Be Broadband Questions

[Tidus]

I'm leaving my broadband provider today or migrating to another, I'm currently on Pipex which is and thinking of moving to 'Be Pro', so I have a few questions for anyone who can or is willing to answer them,

• Do Be shape broadband traffic (i.e throttle torrents)?

• Can I migrate from Pipex as Be's site says it only supports certain MAC codes (my pipex is 8mb, while Be is 24 and a LLU service)?

• Has anyone using Be had any trouble with their Fair Usage Policy?

• How long does Migration usually take, Be's site said 2 weeks to a month.

• Have any other users tried using their own router with Be and does it work aswell/better then the modem provided, I have a Belkin router purchased 2 months ago and hope it will work fine.

• How close are users speeds from the estimisation they got from Be's website, my line was estimated at 20mb and according to the postcode for my exchange, I obtained from 'Sam Knows' and entered into Google Maps and was told my house is "0.4 mi – about 9 mins by foot" away from my exchange and ADSL information from my router says my current Download noise Margin is 12 and attenuation(dB) 23 for my Pipex line.

Thanks in advance for any answers to the above questions, BBL.

[Splash]

• Do Be shape broadband traffic (i.e throttle torrents)?

Nope

• Can I migrate from Pipex as Be's site says it only supports certain MAC codes (my pipex is 8mb, while Be is 24 and a LLU service)?

Can't see why not, I migrated from Aquiss (an Entanet reseller) which was on a standard "up to 8mb" connection.

• Has anyone using Be had any trouble with their Fair Usage Policy?

They have one? I've not had any issues, and since moving I'm now shifting files all over the place, including downloading a daily backup of 3 websites that I look after (I used to do this weekly) and then zipping them all up and uploading to Amazon S3. I get through a LOT of data.

• How long does Migration usually take, Be's site said 2 weeks to a month.

Took around 2 weeks for me

• Have any other users tried using their own router with Be and does it work aswell/better then the modem provided, I have a Belkin router purchased 2 months ago and hope it will work fine.

I'm using a Draytek Vigor 2820 and get a good, solid connection with it. Generally you're going to need a router with a Broadcom chipset to get the best out of Be though. What model router did you buy?

• How close are users speeds from the estimisation they got from Be's website, my line was estimated at 20mb and according to the postcode for my exchange, I obtained from 'Sam Knows' and entered into Google Maps and was told my house is "0.4 mi – about 9 mins by foot" away from my exchange and ADSL information from my router says my current Download noise Margin is 12 and attenuation(dB) 23 for my Pipex line.

I get... around 12mb on annex M (Upload Plus, so I could get a faster downstream but I sacrifice some download speed for more upstream bandwidth). Samknows claims I should see around 7Mbps, so...

[smargh]

[late reply due to getting calls at work, I think I'm saying much the same as ^^ him anyway]

Do Be shape broadband traffic (i.e throttle torrents)?

No.

Can I migrate from Pipex as Be's site says it only supports certain MAC codes (my pipex is 8mb, while Be is 24 and a LLU service)?

Dunno. Get your MAC - you don't have to actually use it, then call Be to see whether they would accept it.

Has anyone using Be had any trouble with their Fair Usage Policy?

Nobody has to my knowledge ever been FUPped for downloading stuff, but they have used it when someone was sending 10,000 requests per minute, constantly over a week or two, to their DNS server(s), and I'm sure they'd use it if your PC was turned in to a spam relay too.

How long does Migration usually take, Be's site said 2 weeks to a month.

10 days on average, maybe a bit less, maybe more, maybe much more if BT fracks up.

Have any other users tried using their own router with Be and does it work aswell/better then the modem provided, I have a Belkin router purchased 2 months ago and hope it will work fine.

Most "power users" use a Netgear with a broadcom chip, i.e. the DG834GT which I and many others use. The supplied BeBox can have some stability issues.

As for how to get the best out of Be, make sure you don't use Be's DNS servers (OpenDNS and 4.2.2.3 is fine), get a DG834GT with the UberGT or DGTeam firmware, and keep the router as close as possible to your master socket with as little other wiring as possible. Ideally you should get a static IP, too.

[LuckyNV]

Be* is a partial LLU service, which means they only handle the broadband side, there shouldn't be any big problem if you already have a BT line/ADSL.

The 1 month estimation is for cable users or non-bt users that need their line converted. Simple migration takes around 10 days, mine took that long including weekends.

Nobody to my knowledge has been warned or disconnected for downloading too much, we'd definitely know about it by now, no throttling either.

With your attenuation you should be able to get very high speed, however with such high speed it can highlight issues with your internal wiring.
My own attenuation is 18db at the test socket and I can sync upto 20Mbps interleaved, however my extension and face plate is old/poor quality and it drops to 14-15Mbps sync speed.
I've enabled Fastpath/non-interleaved and I am upto 16.6Mbps sync speed, but I need to replace the face plate if I want more.

I don't have any issue with the Be* box, very capable router for something supplied. Their support forums are very helpful with tips on getting a 3rd party router working.
Common used ar Netgear DG834G V4, DG834GT, DG834N but there are many, they need to be good routers though, my DG834G V2 can only sync upto 9Mbps, the ADSL2+ modem inside is poor.

[Flibb]

I shifted from Pipex to Be without any problems.

no signs of a FUP or traffic shapping

I got slightly faster than estimated

I use a reflashed sky DG834GT router

[Tidus]

Thanks for all the fast replys, Just phoned Pipex and they are sending me my MAC code, not sure if the bloke said by post or email (or both) I was falling asleep by the time it was finally sorted out, they said it will take upto 6 days for the code.

I'm using a Draytek Vigor 2820 and get a good, solid connection with it. Generally you're going to need a router with a Broadcom chipset to get the best out of Be though. What model router did you buy?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132751

I get... around 12mb on annex M (Upload Plus, so I could get a faster downstream but I sacrifice some download speed for more upstream bandwidth). Samknows claims I should see around 7Mbps, so...

The 20mb estimate was from the avaliability check on the Be site, I used samknows to get my exchange info (postcode) and entered that into google to measure the distance between my house and exchange, I'm only 0.4 miles away from my exchange so if my home wiring is all good I should have a good speed. I'm also getting the Upload Plus service, hows the speed on that?

[Tidus]

Most "power users" use a Netgear with a broadcom chip, i.e. the DG834GT which I and many others use. The supplied BeBox can have some stability issues.

As for how to get the best out of Be, make sure you don't use Be's DNS servers (OpenDNS and 4.2.2.3 is fine), get a DG834GT with the UberGT or DGTeam firmware, and keep the router as close as possible to your master socket with as little other wiring as possible. Ideally you should get a static IP, too.

Thanks for the advise, I'll make sure to change the DNS settings, I'll use the Be router to set everything up and then try my router to see if it works as well, if they both have problems I'll try 1 of the listed netgear routers and a Iplate (as its cheap), I get a free static IP on my Pro service so I'm all sorted on that.

[LuckyNV]

don't bother with the Iplate, its not worth it, try it without first, and if it looks like your wiring is bad, you need to get a filtered face plate instead.

[Tidus]

The 1 month estimation is for cable users or non-bt users that need their line converted. Simple migration takes around 10 days, mine took that long including weekends.

Sounds good, hopefully Pipex don't take forever with my MAC code I can't wait to leave them, they've been charging me £25.99 for a £15 package, apparently I need to subscribe to a new 12 month contract to get the reduced price, Pipex were good before they were bought out.

I shifted from Pipex to Be without any problems.

no signs of a FUP or traffic shapping

I got slightly faster than estimated

I use a reflashed sky DG834GT router

Hopefully I have no problems either, good to hear theres no throttling.

[Tidus]

don't bother with the Iplate, its not worth it, try it without first, and if it looks like your wiring is bad, you need to get a filtered face plate instead.

Ok, I'll look into that if I have any problems. Thanks for replies.

[LuckyNV]

Legally they need to supply your MAC key within 5 days, even if you have outstanding fees.

[pjuk]

I've been with Be for about 2 years and had nothing but good service from them. I've had no problems with their FUP and tech support is always more than happy to sort out problems. I live about 1mi away from the exchange and get around 13Mb/1Mb down/up.

As for using another modem/router, I just set the Be box in bridge mode and use my wireless router for all the other stuff. There are plenty of guides on how to set this up on the Be forums.

[Will404]

Legally they need to supply your MAC key within 5 days, even if you have outstanding fees.

Wish I knew that when I left Tiscali......it took weeks, and we had to take legal action to get the code

[MSIC]

HI, i recently left Pipex who had dramatically gone downhill (shame, they were good once) and joined Be (on the Pro package with a static IP).
So far, although i've not been hammering it 24/7, i've found no evidence of traffic shaping or slowdowns at all.

Be state clearly that although they dont officially support any other routers, they are also quite happy if people want to do it off their own backs.

I changed my router from the Thompson branded one that Be send you to my tried and trusted Netgear DG834N which works a treat (after admittedly having an evening on some support forum websites using my wife's 3g-based laptop!). (Word of advice - dont plug the Thompson one in, not even once, unless you are happy to clone the MAC address into your own router afterwards or wait for Be's servers to reset DHCP stuff).

I also found that annoyingly, one of the DNS addresses Be sent me in the paperwork didn't work ( i can't remember which) and had to use my judgement to change the address. All worked in the end, and i get 12 Mbit download, 1.2 Mbit upload (and waiting to go ahead with the 2 - 2.5 Mbit upload if i want).

So far i'm really pleased.
I was also impressed with the very regular text messages and emails telling me when the welcome pack was coming, when the line was going to become active, when it had become active etc etc.

[Tidus]

I just ordered the Pro service after receiving my mac code, Pipex were quicker than I thought, I couldn't log into their email service after hours of trying though so I had a try at 1am and got lucky. Good to hear so many people praising Be, ask the majority of people about their service provider and they'll have plenty to tell about how crap they are.

My router is currently in my room with my PC&PS3 so I can connect them through the LAN and after looking at my phone line it seems to be a Daisy-Chain job with the master socket being on the ground floor of my house and then going upto the socket on the second floor and then backdown again to the socket in my room on the first floor which presents a problem. If I place my router at the master socket I'll have to use wireless which i'm not really fond of, or buy some 8+ meter LAN cables and do some drilling to get them to my PC & PS3.

I'll try the Be Box in my room and by the master socket to see how much of a difference it makes, trying to neatly route those LAN cables will be a pain though.

[pjuk]

It can depend so much on how good the wiring is in the house. In my last place I had the BeBox connected off 2 extensions from the master socket and still got 19mb But now if I don't use the master socket my speed drops from 14mb down to 7mb!