Speed loss

[Kangochad]

Hi,

My brother has recently had Sky+ installed along with Sky 8mb ADSL broadband.

The original set-up, as we didnt have a good extention cable, was having the modem/router downstairs right next to the bt phone socket. Then we ran a 15m (just long enough) ethernet cable up the stairs directly into his ethernet port.

Although he was on 8mb he was only getting no more than 2mb, even at off-peak times. I expected some loss as I know cables should be kept short, especially an old cat5 cable.

So I suggested that he move the modem upstairs (where he wanted it) and connect it using the normal way, a 1m ethernet lead into the back of his pc again. But for the stairs run he purchased a 15m High Speed ADSL modem cable, with rj11 male connectors both ends. This is the one he brought - High Speed ADSL Modem Lead > Maplin

Maplin, say that this lead should be OK and there shouldnt be much of a data loss as it is high quality cable and is made to 'handle'. But, the slow speed problem still won.

The next thought was that Sky were charging him for 8mb broadband but only sending 2mb down the line. So we gave them a call. They told us that they were definatly sending 8mb down the line and asked us to provide him with a description of the setup, so we told him the above and he said that was our problem. He also said that alot of people were also experiencing similar. He suggested that he buys a dongle and goes wireless.

My brother is also close to the exchange, and Sky said there was no problem there.

The question is, the high speed cable he is using to run it upstairs, should it really be losing that much? Everyday he gets no higher than 2mb.

Could a pro please clarify whether it would really make a difference like Sky said or whether it shouldnt, because surely they wouldnt sell these cables at those particualr lengths if they couldnt perform up to standard.

We expect a small loss but not upto 6mb.

Thanks to all answers in advance.

PS, this is the cable description -

A range of high speed cables for Broadband ADSL modems. External shielding minimizes interference from outside sources & gold plated copper contacts ensure optimum connection speed is maintained. Terminated in RJ11 plugs at both ends, these cables are available in 5m , 10m , 15m & 20m lengths.

[Kangochad]

Anyone?

[nibblitz]

The Cat5 cable should be more than capable of upto a Gigabit speed (thats 1000mb) if the cable is only 15 metres length, so the Cat5 speed capability is a tad faster than the paltry 8mb internet speed coming in.. So your Cat5 cable was not the problem.. Stick the modem back downstairs using the short lead to the socket, and run a Cat5 cable, it'll be good.. And yes, wireless would be good too, even that will be capable of much faster speeds than the 8mb coming in.. But, yes, to obtain the best speed from your ADSL you want to use the shortest cable possible from the wall to the modem/router ..

[Kangochad]

Thanks for the reply.

I got my brother to take his modem and his PC downstairs right next to the BT socket and install with the kit supplied, so it'd be 1m of adsl cable into the modem then 1m of cat5 into his ethernet port.

And guess what, still the same 1-2mb. I knew it was sky's end, they're trying to fob him off or somthing. Could be a faulty BT Line too i suppose but the phone has been fine for years.

I told him to ring up and get an engineer out... and to get a free month or two of 8mb!!

Thanks for reply.

[nibblitz]

Well yea, if his house is a fair way from the local exchange then its possible he wont be able to get full speed, but they should be able to tell him that, and sell him a more appropriate service level accordingly.. Anthing over 2 mile away and it will usually drop signicantly (well thats how it used to be anyway) And the wire into his house if duff that will cause drop too, so yea, get them to come out or tell him the truth about what speed he should expect..

By the way, how is he realsing its only 2mb that he's getting ? is he using speedtest.net ??

[Kangochad]

Thanks again for your reply.

Sky said that his distance from the exchange was OK.. So im guessing it may have something to do with the BT line, but thats up to them to sort it out.

I cant see us climbing the BT post lol imagine that.

speedtest.net and other speed tests are what gave the alarm for the slow speed, so next time i was at his i went into his modem/router configuration and the downstream settings were showing between 1 and 2mb and the upstream was 256k

Ill let you know what happens, as it may help others in future.

thansk again for the reply.

[Kangochad]

And the wire into his house if duff that will cause drop too

Just found out that its a brand new line coming into the house, BT had came a couple of months earlier and changed it.

So it must be sky. still hasnt rang them yet though.