Uploaded 18th January 2007

The Pitfalls of being 'Upgraded'

Since I was 'upgraded' ( oh the irony ) to 8meg bb I've been having problem with my connection. Sometimes the connection freezes .. I have to refresh a page to kick it back into gear, and downloads ( especially large ones ) are a real pain - The download speed starts off fine, but over a time ( could be 5 minutes, could be 30 minutes ) it just tails off and 'hangs'. Trying to download drivers & patches is nigh on impossible without using a download manager with a 'resume' function, and online gaming is a no-no when the game kicks you out after a few minutes because the connection is lost.

BT have been little or no help; I've ran speed tests, deleted cookies and buggered about with my internet options at their request, but nothing has helped. They seem to agree that the line speed is slow ( I have also ran other speed tests that confirm this ) but other than offering the same old, same olds ( delete cookies/ internet files, bugger about with the internet settings etc ) they just keep referring me to a different department, and say that somebody will contact me soon ... which they don't, and when I eventually call them back, I get a frustrating sense of deja-vu !

The line was checked yesterday by a BT engineer, and that is fine. I have also moved the router/firewall so it now connects directly to the wall socket, and have replaced all the filters ... still it's no better.

My last option was that the router itself is the problem. Is it a few years old - A Netgear DG814, and I'm wondering if it just can't handle these updated speeds ?
I have spoken to Netgear and all they say is that that particular model hasn't been tested as those speeds.
It seems to me that, by using a process of elimination, that the router is last possibility - other than it being a phone line issue ... which BT say it isn't - and I'll need to buy a more up-to-date model; but on the other hand, I don't want to fork out for a new router if it's going to do no good.

I've been contacting BT about this problem since early August, and to be honest, I'm just about at the end of my tether. Plus, the new policy of adding bb costs to a phone bill means I'm paying 3 months in advance for a service that is next to useless.
It's been so frustrating over the past 6 - 7 weeks. Every time I called BT it was as if the helpdesk bods were sticking their fingers their ears and going 'La la la, I'm not listening !!' when I suggested it may be a 'line' issue.

I phoned BT bb technical helpdesk and asked them about the tests and the guy either didn't know what I was on about, or was just fobbing me off with some bs. I think, amongst all the techno-jargon that he might have run the WOOSH test, and - according to him - everything was fine ( not really what I was after ... ), anyway after much gritting of teeth, and being on the verse of getting all sweary, I've got 'them' to call me back tomorrow morning between 7:00 and 7:30.

I have also emailed the tech dept with your suggestions ( Oh, how I wanted to give them a suggestion all of my own !! ).

I think they are hoping I'll just give up and go away ...

Well a BT bod phoned as promised ( shock, horror ! )
The latest tale is that there is a 'problem with the line' and it will take three days to rectify.

I am wondering if this is the same problem they were rectifying back in August, or a new problem ??

Anyhow, they said somebody would call back in three days, so I guess that means hanging on until Thursday ...

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