Recent Posts

91

Windows News & Discussion / Re: Windows 10 1903 Update

« Last post by steve195527 on Nov 24, 2019, 00:19:25 »

I've got a similar problem but it only seems to be happening with one program. My laptop is definitely seeing my DVD drive, but when I try to use Adobe to edit audio files, it just won't recognise it.

change properties of adobe to launch with admin privileges as standard ,it should then work ok

92

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Labour pledges free broadband for all

« Last post by nowster on Nov 20, 2019, 15:16:29 »

In order to provide 10Gbps using current modulation schemes, you'd need about 1GHz of bandwidth per mast (even allowing for MIMO and beam forming), which means you're working in the 30+GHz frequencies. That's only usable over short distances, with direct line of sight in clear air (a touch of rain or fog, and your signal's gone). Satellite TV in the UK uses frequencies around 11-12GHz.

With dark fibre, your potential bandwidth is limited only by the frequency of the light used (around 200THz for the infra red lasers used in fibre optics).

As to latency, unless someone works out how to communicate faster than light speed, we're pretty close to the limits already (just under 5.4ms per 1000 miles).

93

FTTC/FTTP / Re: FTTC (VDSL2) and G Vector

« Last post by mervl on Nov 20, 2019, 14:48:28 »

Thanks Andrue. I had got snippets of that but not the whole picture.

The tone graph on the Fritz is consistent.There is a noticeably greater range, and depth (except on upload) of tones across the spectrum, I suspect it's wouldn't be enough to justify moving to a more expensive package; and the decline in upload speeds is a bit irritating but let's hope it's sorted out as things settle down (or may be it's activated on the upload, but not yet active?) For the time being having a more reliable connection and less buffering are a welcome improvement anyway. I've also noticed a new feature that (within a small margin) the reported attainable on downloads is now constantly changing which would presumably seem to indicate that some software is busy doing its job.
Regards, Mervyn.

94

FTTC/FTTP / Re: FTTC (VDSL2) and G Vector

« Last post by andrue on Nov 20, 2019, 11:26:49 »

I think originally openreach required all modems attached to its network to support vectoring. It may still do. As long as your modem supports it (and it seems to) then things should just work. However how well they work is another matter. If your problem is cross-talk from other users and if those users all have vectoring capable modems it should improve your connection.

Otherwise..I dunno.

https://www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk/vdsl-vectoring-arrives-on-a-rural-fibre-broadband-cabinet
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/06/openreach-uk-could-replace-eci-fttc-broadband-cabinets.html
https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/4581044-vdsl-vectoring-enabled-then-unconfigured.html?fpart=all

Now you probably know as much or more than I do

95

FTTC/FTTP / Re: FTTC (VDSL2) and G Vector

« Last post by mervl on Nov 19, 2019, 23:07:57 »

No BDUK in the village. It was all a commercial rollout, in 2011. So Why? is, as so often with OR/BT, one of life's great mysteries.

Hence why I speculated that maximum throughputs having dropped since then from above 40Mbps, down to the mid 30s, and in the last couple of years to 30, and this autumn the low 20s, it might be a desperate measure to keep us in the superfast category, for their local performance stats? A bit cynical I know, but if the new residents who seem to be moving in as us older ones move on have been complaining?

Certainly BT are a bit coy about it all, and (no criticism, but they have to face the BT brick wall, too) IDNet have been as much use as the proverbial tub of lard. I even got a phone call from Simon when I provisionally considered moving to A&A to tell me I had to "live with it" and nobody else could do any better, either! As there's no information, I don't know whether it needs a special modem, like the Fritz, to take full advantage? Or whether it's just that OR's database hasn't caught up yet. (The latest Fritz! OS might be something to do with it too - AVM can be a bit coy, too). Certainly I can understand why BT wouldn't want to give disgruntled customers something else to campaign about, that doesn't fit the usual narrative.

96

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Labour pledges free broadband for all

« Last post by andrue on Nov 19, 2019, 20:46:38 »

5G won't ever give you the 10Gbps that fibre would give you. (Read up on the Shannon-Hartley theorem.)

True but beam shaping technology means that it's no longer as simple as <mast bandwidth>/<number of connected users> because masts no longer have to broadcast the same signal in all directions. So a group of people in one part of the mast's cell can be receiving data on the same frequency as another group receiving different data.

You can't increase the maximum data rate of a mast but you can squeeze more users in (assuming an even distribution) which might be enough to allow radio to satisfy demand and helps mitigate the Achilles heel of radio which is contention.

I retain a preference for a wired connection but the advances in radio technology mean it's not being left behind the way I once thought it would be.

97

FTTC/FTTP / Re: FTTC (VDSL2) and G Vector

« Last post by andrue on Nov 19, 2019, 18:25:37 »

Thanks for that @mervl. Very interesting. Was your cabinet installed as part of BDUK? Because what I've heard is that openreach are doing this in order to meet BDUK obligations. They are more interested in extending cabinet reach than increasing average speeds. One reason given for them not rolling it out nationally is that ECI cabinets don't support it which could lead to awkward demands from those on ECI cabinets.

And you learn something new every day as it appears that 'G.Vector' is a thing which I hadn't realised. My apologies for doubting you.

98

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Labour pledges free broadband for all

« Last post by Tacitus on Nov 19, 2019, 16:49:44 »

Nationalising BT would be a disaster for pension funds and small investors many of whom are BT employees.  McDonnell has said that Parliament would decide how much a Labour government would pay for the shares but it would be below market value. 

The proposal is to nationalise Openreach which is a separate company, though fully owned by BT.  My own view is that the 'free' part will be the fibre to the house; you will no longer pay line rental but will still have to pay for the service.  If that is the case then competition would still take place and iDNet will be fine, it's just the infrastructure that would be nationalised.

In that respect it would be no different to electricity and gas.  You don't pay for the wire or pipe to the house, but you do pay for what you use.

99

FTTC/FTTP / Re: FTTC (VDSL2) and G Vector

« Last post by mervl on Nov 19, 2019, 10:34:24 »

Andrue, thanks that corresponds with my understanding; but I was using the modem's terminology, which reports:

Negotiated Connection Properties
      Receive Direction    Send Direction
Max. DSLAM throughput   kbit/s   40000   10000
Min. DSLAM throughput   kbit/s   128   128
Attainable throughput   kbit/s   60948   3622
Current throughput   kbit/s   39998   3622
Seamless rate adaptation      off   off
          
Latency      fast   fast
Impulse Noise Protection (INP)      58   0
G.INP      on   off
          
Signal-to-noise ratio   dB   14   6
Bitswap      on   on
Line attenuation   dB   24   39
approximate line length   m   727   
          
Profile   17a      
G.Vector      full   full
          
Carrier record      A43   A43

Error Counter
   Seconds With    Not Remediable Errors (CRC)
   Errors (ES)    Many
Errors (SES)    per
Minute    Last
15 Minutes
FRITZ!Box    0    0    0    0
Central exchange    33    0   0    0
(Sorry the columns are out of sync).
Elsewhere the modem reports:

DSL active since:
2 days, 8 hours, 16 minutes
VDSL2 17a G.Vector (ITU G.993.5)
Huawei        Broadcom: 177.45

I'm on the 40/10 package, the maximum my line could support would be 42Mbps according to IDNet, presumably advised by local OR data. It is, by the way, a residential estate cabinet, serving no rural premises.

Regards, Mervyn.

100

FTTC/FTTP / Re: FTTC (VDSL2) and G Vector

« Last post by andrue on Nov 18, 2019, 20:16:04 »

I think there's some confusion here. There's no such thing as 'G Vector'. What there is is:

* G.FAST - the next generation of DSL. This uses frequencies above those of VDSL so is only available to those whose lines can already connect at or near full speed for VDSL.
* Vectoring - crosstalk cancellation technology. This is available for VDSL on some - possibly only a few - cabinets (generally those with longer lines so mostly rural). G.FAST always uses vectoring.

@mervl - where/how did you learn about this? BT don't generally advertise when vectoring is enabled on a cabinet as it's a technical matter. It's more likely they'd have advertised G.FAST which from the sound of it your line wouldn't support anyway.