Broadband Internet & ISP Recommendations?

They’re probably referring to the wireless speeds, which are indeed shit, and it’s not like they can install decent third-party Wi-Fi kit for you, so there is indeed ‘not much’ they can do about it.

Your actual fibre connection appears to be working as it should, which is the important thing. The shit Wi-Fi, you can fix yourself by replacing the BT stuff.

Im gonna get a decent router from Argos tonight

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3280645?clickSR=slp:term:router:3:19:1

This one any good?

I’d do a bit more research first if I were you…

I can recommend a decent system based on Ubiquiti kit, but it’ll cost several times more than that TP Link. I don’t have much experience with low end consumer boxes these days I’m afraid…

If possible I'd up the budget a little for this
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9410897
or
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7087239

Are you usually using the wifi near the router? Do you notice if your wifi signal is generally good or bad through your house?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/302722/

Also, don’t forget that actual
Wi-Fi speeds are highly device-dependent, even if your Wi-Fi kit is perfect.

For example, my 2021 MacBook Pro achieves the full 900Mb/s if in the same room as the access point. My wife’s slightly older MacBook Air gets barely 300Mb/s, all other things being equal (same spot).

Follow up from the other day, had an engineer out who basically said the internet is working as provided and that any issues I have with speed downloading is to do with websites throttling the DL speed.

Feels like a cop out but one thing I think ill be doing is scaling down the line from 1gb to 500mb, since basically everything is throttling on downloads there's really no point in paying for the fastest. I just find it mental that ive went from a 40mb to 1gb and the DL speeds are basically the same but hey ho.

Thanks everyone, also waiting on a new router coming too.

Yeah. Faster downloads would help about 0.05% of my day, if that. Faster uploads would improve a different chunk of my working day, but it's still a tiny fraction.

Generally the faster lines are usually better when you control the things at both ends, or you just have loads of devices/adults/children sharing a connection and all wanting to WFH/game/stream/etc.

If it's any consolation, it's what I did with Hyperoptic and I'm wired in.

So I'm learning just now that Community Fibre doesn't offer port forwarding. Has anyone worked around this?

I believe you you can upgrade to the 3Gbps service and then you get an IP on your router rather than being behind their CGNAT.

Depending on what you are doing you could tunnel something to a virtual machine elsewhere on the Internet and use that as a way in.

Edit: It's in the T&Cs

3.11 ... For all our home broadband services below 3000Mbps speed we use Carrier Grade Nat (CGN) technology to make efficient use of IPv4 addresses. Port forwarding is not possible through CGN

tailscale is pretty easy to set up and you can do all manner of magic with that

I'm not sure that I'm actually on the CGNAT, because I signed up to 1 GB in May '23 -- https://twitter.com/CommunityFibre/status/1676952618382561282

Edit - great, have just found the port forwarding option in my router. Was looking in the wrong place lol

Yes. I set up a VPS for a quid a month and used an SSH tunnel to forward from there.

My Linksys mx4200 will do port forwarding.

You need to go into the CA access. Might mean you have to flash the retail version of the mx4200 firmware onto it. It's a bit of hassle. I have done it to my 5 nodes

1 Attachment

I've a v basic cable question. Community Fibre now in my street and I left Virgin Media 5 months ago. I want to re-use the existing drilled hole in my wall for new cable, but would need to remove the Virgin ones beforehand. When I spoke to CF rep, they said they wouldn't dismantle another provider's cables when installing theirs - that I'd have to do it myself.
So, there's two cables; a thick fibre optic one that I can disconnect/unscrew easily enough and a thin cable, presumably the old decommissioned phone line? I can take my cable cutters to that without getting zapped, right?

Worth bearing in mind that the community fibre cable is pretty thin. You might get it through the old phone cable hole

When I got Zen installed I just unscrewed the VM cable wall box a yanked their cable out. The Zen guy then happily used the exposed hole.

Fnar

OK, thanks. I'll order CF, see if engineer can thread new cable through without dismantling VM fibre optic cable, but be on hand to dismantle if necessary.

there's two cables; a thick fibre optic one that I can disconnect/unscrew easily enough and a thin cable

Is the thick one actually fibre or coax? Most VM is coax do the home. Where they have fibre to the home they usually terminate the fibre externally and only run coax (and telephone) inside.

Not that it makes much difference. If you don't want VM anymore just pull it all out.

Yes, thick is a coax. I'm not great with the terminology.
There's less chat here about retaining a landline phone number when switching ISPs. FWIW, when I left Virgin, I ported my 0208 landline to Dial9 VoIP. It works fine, it's cheap and there are real humans doing customer support.

And for five months, been using a (Strong) 4G+ router at home. It's good for re-learning patience (but kind of works).

5G taking no prisoners in a shit industrial estate in West Bromwich this morning.

1 Attachment

Still waiting on Cityfibre to come along. They're in the next street over. We already have openreach in our street but want that sweet, sweet 1gbps upload. Have been told Cityfibre typically switch on 6 months after openreach by someone who works in utilities but not sure if bullshit or not. It's been 3 months since OR came along. Biting my tongue still paying Virgin 75 a month for dogshite.

Not in London, and have previously only been able to get BT to the house (but at least it’s full fibre!) Having been locked in for the last two years there’s now other networks providing some competition, not that BT seem to have noticed with their very high pricing.

Anyone used or have an opinion of YouFibre or Zen Internet? Both seem better priced, offer speeds acceptable for one individual who’s WFH but also possibly newer entrants who may run on BT copper/fibre anyway even if it’s a different router 🤷‍♂️