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Slow Broadband in the evenings

Daint
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Hello,

 

I’ve been finding I’m getting quite slow broadband speeds in the evening more recently, I’ve tried the usual but haven’t yet called Vodafone support as I’m using my own router - and I’m anticipating the need to revert back to my Vodafone router to get any meaningful analysis.

 

However I’ve been reading through the forums about how the symptom of slow broadband just in the evenings is often an over subscription issue (I appreciate it’s impossible to say 100% until tests are performed).  The blame seems often to be put towards BT Openreach, however often the forum posts speak of fewer problems on providers such as BT.

 

I had assumed that this over subscription was in relation to the local exchange and so wondered how changing Broadband providers would help the situation.  My initial opinion was that the cheaper price of Vodafone Broadband is attracting many customers and so it’s becoming a little saturated but wondered if that’s even possible - or if it’s more a case of just a saturated exchange.  But would be good if someone could help explain.

 

To add a little more context, I live on a relatively new estate (3 years old) with new houses being built nearby, so could appreciate the local exchange gradually having an increased number of total subscribers regardless of their ISP.  Oh and I work in IT, so do to keep an eye on my network performance / troublesome devices / WiFi connections.

 

Thanks

Rob

18 REPLIES 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

If you call Vodafone's tech support they will require you to use their router in order that they can attempt to diagnose any fault(s).

 

The systems fault that appeared around November last year is now (mostly) fixed, but there are always going to be users that experience faults.  In the case of new build estates, those faults can be more common, and as more lines get used in the cabinet you can get more cross talk and so speeds drop.

Thanks for the reply @KeithAlger, but I’m not sure that really answers my questions - although maybe the point about cross talk may?

 

In my original post, I tried to highlight the fact that I haven’t called Vodafone, along with the reason.  I’m also not using this post as a means to get my issue fixed, I’m simply trying to understand how the over subscription works in relation to other forum posts as per my original post.

 

I appreciate the response, but would be good to understand as per original post.

 

*EDIT* Just realised I didn’t actually put a question into my original post so just added that in - apologies @KeithAlger

 

Thanks

Rob

Anonymous
Not applicable

The problem is jumping to the conclusion that the problem is oversubscription!  Vodafone piggybacks on the Openreach network in at least two different ways.

For most of us, our connection over the Openreach network stretches from the cabinet to the BT exchange.  At the BT exchange, we are connected to the ex-C&W DSLGB network which feeds back to VF's regional data centers.  It is the case that there may be exchanges where the DSLGB link to VFs datacentres doesn't have the capacity and you'd get slow-downs as a result, at least until more capacity is brought online!

The other common connection route is where there is no VF equipment at the local exchange and the data remains within the BT Openreach for more of the route to a regional VF datacentre.  Generally these experience less congestion, but due to the higher costs involved in using someone else's network, they are not going to be VF's first choice!

I guess the big question is how much of a slow down are you seeing, and how are you measuring this?

Thanks for that, helps make a bit more sense.

 

The speed has gone from around 28-32Mbps during the day to around 6-10Mbps from around 7pm until 10pm, although as I type right now it’s still gradually increasing back, currently at 10-18Mbps (11pm).

 

I’ve been testing the difference between single/multi connections and there’s a little difference but nothing too major. Both fall within the limits I mentioned above.  I’m also getting similar speeds via VPN.

 

I’ve measured using a few different speed test services, Google (M-Lab), Speedtest.net, SamKnows and BT Wholesale. Although less scientific, it’s also very noticeable with general tablet / PC usage.

 

So from what I understand from your response, the point around over saturation being any better when changing ISP’s all depends on whether there’s Vodafone equipment in my local exchange. Appreciate I’m perhaps over simplifying it a bit, but is that about right?

 

Rob

 

 

TJ
Community Manager (Retired)
Community Manager (Retired)

Hey @Daint, I'm sorry to hear you're getting slower speeds than you expected and know how frustrating this can be. 

As you already mentioned, you'll need to have your Vodafone router connected for us to run diagnostics. If you'd like to do this and have one of our team take a closer look into your speeds for you, I've sent you a private message with details on how to get in touch.

Same issue with my connection in the day I am getting anywhere between 40 Mps to 65 Mps.  Synch speed is recorded at 80 Mps.  At night I have notice sky on demand and other on demand services(Netflix/ Prime) have been getting slower.  I check my download speed tonight and was shocked to see it down to 4 Mps.  I have been on Chat with the Vodaphone support team for a few hours and they have run diagnostic test and can find nothing wrong with the line or router setting. They messed with the WifI setting despite me explaining my smart TV is connected via an ethernet cable.  I know Sky on demand uses Wifi but up until recently it has worked seamlessly and I have stream UHD moves no problem. I suspect a capacity issue at the exchange but the tech support kept insisting that was not the problem but offered no other explanation. I am like other beginning to question whether Vodafone have over subscribe their services and the speed guarantee is worthless, as the connection speed between the router and exchange means nothing if the connection between the exchange and the VF servers is a bottleneck.

Yesterday was particularly bad for me. I’ve been recording my speeds every hour or so and it drops below the normal speed about 5-6pm. I then check it first thing in the morning and through the day and the speeds are normal.

Exact same issue for me. My average speed in the evenings is around 6mbps, and has been for some time, despite a sync speed of 76mbps.

 

I've tried calling support on two occasions, who just tell me it must be an issue with my wifi (even though I have told them on several occasions I'm using a PC with an ethernet connection and have even tried disabling wifi as a test). They also tell me that the sync speed is above the guaranteed level so there's nothing further that they will do.

 

I'll be raising a formal complaint with Ofcom and moving providers. I knew switching to Vodafone was a risk but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

Mark
Community Manager
Community Manager

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing slower than expected speeds. I'm sure we can help increase these for you. As our Tech team have advised, we're only able to make changes that affect your sync speed as your WiFi can be affected by interference outside our control. I can see you've advised the affected devices are affected by an Ethernet cable @slamprell & @Lonz, as a quick check that these issues aren't being caused by a deteriorated cable, please try connecting with a new Ethernet. If this doesn't help, pop us a message through Facebook or Twitter and we'll be happy to take a closer look into this for you.

If you can provide a little more information about your issue @Flying-Chips, are you connecting via WiFi or a wired connection, how many devices do you have connected and does this only affect you at certain times of the day, or is it a constant issue? I'm sure we'll be able to help.