help please.... thinking of switching

[redz123]

hi all, i am currently a sky tv subscriber. my bb is currently with bt, however i wanted to move to the unlimited bb from sky. does anyone know if my performance will be noticeably worse between a sagem 2504n and a homehub 2.0. my pc is wired and i have a ps3 wireless in the next room, on the same floor. thanks in advance for any help.

[Scubbie]

There are a lot of variables in order to answer your question. Typically if you were to move from BT to Sky you should expect a small improvement of around 2Mb for the download speed.

If you could post your current connection stats, members can confirm what kind of connection you currently have and if there would be any improvement.

It would also be useful to know which telephone exchange you are connected to so that we can confirm what is available.

Why the improvement when all is equal (i.e. BT & Sky on ADSL2+)? Simply because BT has extra services on the HomeHubs that can take some of the potential of your connection away from you. These include BT Openzone, BTFon and the extra telephone line with the BT HomeHub v2.

As for the PS3, it is early days, but with most of Sky's routers the advice has always been to use an Ethernet cable or pair of HomePlugs for the PS3 or Xbox for serious gamers. WiFi has always been pants for the serious gamers.

However no one has made too many comments with regards to the Sagem F@ST 2504N on this matter so far. This is Sky's first router that support 144Mbps, previous routers were either 72Mbps (Sagem F@ST 2304n) or 54Mbps(all the others).

[redz123]

download 3937 kbit/s
upload 369 kbit/s
ping 33 ms

obviously this is during the day, at peak times my dl speed slows massively. I am in Cambridge.
i cant do the ps3 by ethernet, as its in another room. thanks for the reply by the way

[Scubbie]

Thanks for those, but it is perhaps my fault. I normally provide a link so that you can see what is being looked for.

How to get your router statistics

Speed tests are a very useful guide, but in this instance it helps to see the specific connection details.

As for BT slowing you down during peak hours, Sky doesn't do anything like this on their Sky BB Unlimited & Home Lite products. Sky BB Connect does experience this issue as it is a BT Wholesale re-badged product.

As for your exchange, I'll assume that you mean Cambridge, Cambs, not Gloucs. This being the case, then you should currently have an ADSL2+ connection and Sky does have their equipment in your local exchange.

SamKnows - Broadband Availability - Cambridge (EACAM) Exchange

If you look at your Line Attenuation and punch this figure in the tool available on this site, you can get some idea as to what speed you should get. Remember that this is the connection speed, speed tests will be 10-15% lower.

SkyUser - Potential ADSL2 Line Speed Checker & Calculator

P.S. Cambridge in Gloucs doesn't have Sky's equipment.

[redz123]

thanks for the reply, im not at home at the moment so cant check the homehub settings. im now confident that my wired connection will benefit from switching to sky, ill just have to wait until someone posts more info on the new sagem router. its frustrating that they are not widely reviewed, as the homehubs are. unfortunately wifi homeplugs are not an option, as i would otherwise be better off on my bt contract. just hope i can find some info on the wifi coverage soon

[Isitme]

I think you will find that the HH2 and the Sagem 2504N are about equal in performance. Both are N Lite*, providing a maximum theoretical speed of 150Mbps.

Looking at your speeds it looks like you are still on ADSLMax, which means your exchange has not yet been upgraded by BT. Your full stats will give a better indication.

*Used by some manufacturers to indicate the router, although rated N, has only 2 aerials and is not capable of 300Mbps.

[dips_3pac]

hi all, i am currently a sky tv subscriber. my bb is currently with bt, however i wanted to move to the unlimited bb from sky. does anyone know if my performance will be noticeably worse between a sagem 2504n and a homehub 2.0. my pc is wired and i have a ps3 wireless in the next room, on the same floor. thanks in advance for any help.

Go for Virgin or BT infinity, because recently Sky has a big problem regarding broadband speed. so many people are complaining. so i would advise you to choose any other provider than Sky.

[timc]

Go for Virgin or BT infinity, because recently Sky has a big problem regarding broadband speed. so many people are complaining. so i would advise you to choose any other provider than Sky.

Really?

There have been issues with the DLM not starting or not doing it's job properly but Sky support usually resolve those issues.

I guess if users are unaware of things like DLM then they may start to complain about speeds , otherwise my recent experience says otherwise.

Obviously if they're on Connect then there is a major issue.

[Scubbie]

Go for Virgin or BT infinity, because recently Sky has a big problem regarding broadband speed. so many people are complaining. so i would advise you to choose any other provider than Sky.

I see that all those people have persuaded you to got to Virgin then. With respect my stats are in my signature. They aren't rubbish.

Perhaps you talk from personal experience, but not from knowledge of everyone else who uses Sky.

Other members in the South Harrow area, assuming that this is correct, are on Sky's FTTP trial and experiencing blistering speeds of 100Mb d/l. Perhaps you have lied about this in you profile as well.

On a positive note, we often get members posting comments about their connection speeds. The cause can be anything from living far from the telephone exchange to having issues with REIN. Other ISPs that use the BT telephone lines have the same issues.

Often a small alteration is required and the customer is very happy. However this obviously is not always the case.

Virgin uses a different broadband system. They also have a clause in the T&Cs which allows them to secretly spy on the content on your computers, which I am aware they have exercised in the past.