General Discussion

I recently lost my broadband connection via Pipex and when it was restored ten days later the speed was considerably slower (seems about a quarter the previous speed).
Does anyone else have similar problems? Is there a different provision for broadband being made in Dawlish?

As you probably know, broadbands speeds vary according to a number of factors. The following may help:
click for link

The most obvious starting point for diagnosis is to ask what has changed that could result in a slowdown. Here are some questions:

Why did you lose your link in the first place?

What needed to be done to restore it and who did it?

Have Pipex changed their service between your losing the service and its restoration

A good working hypothesis is that the answer will lie in the answers to those questions. Have you asked Pipex why it might have slowed down?

Interesting to note, in view of your problem, that Dawlish exchange turned on LLU (see below) on 7th September.

Link to Dawlish exchange info


Have other people in Dawlish had similar problems?


Also from SamKnows.com:
"Local Loop Unbundling is the process by which third party network operators are able to install equipment in to BT telephone exchanges in order to provide their own services without having to touch BT's network. Only the copper pair from the exchange to the premises, which remains the property of BT, is used by the third party.

There are numerous reasons why an operator may wish to partake in LLU.
Firstly, BT tend to be very conservative in the services which they offer to end users. For example, BT's fastest broadband product is currently 8Mbps, whereas Be Unlimited have had a 24Mbps product available via their LLU network for over two years now. Operators such as Be use LLU as a means to offer high speed services in selected areas (typically the areas with the highest population density).
LLU is also used by many providers for cost savings. Instead of having to pay BT for it's IPStream products and access to the BT Central backhaul services, LLU operators can utilise their existing network and points of presence (POPs). Of course, the LLU operators still have to pay BT to house equipment in the BT telephone exchange. ISPs such as Pipex and Orange use LLU purely for cost saving purposes."

Thanks very much. I think I understand the gist of your technical bits.
I have been running speed checks and it shows that my download speed is 160 Kbps on average and this seems quite low for a connection of 'up to 8 Mgbps'.
Today I lost the connection again for about an hour and during that time the Pipex lady in the far east rang me. She asked me to disconnect everything and called back later to say that they had checked my line and my modem must be at fault and they are sending me a new one.
I don't believe that the modem/ external router has much to do with it.
As you can see my router and connection are working for me to post this.

The answers to your questions are:
1 I don't know what caused the disconnection. I know nothing. I changed nothing.
2 I eventually called in Blackboard Associates (free advert) and only after Ian Birdsey spoke to the call centre in Asia did they accept that the problem lay outside this house.
3 The service was restored within 24 hours