Poor broadband speeds

gooch2k9

I just recently switched from Vodafone to UTV Broadband, and since the switchover my speeds have dropped dramatically. With Vodafone I was able to receive dl of ~5Mbps, testing today and last night with UTV the best I've got is 2.5Mbps, with most of the tests returning no more than 0.5Mbps with some as low as 0.18Mbps.

Considering I'm on a package that is supposed to provide up to 8Mbps, and my line can support around 5Mbps, surely these aren't acceptable speeds. Are the ISPs obliged to provide at least a certain percentage of promised maximum?

Another question, does anyone know if these speeds are justification for terminating the contract with UTV, because its next to impossible to do anything at the minute.

swoofer

why did you change?? 5mb is actually good. did you get 5mb with utv initially? have you changed router? you should post your line stats? and yes those figures are dreadful, UTV would be embarassed. You should threaten them with COMREG. And UTV probably has a high contention. Also eircom could have reset the line when you moved to UTV and they ALWAYS set it as low as possible. UTV should be able to ramp it up.

gbc

gooch2k9

GBCULLEN wrote: »

why did you change?? 5mb is actually good. did you get 5mb with utv initially? have you changed router? you should post your line stats? and yes those figures are dreadful, UTV would be embarassed. You should threaten them with COMREG. And UTV probably has a high contention. Also eircom could have reset the line when you moved to UTV and they ALWAYS set it as low as possible. UTV should be able to ramp it up.

gbc

Changed because it was cheaper, regretting it. Was onto UTV there and they said the profile was set for 3Mb only(still 0.25 seems very low) and he has added the 8Mb profile to it, so gonna wait see how it is now he said it should be set within 24hrs.

Not sure what I got initially but I'd say it wasn't fast as I was away for the first few weeks we had it, and the mother wouldn't notice. Switched the Vodafone router with the UTV one they sent me, needed changing anyway Vodafone one needed reset every few hours some days.

gooch2k9

And after the supposed 24hrs...



Anyone have a link for where COMREG would be relevant here? Their site isn't great.

DECEiFER

Their email address is consumerline@comreg.ie, but good luck getting them to take action. Also, here's the page to visit on their website:
http://www.askcomreg.ie/about_us/contact_us.26.LE.asp

I'd say that your best bet is to tell UTV you're leaving as the quality of service you're getting is much less than their "up to" speeds and it's blatantly taking the piss. Then go crawling back to Vodafone. If the cost is a bit higher, consider it the cost of a consistent service. You can also purchase your own router since your Vodafone one is problematic, assuming UTV would want theirs back.

I'm going to tell you straight off that as a former UTV customer that I had to put up with their bullshít of blaming Eircom at every turn. I was a customer of theirs from May 2008 until January 2012. I had problems from July 2009 to January 2010 and the same again from July 2010 to January 2011 where my speeds come 4pm to around 12am or 1am would drop down to dial-up and I'd also experience very high latency to just about anywhere with massive packet loss. I tried and tried to get them to fix it but nothing was ever done. It could have been Eircom's fault. I always blamed my exchange for being over-subscribed, which would be down to Eircom. The reality is, I don't know what was causing it and whose fault it was. But they really don't do anything for you at UTV. They say they'll bring it up with Eircom and see, but nothing comes of it. At one point an agent at UTV told me straight that nothing was likely to get done.

So if UTV is to blame in your case, don't let them give you the runaround and get out while you can. If you do leave, make sure they don't count it as a breach of contract and take a small fortune from your account. As soon as you cancel, you should also cancel the direct-debit and pay your last bill over the phone. If you pay by card every month automatically, cancel the card with your bank and have them issue you with a new one.

AntiRip

Better speak with a representative first. I'm having the same issues myself atm although it had improved for a few days it's beginning to go back again to the 0.2-0.5mb range from 8pm to 12am again. The reps are helpful and rang me back numerous times to make sure it was ok, so can't fault them there. Like I said it did improve for a few days but slipping back again for some reason.

I'm also on or supposed to be 12:1 contention but like DECEiFER I suspect an over subscribed/high contention exchange.

DECEiFER

AntiRip wrote: »

Better speak with a representative first. I'm having the same issues myself atm although it had improved for a few days it's beginning to go back again to the 0.2-0.5mb range from 8pm to 12am again. The reps are helpful and rang me back numerous times to make sure it was ok, so can't fault them there. Like I said it did improve for a few days but slipping back again for some reason.

I'm also on or supposed to be 12:1 contention but like DECEiFER I suspect an over subscribed/high contention exchange.

I was on a 12:1 as well, or was supposed to be!

I remember when I was on either the 7.6Mb or 8Mb pack with UTV and after calling in a few times about the 5pm-12/1am speed problem (I kept in touch with the same agent), he dropped me down to 6Mb saying that my line doesn't support any higher. With an attenuation of only 2dB and decent noise margin, I seriously doubt that! I had to fight with him to get me back up to top speed, which only really applied during the morning, noon, and small hours because of the problem. But it was a matter of principle and not falling for their bullshít. Also, lowering me to 6Mb did nothing to fix the evening traffic jam, so it just goes to show what kind of nonsense they'll try to tell you.