Low ADSL/VDSL sync speeds in Wellington

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ganktrain

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#142549 17-Mar-2014 04:27

Currently have Slingshot Unlimited Plus VDSL at my new flat in Hataitai, though speeds are a lot lower than what I would have expected. Previously was on ADSL2 at the same premises syncing at about 8000kbps down and 812kbps up. After the Chorus tech came along and installed a new master filter with dedicated DSL jack, our sync speeds increased to 11000kbps down 8000kbps up.

Despite the relatively modest boost in sync rates, the tech reckoned we should have around 17000kbps down atleast, and based on the numbers we were getting we'd be lucky to have a stable VDSL connection at all.

Fast forward two weeks and the connection is stable for the most part (no thanks to the modem supplied by Slingshot), but the sync speeds are really starting to get me down. Is this really all I can expect from my connection? I find it hard to believe the closest exchange/cabinet from my home is over 1km away!

Stats below:

Status: Up
Mode: ITU G.993.2(VDSL2)
Traffic Type: PTM
Line Coding: Enable
Up Time: 11599
SNR Margin (D/U): 12.1/12.0
Attenuation (0.1dB) (D/U): 23.0 102.3
Output Power (dBm) (D/U): 7.6 7.9
Attainable Rate (Kbps) (D/U): 1 -2143320192
Rate (Kbps) (D/U): 13023 6467
D (interleave depth) (D/U): 106 191
Delay (msec): 0 0
Data Counter: 0 0
HEC Errors: 0 0
OCD Errors: 0 0
LCD Errors: 0 0
CRC Errors: 613 0
FEC Errors: 5 0
Total ES 0 0
Total Frames 0 0

Regards,

Danny

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#1006991 17-Mar-2014 04:27

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

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Jase2985

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#1007001 17-Mar-2014 05:51

well not definitive but you can get a general idea from this:

http://gis.geek.nz/infrastructure.html#chorus_cabinets

also answer all of PeterReaders questions, makes it easier for the people on here to help

But given your attenuation im surprised you were able to get VDSL at all

sbiddle

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#1007005 17-Mar-2014 06:19

With that attenuation figure and previous ADSL sync rates and assuming the wiring job was done correctly you're obviously in a borderline location so don't expect any major changes. As we don't know your exactly location that's impossible to confirm however.

Sideface

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#1007009 17-Mar-2014 07:28

Jase2985: ... But given your attenuation im surprised you were able to get VDSL at all

What he said.

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waikariboy

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#1007056 17-Mar-2014 09:40

You should be happy you have vdsl, i live in upperhutt/wellington and can not get ADSL2+ #firstworldissue

Balm its gone!

ganktrain

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#1007215 17-Mar-2014 12:31

Figured no amount of badgering Slingshot would help, thanks for confirming what I already feared!

waikariboy: You should be happy you have vdsl, i live in upperhutt/wellington and can not get ADSL2+ #firstworldissue

Ouch. I keep assuming the network in Wellington has 100% ADSL2+ coverage in most places. Sad to hear you're outside of that coverage man

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Sideface

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#1007260 17-Mar-2014 13:31

ganktrain: Figured no amount of badgering Slingshot would help, thanks for confirming what I already feared! ...

As two weeks have passed and you are still getting less than 15/5Mbps - which is the minimum standard for VDSL - you can probably ask to be wound back to ADSL2 with no financial penalty.
I had similar stats to yours in Island Bay (despite a proper VDSL install), and Orcon were happy to wind back (saving me $20 per month).
It depends upon how much you value your increased upload speed (it was of no use to me).

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waikariboy

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#1007323 17-Mar-2014 14:04

ganktrain: Figured no amount of badgering Slingshot would help, thanks for confirming what I already feared!

waikariboy: You should be happy you have vdsl, i live in upperhutt/wellington and can not get ADSL2+ #firstworldissue

Ouch. I keep assuming the network in Wellington has 100% ADSL2+ coverage in most places. Sad to hear you're outside of that coverage man

Tell me about it! Turns out im too far from a exchange that support ADSL2+ all i get from telecom side of things is "Don't worry Fiber to the Door will be there soon" yea between July 2015 - June 2016
UFB fibre up to 100 Mbps between Jul-2015 and Jun-2016 depending if things don't change!

Balm its gone!

ganktrain

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#1008145 18-Mar-2014 15:10

Update:

Called Slingshot just to make sure there was nothing on their end that could be done to attempt to boost our speeds. His theory was that we may have been on an old ADSL plan and that they weren't pushing the speeds down to us. Sadly that was not the case (as it would have been a quick fix!), however he had a Downer tech visit our property today to make sure all the lines were OK.

The tech just left saying the wiring to our house was 100% OK (didn't check the inside, but he noted the master filter looked good, thanks Chorus!). He also said that the exchange/cabinet was around 500m from the property, so we definitely should be getting better speeds (I thought that map Jase2895 posted was a bit off; if I was reading it correctly Chorus hasn't installed a new exchange/cab in Hataitai/Kilbirnie in 13 years).

After doing some more line testing on the street (I live along Moxham Ave fyi), he discovered that our signal was "leeching" out of the cable under the main road. The analogy he used was that similar to mains water pressure into the house, if all the taps in the house and yard were turned on simultaneously, pressure would drop for all of them(definitely simplifying it here). Usually not an issue, he noted that there seemed to be a lot of dead ends, causing our ADSL/VDSL signal to bounce everywhere. He said the fix was "simple", but Chorus won't pay Downer to perform it and that I need to contact Slingshot to get the ball rolling (it's their job or Chorus' to fix and pay for).

When I asked him how much it would cost, he said just to access the cable on the road they need to dig "four bloody great big holes" so I reckon its probably not cheap. That gives me the impression that the procedure isn't likely to happen, regardless of my moaning and sulking. My biggest fear is that since UFB and FTTP is on its way (2015~2016 here), Chorus and Slingshot will tell me to toughen up (politely, of course).

Anyone else had a similar issue previously? Did it get sorted out or were you left stuck waiting for the promise of UFB?

EDIT:Sneaky analogy editing with more detail.

RunningMan

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#1008159 18-Mar-2014 15:30

Most likely multiples in the cables.

These are basically unused cable pairs that come off your pair, and go to dead ends somewhere. At voice frequencies they don't present a big problem, but at xDSL frequencies, they are like a hard surface to a water wave - they cause reflections in the signal which interferes with it, meaning a lower speed connection.

It's the same concept as all the extra unused phone jacks in a house that a master filter bypasses, but on a much bigger scale.

Simple problem, but the solution can be very complex and expensive depending on the cable layout in the area.

ganktrain

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#1008217 18-Mar-2014 16:59

RunningMan: Most likely multiples in the cables.

These are basically unused cable pairs that come off your pair, and go to dead ends somewhere. At voice frequencies they don't present a big problem, but at xDSL frequencies, they are like a hard surface to a water wave - they cause reflections in the signal which interferes with it, meaning a lower speed connection.

It's the same concept as all the extra unused phone jacks in a house that a master filter bypasses, but on a much bigger scale.

Simple problem, but the solution can be very complex and expensive depending on the cable layout in the area.

Yeah I'm not expecting any miracles here, but at the very least I want Chorus to check it out to see if the problem isn't is hard as it looks sort of thing.

On the phone with Slingshot now, the rep is putting through another fault log. Took me ages to explain my analogy to her though. Sounded way simpler in my head!

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sbiddle

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#1008460 18-Mar-2014 21:41

A bridge tap will shop up on a bitloading graph if you have a modem that can show that. If Slingshot has anybody who understands what they're looking at it will also show up in SPM.

While it is possible to have one, I'd still go with my view that you're in a marginal area distance wise and there isn't anything that anybody can do. Without knowing your exact address however, it's hard to know. Are you in a 20Mbps zone on the Chorus coverage maps?

hio77

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#1008467 18-Mar-2014 21:47

sbiddle: A bridge tap will shop up on a bitloading graph if you have a modem that can show that. If Slingshot has anybody who understands what they're looking at it will also show up in SPM.

While it is possible to have one, I'd still go with my view that you're in a marginal area distance wise and there isn't anything that anybody can do. Without knowing your exact address however, it's hard to know. Are you in a 20Mbps zone on the Chorus coverage maps?

out of curiosity, what does a bridgetap look like in a specturm?

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ganktrain

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#1008503 18-Mar-2014 22:09

sbiddle: A bridge tap will shop up on a bitloading graph if you have a modem that can show that. If Slingshot has anybody who understands what they're looking at it will also show up in SPM.

While it is possible to have one, I'd still go with my view that you're in a marginal area distance wise and there isn't anything that anybody can do. Without knowing your exact address however, it's hard to know. Are you in a 20Mbps zone on the Chorus coverage maps?

Yes I am. I'll PM my address to you.

sbiddle

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#1008509 18-Mar-2014 22:19

You're pretty much on the edge of coverage from the exchange (which is on the cnr of Waitoa and Moxham)

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