Am I hoping for too much?

[toptec]

My ISP is Tiscali. They and BT both say my ADSL line is capable of 5 Mbps speeds. As Tiscali only do "Up to 2 Mbps" and "Up to 8Mbps" I am signed up for the 2 Mbps.

My connection icon shows a speed of 2.3 Mbps. However I have used 5 separate companies software to check my real speed, and I find after 30 tests, between 2pm and midnight over the past 3 days, that my fastest speed was 701 Kbps and the lowest 301 with average of 487 Kbps.

Am I expecting too much in hoping for better than a quarter of what I am paying for?

Want to be armed with some facts before tackling the Tiscali complaint maze!

 

[markj81]

There are tonnes of news stories around about ISPs either holding back the speed during peak times or the fact the line just isn't capable of holding so many high-speed customers.

We're with BT running ADSL and with only being a mile from the exchange still get awful speed. We did sign up with a company called ADSL24 but even though the speeds were extremely good, they had problems keeping our connection running smoothly. We eventually switched back to BT, yes its not as quick but it works.

 

[dave.m]

Lots of info here:
http://www.kitz.co.uk/
and Kitz does know what she is talking about.

Also, register and post your question in the forum:
http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php
where you will get enough facts to fight your corner.

 

[toptec]

Hey Dave.

Thanks ........ Certainly opened my eyes to the real world of ISP's. What a brillliant site.

 

[SMG]

My sons have had several internet providers, but they all use ADSL, which comes through the telephone lines. None of their providers have given anything like the speed they promise. I dont have a bt or cable phone. I use Virgin cable, (DSL) I have used cable for years, never goes down & delivers 4.31 meg constant on my 4 meg connection. I pay £10.00 per month. I also have a telephone adaptor & get free phone calls over the internet. (VOIP).