FTTC Superfast fibre broadband

[Gruffski]

Openreach have installed the Ultrafast FTTP cables on my street. I do not want to pay the high price for Ultrafast broadband. I want ordinary Superfast fibre broadband (FTTC). However, Openreach have confirmed that, now FTTP is available, they will not be providing FTTC on my street. BT are the only ISP selling Superfast broadband products on my street, by making a full FTTP connection but slowing it down to FTTC speeds. Consumers are paying the same price as if it was an FTTC connection, even though it is actually FTTP. I wish to stay with TalkTalk. It would be a good idea if TalkTalk was able to do the same. As more areas get FTTP (and not FTTC) you will start losing lots of customers if you do not start to provide Superfast speeds over an FTTP connection. By the way, my current broadband download speed is 0.6Mbps. 

[OCE_Chris]

Hi Gruffski,

Thanks for your comments, we do have an ultra fast service but this is admittedly only available in a small area at the moment 

Would you like us to see if we can improve your current speeds?

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

Of course I would like to see an improvement in my broadband speed, but it has been investigated by Openreach and there is nothing that can be done. It's due to the age of the copper wire connection. However, as they have installed FTTP infrastructure, they are not going to be replacing the copper cables. I need TalkTalk to connect me to fibre broadband. 

[OCE_Chris]

I'm sorry, if there's only FTTP available then we won't be able to provide our fibre service

If you've already had your speed issue investigated by Openreach then there probably isn't anything that we can do to help but if you'd like us to take a look anyway can you please update your community profile to include your:

• Name
• Telephone number
• Alternative contact number

We'll then look into this further. Please do not post this information on this thread Once you've updated our profile please post in your topic to confirm it's updated. 

Thanks

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

Details updated.

If BT can sell Superfast products on my street, using the FTTP connection, then why can't TalkTalk?  

[OCE_Chris]

Thanks for updating your details.

Your connection looks stable but attenuation is very high which will limit speed - when did you have the Openreach engineer visit?

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

Openreach tested the line over a year ago and found no faults. I have not requested another check because I do not want to end up paying if no faults are found again. I was told that the sync speed was just within the contracted minimum of 1Mbps. However, I suspect that it drops below that at times. Can something be done about the attenuation? We used to get over 3Mbps about 4-5 years ago. 

[OCE_Chris]

The attenuation is really a product of the length and quality of the line. How many telephone sockets do you have? Do you have anything connected to your telephone socket(s) in addition to your router?

Does your master socket have a Test socket?

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

We only have a master socket, which does not have a test socket. Only other thing connected, obviously,  is our phone, using a filter.

[OCE_Chris]

OK thanks. There is new firmware available for your router, I can push this out to you. I don't know if it will improve your speed but it's probably worth a try. Would you like me to update your router firmware?

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

Is it something I can do myself? 

[OCE_Chris]

Sorry, no. I have to update your router remotely 

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

I have just logged into my router and there is an option to update firmware. Why can I not use this option?

Also, it's indicating that the sync speed is 768Kbps. This is below the Openreach contract minimum of 1Mbps, so they are in breach of their contract with TalkTalk. Surely they have to do something to get my speed back up to above the contracted minimum. 

[OCE_Chris]

I didn't know that option was there, as far as I'm aware we need to push the firmware out to your router but by all means give it a try if you prefer

If we can't improve your speed we can certainly pass this back to our network team for further investigation 

Chris

[ferguson]

Sorry to butt in here, but most routers have an option to upgrade firmware. This is contingent on being able to download it first, which is not possible with TalkTalk firmware. So a bit of UI related confusion I think. 

[Gruffski]

Chris

I think Ferguson is correct. The option expects you to have the update file already downloaded. Which I can not do as you do not make it available. However, I can not think how the firmware update can affect the sync speed. That should be the same no matter what router is connected. But go ahead and update my router.

[OCE_Chris]

Hi Gruffski,

I think you're right that the firmware update is unlikely to improve your speed but it's probably best to start off with the latest firmware before doing anything else. Different router can certainly affect sync speed but I think it's usually more to do with the chipset than the firmware.

Your sync speed is being limited by your line profile so if the new firmware improves stability and/or error count it could possibly allow DLM to set a faster line profile.

I've pushed out the new firmware, the update should complete in a few minutes 

Thanks
Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

Firmware update 1.10t installed and OK.

Sync speed is still 768Kbps.

Just run a speed check, 0.61Mbps download and 0.3Mbps upload, so no improvement.

[OCE_Chris]

Hi Gruffski,

I've restarted the DLM optimisation process. The speed will probably fluctuate over the next few days but hopefully it will settle on a faster speed

Chris

[Gruffski]

Chris

You're up early.

I will keep my fingers crossed that my speed improves, but even if it does it is still unlikely to be over 1Mbps. If the speed stabilises under 1Mbps, what is the next move? Do Openreach have to do something to improve my speed? 

It seems like a bad commercial decision for TalkTalk to not be connecting customers using FTTP, especially as FTTC is not going to be available. Are there any plans for TalkTalk to provide this service in the future?