Slow FTTP

There are a few things that could cause a FTTP circuit to be slower than expected.

1. A fault somewhere causing packetloss (this could be local to the customer's home network, or something further afield)
2. Some miss-configuration or fault in the fibre provider's network (eg broken links causing congestion)

Here is some steps to take if you have problems with your FTTP service.

I may have packetloss

Packetloss can be seen in a number of ways, check the following to see if the location can be narrowed down to something specific:

1. Ping your router's LAN IP - this will be the 'default gateway' your computers use - eg, could be something like 192.168.1.1 - if you have loss pinging your local router, check with a wired connection direct in to the router...
2. Check the CQM Graphs on the A&A Control pages
3. Ping the A&A endpoint IP: ping 81.187.81.187
4. ping somewhere on the internet, eg ping 8.8.8.8 and ping bbc.co.uk

Get in touch with us about what you find.

Packet loss

I have a slow FTTP connection

If your FTTP service is slow, eg a speed test is not reporting expected speeds, then try these:

1. Use our speed test to check up and download speeds: https://speedtest.aa.net.uk - try tests at different times of the day as this can help track 'peak time congestion'
2. Try a wired connection from your computer instead of WiFi to rule out any WiFi problems.
3. Try a different computer/device
4. Ensure the router is capable of the speed of the circuit - eg, maybe you have a 1G service but an older router?
5. Check/swap the cable between the ONT (The Openreach/CityFibre unit that the fibre connects to) and your router - ensure it's a 8-wire CAT5 or CAT6 cable - not one with 4 wires as these will run at 100M and not 1G.
6. Try a power cycle of the Openreach/CityFibre ONT
7. Check the CQM Graphs, via the Control Pages, to see if it is slow due to lots of traffic.
8. Try a laptop/PC plugged in to the Openreach ONT instead of your router - set up a new network connection of type PPPoE and use your xxx@a login and password to connect, and run a speed test.
9. ...get in touch.

Always worth running a test, even if LOS light is off - there could be a problem further upstream and Openreach may already be aware or we'll need to report a fault:

• Run a test:-
  1. Our Control Page will allow you to run an 'End to End' test, this may if Openreach's systems detect a fault, in which case, do get in touch. eg: GTC_FTTP_SERVICE_1005 Possible fault in the Openreach network.