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Speed Boost for ADSL customers

A while back someone posted a question asking if ADSL customers would see an improvement in speeds as others switched to FTTC supplies; and the general consensus was "not really".

However, my local cabinet appears to have been upgraded recently and despite it being too soon for large numbers of people to switch to the new service, there HAS been a significant improvement in my ADSL speeds.

For the last four/five years I have enjoyed a fairly consistent 4.5-5.5Mb download speed and 0.24Mb upload speed, but this morning, after noticing higher than usual download speeds on bittorrent overnight I ran speedtest.net and found I am now getting 7.6Mb download and 0.75Mb upload.

That is roughly a 20% increase in download speeds and 200% increase in upload speeds.

It may be small beer to the BT Infinity and Virgin crowd, but it is a pleasant surprise and free gift for me.
 
For customers with ISPs on the BT Wholesale platform, I can imagine there might be some performance difference either positive (more bandwidth has been made available in advance of higher demand as people get higher speeds) or negative (no more/not enough bandwidth has been added, so everyone suffers whether ADSL or VDSL)

For customers on LLU ADSL and cable I'd have thought a speed improvement possible as people try out the new VDSL option leaving greater capacity behind (BE/O2 won't have many customers left at this rate, so I guess their much mooted and hotly contested contention issues will solve themselves)

Shouldn't alter your sync speeds, though, unless something ancient/decrepit got replaced at the cabinet at the time, but, the installation of the fibre cabinet is a separate affair to the phone one. It's a bit of a mystery :)
 
Generally you won't get a "direct" boost from FTTC itself but then BT could also improve capacity to the local area, which might overcome some previous problems. But I wouldn't read too much into it.
 
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I think a 200% increase in upload speed is fairly significant.

I have tested my line speeds at all times of the day and night over 10 years, and I have NEVER had higher than 6.5Mb (highly unstable), dl and ul has ALWAYS been 0.24Mb, no matter what dl speed the available ADSL1/ADSLMax tech has offered, 1/2Mb,1Mb,2Mb,2.5Mb* or the current "Upto 8Mb".

*BT/Pipex accidentally lifted the 1Mb limit on my ADSL1 line many years ago, and I enjoyed 2.5Mb for months before they noticed and capped it again.
 
Has your exchange just had its 21CN upgrade? That would explain it. Moved from an ADSL to an ADSL2+ profile maybe now you can get higher speed from the exchange upgrade?
 
You are probably right, but I have not received any news of being moved to an ADSL2+ system; I did change my data package recently, so maybe they switched me over then, and I just didnt notice until now.

I knew my cabinet was being upgraded and that FTTC packages would be available from late March.
 
You can't get FTTC without 21CN can you?

The 21CN would explain the speed increases, upload speed specifically.
 
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You can't get FTTC without 21CN can you?

I believed this to be true, but in fact it isn't. 21CN is BT Wholesale's name for the backhaul that they sell to providers, but BT Openreach install fibre so they are not reliant on BT Wholesale. It is up to BT Wholesale or other LLU providers to provide the backhaul at the exchange.

But, as BT Wholesale is BT Openreach's biggest customer, 21CN will usually come with FTTC to reduce costs and because most providers still use BT Wholesale's network.
 
Went to help an old guy in the nearby city tonight, sorted out his wifi problem; well diagnosed it any way. The reason he cant connect to the internet wirelessly is he doesnt have a wireless router!!!

I could not believe the POS router the Post Office have given him, nor the 3.84Mb connection speed !!!

My brother used to live 500m away and he used to get 5Mb, and I KNOW his exchange now has 21CN and FTTC because my mate lives on the same estate and has a 38Mb Infinity connection.
 
21CN and FTTC are both part of BT's upgrade plan, with 21CN usually going in either first or at the same time as FTTC. So if you can get FTTC then your exchange has probably been upgraded for other things too.
 
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