Hi
The speeds are not manually decreesed, so it isn't someone sitting and selecting to put you on a lower speed.
Broadband services are described as 'Up to' a certain speed. This is because high-speed broadband doesn't come as a fixed speed - it's flexible. Often, the speed you get will be automatically adjusted. This is to make sure you're getting the fastest, most stable broadband service that your phone line can support. Up to 8Mb OR 20mb is the maximum speeds, which you'd only see under perfect conditions. It is perfectly normal to have speeds lower than this. If your connection is dropping the speed will drop to try and stabilise the connection.
The synchronisation (sync) speed is the speed at which your broadband modem or router communicates with the BT Exchange. This is always higher than the speed at which data will actually be downloaded over the connection. The sync rate is worked out by your phone line's characteristics, such as line length and quality. The shorter the line and the better the quality the faster the line will sync.
The BRAS profile is responsible for regulating the maximum throughput (data rate) you will receive on your broadband service. Your BRAS profile changes when a stable connection has been made for a period of time; this may be up to 3 days in some cases. The BRAS Profile will also drop should the line rate decrease significantly. This is the absolute maximum speed you would get on the line at that point, please don’t confuse this with a fixed download rate.
The throughput speed is the maximum speed that data will transfer across the connection. The maximum throughput speed is always lower than the sync speed. This is because the sync speed includes a certain amount of 'overhead data'. Essentially this is data that makes the connection work, rather than the data that gets added on to the web pages and files you download. Having the throughput speed lower that the sync speed ensures the connection doesn’t drop or become unstable.
It's perfectly normal to see throughput speeds that vary throughout the day. Broadband works on a shared network. The available capacity on the network is shared out amongst all the customers that are using the Internet at that time. This means that at busy times, when more people are using the Internet, each person gets a smaller share of the bandwidth and so lower speeds than when the network is quiet. As different people use the Internet in different ways and have different usage patterns. This can mean that the speed you see can be constantly going up and down. We have the fair usage policy in place so people do not abuse the shared network, and makes sure the service can be used fairly by everyone.
In your case, I would test your line at http://speedtester.bt.com at different times of day, to see if you see any difference in your throughput speed. Check to see what the Synchronisation speed is, and also continue to check to see if the router is dropping the connection, do any lights flash on the router? Is it beside any electrical equipment that could be interfering with the signal? What other services do you have on the line that may be interfering with the signal, PDQ maching, Fax etc. Have you tried with the equipment off the line and rebooting the router?
I have talked to the technical team and they have said they have reset the card at the exchange which should increase the speed again. You should monitor it over the next 24 hours. However, if the synchronisation speed or the throughput speed keeps dropping so dramatically there must be something that is causing it to drop, the technical case is still open and will continue to be worked on until we can find out what is causing your speed to drop out.
Kind Regards
Fiona
BT Business Forum Moderator
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