Why does FTTN Fusion need X2 to increase speed?

[dane]

Something strange happened today on my Fusion FTTN X2 2 pair service.

My service went down briefly and when it came back up after I rebooted the modem, line 1 was blinking Red but all speedtests indicate it is the same speed of about 50/5, but only on one pair. I even checked the modem configuration web interface and there is now only one line active.

I know I'm quite close to the VRAD. Could AT&T have needed to free up a pair or something and then put me on one pair without telling anyone?

I'm not complaining since my speeds seem to be the same as before, and what I'm paying for with Sonic FTTN X2, it's just a bit strange.

Could be - with FTTN, sometimes it takes two pairs to deliver "X1" speed, and sometimes one can be used for "X2" speed. The X1/X2 designation is about speed and price, as a result of the way that AT&T tiers the services, and may not actually reflect the configuration of the underlying infrastructure. Heck, some folks are even on fiber, but are limited to these two tiers, so the X1 (up to 20Mbps) and X2 (up to 50Mbps for $20 more) is a simplification of the services which reflects the Fusion on-net single line and bonded products, but there are underlying differences.

[mediahound]

Something strange happened today on my Fusion FTTN X2 2 pair service.

My service went down briefly and when it came back up after I rebooted the modem, line 1 was blinking Red but all speedtests indicate it is the same speed of about 50/5, but only on one pair. I even checked the modem configuration web interface and there is now only one line active.

I know I'm quite close to the VRAD. Could AT&T have needed to free up a pair or something and then put me on one pair without telling anyone?

I'm not complaining since my speeds seem to be the same as before, and what I'm paying for with Sonic FTTN X2, it's just a bit strange.

Could be - with FTTN, sometimes it takes two pairs to deliver "X1" speed, and sometimes one can be used for "X2" speed. The X1/X2 designation is about speed and price, as a result of the way that AT&T tiers the services, and may not actually reflect the configuration of the underlying infrastructure. Heck, some folks are even on fiber, but are limited to these two tiers, so the X1 (up to 20Mbps) and X2 (up to 50Mbps for $20 more) is a simplification of the services which reflects the Fusion on-net single line and bonded products, but there are underlying differences.

Thanks, that makes sense although I find it strange that they would just switch it without telling anyone. Their prerogative I guess? I assume it does not hurt the RG to have a constantly blinking red light for one pair?

This would also seem to make it more upgradable for faster speed tiers in the future, right? If I can get 50Mbps on one pair, I in theory should be able to get 100Mbps using 2 pairs (if that service is ever offered)...

[pockyken007]

Something strange happened today on my Fusion FTTN X2 2 pair service.

My service went down briefly and when it came back up after I rebooted the modem, line 1 was blinking Red but all speedtests indicate it is the same speed of about 50/5, but only on one pair. I even checked the modem configuration web interface and there is now only one line active.

I know I'm quite close to the VRAD. Could AT&T have needed to free up a pair or something and then put me on one pair without telling anyone?

I'm not complaining since my speeds seem to be the same as before, and what I'm paying for with Sonic FTTN X2, it's just a bit strange.

That is weird I would prolly reboot the modem and let it resync , then if you are worried abotu it give sonic a call they can run a trace from their end ( at least I think they can ) and if need be send a tech to check ( if you are worried about this issue )

[captron248]

I currently have the x1 25mbs service and was wondering if there is a way to tell from the gateway stats if a 50mbs can be turned up without a service call. (AT&T pushing a new profile ??) I'm very close to the vrad...the install tech stated about 350 feet so distance shouldn't be an issue. Although 25mbs is fine for me wondering if 50mbs would be better because I can.


DSL Line (Wire Pair) : Line 1 (inner pair) Type Down Up
User Rate 25212 kbs 2047 kbs
Max User Rate 63661 kbs 16240 kbs
Noise Margin 26.3 dB 38.7 dB
Attenuation 7.3 dB 9.1 dB
Output Power 14.5 dBm -3.9 dBm
Protocol G.993.2_8d
Channel Interleaved
DSLAM Vendor Information Country Vend Specific
Rate Cap 63094 kbs
Attenuation @ 300kHz 2.2 dB
Required Impulse Noise Protection 0
VCXO Frequency Offset 4.6 ppm Ok
Excessive Impulse Noise 0 Ok


The line is running very clean compared to some other stats I've seen on various forums.

SL Type Since Current Current Time Since
Period Reset 24-hr int. 15-min int. Last Event
Link Retrains 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Training Errors 0 0 0 0:00:00
Training Timeouts 0 0 0 0:00:00
Loss of Framing Failures 0 0 0 0:00:00
Loss of Signal Failures 0 0 0 0:00:00
Loss of Power Failures 0 0 0 0:00:00
Loss of Margin Failures 0 0 0 0:00:00
Cum. Seconds w/Errors 0 0 0 0:00:00
Cum. Sec. w/Severe Errors 0 0 0 0:00:00
Corrected Blocks 2206 0 0 1Day5:48:34
Uncorrectable Blocks 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Unavailable Seconds 0 0 0 0:00:00

[amayfield]

User Rate 25212 kbs 2047 kbs
Max User Rate 63661 kbs 16240 kbs
Noise Margin 26.3 dB 38.7 dB

The noise margin is the signal to noise ratio, essentially the buffer between the DSL signals and the white noise inherent to the wiring, when you increased the bandwidth on a line, the Signal to Noise ratio is decreased. Sonic's minimum Signal to Noise ratio is 6dB, I am not sure what AT&T's is but I believe it's higher than ours.

The Max User Rate is the estimated maximum throughput for the line - 63Mb/s according to the above information. So in theory your single line would be able to accommodate FTTN x2, however the Signal to Noise Ratio (noise margin) may not be sufficient to meet AT&T's minimum which would require provisioning FTTN x2 over two pair as opposed to one.

I'm sorry - I didn't really answer your question, it's a difficult one to answer fully but hopefully I've provided a bit of insight into how the process works.

[mediahound]

Something strange happened today on my Fusion FTTN X2 2 pair service.

My service went down briefly and when it came back up after I rebooted the modem, line 1 was blinking Red but all speedtests indicate it is the same speed of about 50/5, but only on one pair. I even checked the modem configuration web interface and there is now only one line active.

I know I'm quite close to the VRAD. Could AT&T have needed to free up a pair or something and then put me on one pair without telling anyone?

I'm not complaining since my speeds seem to be the same as before, and what I'm paying for with Sonic FTTN X2, it's just a bit strange.

Could be - with FTTN, sometimes it takes two pairs to deliver "X1" speed, and sometimes one can be used for "X2" speed. The X1/X2 designation is about speed and price, as a result of the way that AT&T tiers the services, and may not actually reflect the configuration of the underlying infrastructure. Heck, some folks are even on fiber, but are limited to these two tiers, so the X1 (up to 20Mbps) and X2 (up to 50Mbps for $20 more) is a simplification of the services which reflects the Fusion on-net single line and bonded products, but there are underlying differences.

My service went down again last night and after rebooting the modem, I'm back to 2 pairs again. I blame some errant modem firmware update or AT&T profile or something. Or maybe it was always on 2 pairs but only reporting one pair, erroneously. Who knows I guess.