Contract renewal reduced speed estimates

[#1]

Three months to go until end of contract I have been offered an renewal, but worries me is all the estimated speeds have taken a hit.

Current and renewal 

   

So why the reductions all predicted speeds? MSG down from 67.3 to 58.3.

I am about 250 meters from the green cabinet in the road, test carried out using landline phone number

I have a very stable line with around 4 DSL drops since September.

5. DSL uptime:	20 days, 03:02:06
6. Data rate:	19999 / 79904
7. Maximum data rate:	26893 / 84880
8. Noise margin:	10.0 / 3.8
9. Line attenuation:	10.2 / 11.5
10. Signal attenuation:	10.3 / 11.5

Router stats.

So my question why have the estimated speeds dropped? 

Do I have an underline line issue?

Dan.

[#2]

@Dan_the_Van I doubt it is anything to do with your line, specifically. I've seen this query come up time after time on here, and my suspicion is that it is  merely to give Plusnet/BTOR chance to say - 'well, you are still performing within expectations' when you report a speed reduction. I may be wrong, but...

[#3]

@jab1 

I realise it's get asked frequently.

But to lower estimates to then say you're getting a better service than the falsely reduced line estimates is poor. All it does is allow Openreach to employ poor practices. Like saying I like the dark rather than fix a broken light.

Like to see what Plus Net has to say.

Dan

BTW Happy New Year!

[#4]

@Dan_the_Van  I don't take any notice of Plusnet's estimated speeds they don't really mean anything. You know what speeds you are getting, these are not going to change if you renew your contract. All the speeds shown are just estimates even Current Line Speed is not an actual speed but the internal Plusnet profile.  There seems to be a recent trend for Plusnet to give lower estimated speeds, they say they are using a different method to calculate them based on actual speeds seen on lines. 

If my line which syncs at full 80/20 speeds was to drop to the Minimum Guaranteed Speed,  around (55Mbps in my case) there would be something seriously wrong with the line and I would expect Plusnet to do something about it.

[#5]

@Dan_the_Van I totally understand what you are saying, but BT are a law unto themselves, and OFCOM just roll over and llet them get away with shady practice. If you get a reply from PN (a BT 'brand') it will be along the lines of 'sorry, nothing we can do about it if that is what BT say'.

[#6]

In the back of my mind is a question about this.

I’ve got it in my head that at one time the MGS was  based on sync speed. I believe the BT ADSL checker also shows the sync speed range.

However I think that the Plusnet MGS now refers to the actual download speed that you see when using the BT speed tester.

[#7]

BT performance test, this is done over a WIFI connection ( I know it shouldn't be) but I have no choice as my network topology does not allow a direct wired connection to the Hub One.

A good IP Profile, so why the low estimates?

Appreciate all the comments.

Dan.

[#8]

Thanks for geting in touch @Dan_the_Van

The new way in which we calculate your expected and minimum speeds won't actually affect your line. It will affect the threshold in which we'd raise a fault on our end, but if we see any negative changes in your speed which would indicate a fault, we'd raise it anyway.

You can see further info on our Speed Code of Practice here.

[#9]

@adam945 

Thank you for your reply.

My issue is not around my current speeds which I would expect to remain as is but at the result of a degraded service due to a failure of the infrastructure. On the renewal of my contract I will have to accept slower speed range with the minimum being anything above 58.3Mb be acceptable where as now it's 67.3Mb.

So what part does the BT Broadband Availability checker play in this new world of PlusNet way of calculating speeds?

A cynic might conclude this is a charter in support for acceptance in the provision of a degraded service

Dan

[#10]

@Dan_the_Van 

Maybe, but at least the Code of Practice linked by @adam945 clearly defines how the speed is calculated. By suggesting that the speed can be checked using the BT speed tester plus the explanation of how the MGALS is determined is clearly defining that the MGALS is referring to real world download speed. By doing so it is stopping off any arguments that it's really referring to line speed.

To my mind this is not a bad thing.

[#11]

@Baldrick1 

thank you for you time, not being rude, but if you were confronted with this clear downgrading of MGS how would you react?

"That will do" or why has my MSG dropped by 9Mb?

When you check availability using our website we’ll provide an estimate of the broadband speeds your telephone line will support and give you a Minimum Guaranteed Speed.

So pretending I am a new customer asking for a new line I am quoted, the get out would be 'estimate'

 

BT, Vodafone and Zen all quote around the same estimate using the same parameters.

Also to note 'My great online offer to say thanks for being with us £29.75'

I fear I will not get a clear/straight answer from Plus Net

Thanks again for all those who have commented.

Dan.

[#12 · Accepted solution]

I consider this question as unanswered but marked as fixed, it is clear Plus Net have no intention of answering my question of why the MGS is about 20% less at 58.3 than the Handback threshold shown by BT wholesale predication of 73.7.

95% of my usage is wireless so by definition my connection would have lower speeds, so some waffle about changing the way they calculate line speeds might work for some but not for me. If I provided that answer to customers I dealt with I would have been laughed off site.

Thanks to @RealAleMadrid who's post I found reassuring.

Best wishes

Dan

[#13]

Hiya @Dan_the_Van, I am sorry you feel that your query is not answered.

The estimates are now based on observed speeds; this doesn't just mean the speed that you are getting and observing on your tests but also factors in other information, and accounts for peak time conditions. The link Adam has provided above provides more details on the calculation. These overall factors then give the observed speed.

I can absolutely appreciate your concerns and if there's any other questions you have that you feel may answer your query better then please just let us know.

[#14]

@LaurenB 

Thank you for your reply, my Hub One is syncing at 80/20.

If I have a slow network then my observed speeds would be slow.

My concerns are around the redefined calculation for Minimum Guarantee Speed

Current contract it is 67.3 Mbps, renew for my product will be 58.3 Mbps.

Dan.