8 Meg.

[Fritz]

JT have proudly announced the arrival of ,"8 Meg", but do not spout so loudly ,"Up to".

"Up to", can mean anything from zero to 8.

I received a call from one of Telecoms engineers last week that I had been upgraded to the new, "8 Meg", service.

When I got home I found that the new ,"8 Meg", kept cutting out, (Which my, "Up To 2 Meg", never did).
After several phone calls, JT engineers decided that my line, (not theirs?), couldn,t handle the mighty, "8 Meg", and they would cut the speed down to ,"4 Meg", (Up to?), which I assume they have done.
I haven,t had a proud, "We are pleased to announce that your service has been up-graded, and then down-graded again", call, but it cuts out less often than it did last week.

Thing is, I,ve just run a couple of speed tests and am not sure this ,"8...4? meg ", (Up to?),upgrade is not just some made up spin to keep people subscribed to JT.

Here are the results from tonights tests, (taken within minutes of each other):-


JT.........Download speed 2.874Mbps..........Upload 374kbps

Independent Check.....Download speed 1.54Mb/s ..........Upload 0.3Mb/s



Try it yourself.

Has anyone got the elusive, "8 Meg"?

[Dylan]

I've got a line on my screen which makes the 8 look like an "S", so for 8meg I read smeg. This is so ironic!

[Ashley]

Just got mine connected.

Tested it and actually got close with 8050DL and 700 UL - genuinely amazed.

[Spooky]

Just got mine connected.

Tested it and actually got close with 8050DL and 700 UL - genuinely amazed.

Thats because you live almost on top of the exchange at Minden Place mate.

[Fritz]

A Telecom engineer has informed me that certain routers are not compatible with the new super speed system.

Belkin,(A pretty good make generally), wireless routers with , "Texas Instruments", chipsets,(Not all Belkin routers), do not function properly.
The Telecom website contains a list of routers that are totally compatible.

Just noticed a top of the range Belkin now on sale at The Powerhouse for £25, whilst all the Netgear ones have risen in price!!!!!

[Spooky]

The speed issue is dependant on how far you are from the exchange. You need to ask JT what is the maximum attainable for your particular location.

[Ashley]

Thats because you live almost on top of the exchange at Minden Place mate.

It's the only benefit from living in the ghetto.

[vlad1m1r]

Thats because you live almost on top of the exchange at Minden Place mate.

When I did a piece for the BBC on Telecoms on the island* I found that the Minden Place exchange has been there in some form or another for the past 84 years so. When you consider that not long ago, a human being would have to physically plug you into someone else's telephone so that you could even speak to them, the problem of half speed broadband is put into rather harsh perspective.

V.



* http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/jersey/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8233000/8233605.stm since you're asking.

[danrok]

When you consider that not long ago, a human being would have to physically plug you into someone else's telephone so that you could even speak to them, the problem of half speed broadband is put into rather harsh perspective.

I'd sooner make comparisons to the rest of the civilised world, today, and we are lagging behind even the UK, which is infamous for crap internet.

The problem in Jersey is not just the fact that many of us are still on the exact same cabling as was in use when the Gestapo were running the telephones, but the main link out of the island, which doesn't have enough capacity.

I can imagine that JT has been paying out too much cash to prop up its main shareholder, the States of Jersey, and not reinvesting enough in infrastructure.  It's about time we got the service we're paying for.

[vlad1m1r]

I'd sooner make comparisons to the rest of the civilised world, today, and we are lagging behind even the UK, which is infamous for crap internet.

The problem in Jersey is not just the fact that many of us are still on the exact same cabling as was in use when the Gestapo were running the telephones, but the main link out of the island, which doesn't have enough capacity.

I can imagine that JT has been paying out too much cash to prop up its main shareholder, the States of Jersey, and not reinvesting enough in infrastructure.  It's about time we got the service we're paying for.

Yes it's quite funny that both of the great leaps forward made in terms of telephony in the island were thanks to the German war machine. As I mentioned in my article, until 1931, Jersey folk were forced to rely on the telegraph to communicate all important information until the General Post Office decided to cannibalise a German military telegraph cable. After the German withdrawal in 1945 the Post Office came through once again for the Jersey people and decided to make use of the wireless equipment the Reich soldiers had left behind to connect the island with the outside world.

What's most surprising as a result of this is how much JT charges for Broadband services since in both cases, the main cable cost nothing to accquire - this coupled with inconsistent speed and internet censorship* would seem to indicate that it's high time that a privatised independent company came in. I'll stick in a tenner towards that if anyone's up for it?

V.

* allegedly; we're still not sure why PJ went down but apparently it was "blacklisted".

[Fritz]

The latest solution being proposed is to allow online gambling consortiums to be based in Jersey and let them pick up the tab for upgrading the infrastructure.

"Viva St. Helier".

20yrs late as usual.