Technical help

[ipmcrete]

My internet speed with OTE has slowed down recently. I am paying for 24 Mbts and getting 3.5. Originally when I increased my plan from 4 to 24, I managed around 6, which was fine. The engineer said that was the best that OTE could do. There is no interim speed between 4 and 24.
When I had no internet for a couple of days, apparently, according to OTE tech department, they then reduced the speed to 3.5, as the line could not take anymore than that.
As I have only just signed up for a new plan, with the unobtainable 24 mbts, what am I to do?

Nice to have something other than the bank problems to enter into my life!

[Kilkis]

Write to OTE and say that you either want them to restore a 6 Mbps service or re-instate your 4 Mbps contract because they are in breach of contract. Explain that when you first upgraded you received 6 Mbps but you are now only getting 3.5 Mbps and OTE technical department has informed you that "this is the maximum speed the line can support". Obviously this is not true since it has been supporting 6 Mbps for some time. What has happened to the line to degrade its performance so much? Clearly selling a 24 Mbps service to a customer with a line that they know can only support 3.5 Mbps is fraud. Either they must make technical modifications to restore the 6 Mbps service or return you to a 4 Mbps contract.

Worth a try?

Warwick

PS What speed did you get before you upgraded to 24 Mbps? Was it much lower than 3.5 Mbps? If so you might rephrase the above to not mention returning you to a 4 Mbps contract but only demand a return to 6 Mbps. Clearly the line is capable of supporting this speed because it has done so.

[BrianS]

In the Kefalas area we have never had anything higher than 8 Mbps possible from the Vamos exchange. Until about a year ago I used to get just above 5 on a good day but now it is generally 3.5 Mbps and very often a lot less. I switched to WIND a few years ago but friends who are with OTE and had been paying for above 4 Mbps have had their tariff reduced to fall in to line with the reduced speed.

I think that a call to OTE Customer Services is required!

[SatCure]

In the same area, I have always had a maximum of 3.4 Mbps, firstly with OTE then with WIND. The maximum speed I've seen in Kefalas is 5.5 Mbps in houses on the Xirosterni side of the village.

At the location of ipmcrete I would expect a maximum of 5 Mbps simply because of the line length from the Vamos exchange.

I use http://www.speedtest.net for consistency.

[ipmcrete]

Thanks guys. I have written OTE an email. Lets see what transpires.
Mike

[Jean]

Thanks guys. I have written OTE an email. Lets see what transpires.

You could also call them at 13888. It's much quicker than email, they speak English if you need it and all my interactions with them have always been extremely helpful.
Another thought about your original question: have you checked if the drop in speed happens on the line to your house or within the house? The OTE technicians can measure that exactly. But if there is noise on the line anywhere it is generally preferable to lower the speed (which increases the stability of the connection) than try for a higher speed but have an unstable connection.
If you find that the line to your house is the problem and you cannot get a speed above 4 Mbps it should be no problem to revert to the old contract. You can probably do that on the phone as well.
If the drop of speed occurs within the house rewiring your phone lines could be helpful.

[SatCure]

The main problem indoors is caused by damp walls. Telephone socket connections corrode, leading to bad connections.
It's easy to check. Loosen the two screws and detach the phone socket wall plate. Inspect the connections. If they are not bright and shiny, they have oxidised. Pull out the wires, cut off a few centimetres then reconnect the wires to a NEW plate, applying plenty of silicone grease to keep moisture at bay. (Most plates use IDC - Insulation Displacement Connectors - which require the use of a "Krone" tool. Plastic tools can be bought very cheaply.)

Another potential cause of problems is the use of a flexible extension lead to connect the router. Flexible leads are NOT twisted pair and will cause a speed reduction. Use only solid-core twisted-pair telephone cable. DO NOT use "alarm cable".

Finally, lightning surges can damage the ADSL filter (looks like a splitter) so replace these periodically end ensure that NO phone is connected without one.

A surge protector can be fitted to protect the router but these devices limit your speed to about 8 Mbps.

Martin
(ex telephone design engineer.)

[Kilkis]

My splitter is plugged into the output of a surge protector that is built into a surge protected power block and I get well over 8 Mbps, Martin.

Warwick

[ipmcrete]

And lo, it came to pass. I had a call back from OTE yesterday, who said that they gathered that I wanted to reduce my plan back to the original 4 Mbts. I explained carefully, as I had done in my previous call, and my email, that I WAS getting around 5 Mbts prior to their engineers turning the speed down to 3.5, and that I wished to be returned to the best speed they could offer, and that they should credit me with money for the time I had on the lower speed, whilst paying for 24 Mbts.
From this morning, I have a steady 6.7 Mbts. Simples!

Thanks for the info Martin. You are aware of my trade I hope? My incoming phone line was brand new from a new pole erected when we bought the house. Where it enters my office, it is via a twisted insulated, and quality screened telehone cable. The copper at this point is soldered, inside an IP box and coated in silicone greese. At the other end of this cable run (Around 5 metres) is the outlet. Again the best quality available. There never has been line noise, and the signal is always clear.
The whole fiasco was down to OTE turning the speed down, and at last, back up.

Yippee.

[SatCure]

My post was intended to help future readers who don't have your expertise, Mike.
(BTW the unit of measurement is Mbps. Megabits per second.)

My immediate neighbour gets only 2.5. I get 3.4.
We are both content with this so we're not going to "rock the boat".

The way ADSL works is that it adjusts automatically to give the best reliability, not the fastest download speed. When there's a fault, it automatically decreases the speed until reliable communication is reestablished. The reverse should happen (but sometimes doesn't). I guess it's possible to disable this automated adjustment and maybe that's what OTE has done for you. The drawback is that, in the event of a fault, it may not work at all. Tha doume!

Martin

[SatCure]

My post was intended to help future readers who don't have your expertise, Mike.
(BTW the unit of measurement is Mbps. Megabits per second.)

My immediate neighbour gets only 2.5. I get 3.4.
We are both content with this so we're not going to "rock the boat".

The way ADSL works is that it adjusts automatically to give the best reliability, not the fastest download speed. When there's a fault, it automatically decreases the speed until reliable communication is reestablished. The reverse should happen (but sometimes doesn't). I guess it's possible to disable this automated adjustment and maybe that's what OTE has done for you. The drawback is that, in the event of a fault, it may not work at all. Tha doume!

Martin