to breakage. They are also more prone to intermitant connections. Underground cables are better in that being surrouded by soil, they are less susceptible to induced noise on route.

Listen to your phone (use the 'quiet line test') during windy conditions. If there are crackling noises there are likely poor connections somewhere along the cable route.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's the whole idea of call centres no matter where they are.

However, I've had very good service from Pipex on the one occasion I needed help, and they have a UK call centre. Not that it matters where it is for sorting out problems like this. Perhaps you get what you pay for.

[Steve Walker]

Exactly - they're not being paid to make customers happy or satisfied, just to waste their time & energy until they give up complaining and accept whatever service is available.

[Mike Dodd]

...Once you get through to them. I think my quickest would be around 15 minutes, most recently when phoning for a MAC code to migrate it was 25 minutes (starting at 17:30 Saturday, when the call centre closes at

18:00). Pipex ARE good, but seem a little understaffed.

Mike (on broadband with Excellent service and support from Aquiss, now)

[Staffbull]

8 calls later, they have agreed to send an engineer out, I'm now waiting for a call from service to tell me when. If I ever get it!!!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

On the one occasion I needed them - no service but router reported things normal - I got through quickly, and on a Saturday. I was apprehensive as I use an Acorn, and expected the usual flannel when you mention this. But no

- the guy was very helpful and took me through the method of checking via the BT test address. Which was inconclusive, but he reckoned it was the BT end. He then phoned back and said their was a BT ADSL outage in my area and it should be fixed later that day. In fact it was done sometime overnight.

Haven't needed to contact them again, so can't comment on how quick they are now.