Fibre speed has now dropped to 11 Mb/sec

[GoodTimes]

The service to my home is via an overhead cable.  The service fails every couple of years and OpenReach visit to perform a poor quality fix.  My recollection is that OpenReach last visited about two years ago and applied a fix that they described as "temporary".  The fix involved clipping a cable to the fence that runs beside the footpath to my home.

This "temporary" fix caused my speed to drop from about 25 Mbps to 15 Mbps.  My speed has been 15 Mbps for about two years.

I waited patiently for TalkTalk or OpenReach to tell me when the "temporary" fix would be replaced by a permanent fix.  Sadly, my patience was not rewarded and I never got a permanent fix.

In recent days, my service has been disconnecting two or three times per hour and achieves a speed of 11 Mbps when connected. 

I used the TalkTalk website to perform a connection test on 25 December and the test reported a fault and then reported that the fault had been closed after a restart of my router.  My attempts to perform another connection test or raise a support ticket have been thwarted by the website telling me that my fault has been closed.

My attempts to use online chat to report a fault have resulted in the display of a constantly spinning circle and nothing that resembles online chat.

What can be done to persuade Openreach to replace their "temporary" fix with something that works and brings my speed back up to at least 25 Mbps?

Thank you for you help.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

That great, thanks for letting me know, sorry it took so long.

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello ... Openreach visited yesterday and brought scaffolding ... The cable from the pole to my home has been replaced.  Broadband speed is has been above the "guaranteed" speed for more than about 22 hours and there are not repeated disconnections.

Thanks to all for your help and patience.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 18.7 Mbps

[Chris-TalkTalk]

No further updates at the moment, I'll check again in the morning

Chris

[Chris-TalkTalk]

No problem, thanks for the information,  I'll check for further updates late this afternoon

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello ... Thank you for the update ... We await tomorrow's chapter in this exciting drama with great anticipation.

The connection speed and frequency of disconnection seem to be better since yesterday ... I apologise if I was too quick to accuse Openreach of doing nothing ... but the weather has been dry and still.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 16.5 Mbps

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi GoodTimes,

I'm sorry this is taking so long. There  was an update yesterday saying "Spoke to the control the scaffolding is now coming on the 28:2:24  this has been confirmed by them" 

There also a note from the engineer which seems to indicate that they checked the cab yesterday, so it looks as though some work was carried out.

I'll check for further updates later today

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello ... I expect that you are as surprised as I am by the progress that Openreach have made today (26 Feb) ... And that is not surprised at all that Openreach have made no progress at all.

Openreach sent me SMS text messages at about 8 AM today to say that an Openreach engineer was on their way ... I have not seen or spoken with an Openreach engineer today.  Another thing that I have not seen today is evidence of scaffolding for the telephone pole.

Situation nomal ... nothing useful happening ... and my broadband was repeatedly disconnecting, sometimes at intervals of a few minutes, during the recent wet weather.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 17.0 Mbps.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

No problem, have a great weekend

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello ... Thanks for the update ... I am optimistic that this might be actual progress  Thank you for your effort.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 10.9 Mbps

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi GoodTimes,

I'm sorry this is taking so long to resolve. The latest update says that the scaffolding has been booked and date set for Monday (26th) so we'll check for further updates then

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello ...  You might recall my post, on 5 Jan at 01.28, saying "Is there anything that Talktalk can do to persuade Openreach to fix the overhead line to my home?"  Talktalk posted, on 8 Feb at 07.19, "I can see that the engineer has located the fault (externally on the pole) and they are working to fix this."

Thank you for confirming, in your post today (22 Feb), that Openreach know that they need to "renew drop-wire due to tree rub" (48 days after my 5 Jan post).

You might also recall my post, on 7 Jan at 16.11, "I do not believe that there is anything that can be done to persuade Openreach to deliver the service that I am paying for. I expect that the speed will again drop (and the line will frequently disconnect) during the next period of bad weather."  You post today (22 Feb) says, "This fault is still in hand with the Openreach line engineers. I will continue to monitor for additional updates."

I am hoping that you will accept the pathetic absurdity of the current situation ...

• I am paying for a service that is below the "guaranteed speed" and that repeatedly disconnects.
• Openreach are doing nothing to fix the cause of the known problem.
• Talktalk can do nothing more than "continue to monitor for additional updates".

It is remarkable that Openreach and Talktalk (and probably others) have been allowed to create a situation in which it is the job of nobody to provide me with the service that I am paying for.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 9.7 Mbps (and disconnected while I was typing this post).

PPS.  I expect that you personally also find the situation to be absurd ... I am grateful for your efforts to find a way through this nonsense.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi GoodTimes

I've checked the fault ticket and Openreach left the below notes yesterday

Complex network solution is required to complete the job. Scaffolding required to renew drop-wire due to tree rub.

This fault is still in hand with the Openreach line engineers. I will continue to monitor for additional updates.

Thanks

[GoodTimes]

Hello ... A SMS text at 08.03 today (21 Feb) from Openreach said "Your engineer ... is now on the way to your property ..." It is now 15.45 and in the more than seven hours since the Openreach message I have seen ...

• Constant rain and repeated wind gusts.
• Slow broadband speed and repeated disconnections ... Some, but very much not all, of the speeds include ... 12.0 Mbps @ 11.25, 7.5 Mbps @ 11.30, 14.2 Mbps @ 11.53, 12.4 Mbps @ 14.34, 9.5 Mbps @ 15.07.

In the seven hours since the Openreach message I have not seen ...

• Any trace of an Openreach engineer.
• Any evidence to suggest that Openreach are doing anything about my slow broadband and repeated disconnections.

I'm sorry that I bring disappointing news ... I know how much time and effort you have put into achieving absolutely nothing. I remain optimistic that I will one day have a broadband speed that is consistently above the guaranteed minimum and without repeated disconnections.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 9.7 Mbps.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK, thanks for the update

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello.  I have received a WhatsApp message from Talktalk inviting me to "book an engineer appointment".  The link in the WhatsApp message takes me to the "Start live chat" blue button webpage that I described in my post on 15 February at 12.27.  Sadly, the blue button continues to do nothing for me on a Windows computer nor on my phone and I have not been able to book an appointment via a "live chat".

The WhatApp message also says that I can make a booking if I "reply to this message" so I have replied to the WhatsApp message.  I am confident that I will soon have an engineer booked because I have been told by a WhatsApp message that i will be "notified once an expert has responded".

Thank you for your help.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 13.3 Mbps.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi GoodTimes,

I've had to raise it again as a non-appointed task, Openreach will probably contact you directly by SMS to book the engineer to your home but I'll check later anyway to see if there are any updates

Chris 

[GoodTimes]

Hello.  I am available for an Openreach engineer visit ... 21 Feb PM, 22 Feb PM, 23 Feb PM, 29 Feb PM, 1 Mar PM

Thank you for booking the visit.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 13.3 Mbps.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks. There's a note on the fault ticket saying that they've sent you an SMS message to arrange an engineer visit to your home. If you haven't received it we can book the engineer visit for you, just let us know when you can be available for the visit

Chris

[GoodTimes]

Hello.  I have not heard from Openreach for more than a week..  Thanks for helping.

PS. Current fibre broadband speed reported by the router is 13.3 Mbps.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks, have Openreach been in contact with you about arranging an engineer visit to your home?

Chris