use Netget WNR864T with BT infinity (fibre) service?

[Fat Tone]

A friend had the BT Infinity service installed a couple of weeks ago. Headline speeds are 40/10 and when I tested shortly after the install we were getting something like 36/8 which is pretty darn good.

Now it has dropped to ~10/1.5 which is insufficient.

The installation is a small white BT openreach modem (which the engineer says they have to replace all the time) connected to a router made by 2Wire.

In the firmware of the router are settings for PPP authentication. It tells you there is a connection but not what the link speed is.

BT insist that the issue is the router and not the modem and are telling my friend to change the router first (at BTs expense) but refusing to send someone out.

Now, I have a spare Netgear WNR854T (abandonned because of wifi issues but wired is ok).

So the question is could the router be the issue and could I use the WNR in its place?

Cheers

T.

[Evildead666]

have you tried plugging a PC direct to the modem ? like a laptop, to see if you get DHCP or not ?
If its an ethernet port from the fibre modem that is.

If so, then there is no reason any gigabit router wouldn't do. As long as its ethernet.

edit : PPP in the router ? Does the router create a tunnel through the modem to connect to the service ?

[Fat Tone]

Well he's gone and ordered one of these for delivery tomorrow:

http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=10743

I guess we'll be finding out when I install it on Sunday!

Cheers

T.

[Fat Tone]

Well, replacing the router with the new draytek seems to have solved the speed issue. It's been over 10 days now and things seem ok.

Speedtest.net is showing roughly 15/6, although with a very variable speed during the time it checks. speedchecker.bt.com shows 29/8 out of a theoretical max of 31/10.

So why on earth are BT providing routers on fibre services that don't work properly???

[Taz]

So why on earth are BT providing routers on fibre services that don't work properly???

Apart from the obvious, it's BT

TalkTalk supply routers their tech support staff have no knowledge of and cannot support. I had to Google the numbers I found on the bottom of it as they had no idea what they sent out

As BT Infinity is fibre to the cabinet shouldn't the speeds he's getting be close to the advertised speed much like it is with Virgin's cable service?