BT: Esitmated broadband speed 0Mbs?

englishpremier

englishpremier

englishpremier

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I have just moved to a new place which incidentally is just off Exchange Street. I am probably less than 500m from Norwich City Exchange.

My line was activated today, but i've just done an estimate at BT Wholesale and it says that my expected broadband speed is less than 1mbs.

I also did a test on another site which said my estimated speed would be 0mbs.

I'm about to sign up to 02 but obviously don't want to get into a contract if my speed is going ot be so bad.

Surely this can't be right?
 
Estimated speeds mean nothing, especially if it is a brand new phone line BT may not have got around to updating their database.

I think that you also get a 7 day cooling off period with O2 anyway, so if it is crap you can leave without obligation.
 
doh, my exchange isn't o2 enabled. Who is good out of:

BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
BT Wholesale WBC (21CN)
BT Wholesale SDSL
AOL LLU
Bulldog LLU
TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU
Pipex LLU
Tiscali LLU
Orange LLU (Formerly Wanadoo)

what providers allow a month to month contract? I don't want to spend more than £10 per month.
 
englishpremier said:
doh, my exchange isn't o2 enabled. Who is good out of:

...

what providers allow a month to month contract? I don't want to spend more than £10 per month.
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Being bluntly honest here, you won't get anything "good" for £10 a month, and you certainly won't get a 1 month contract.

You can still get O2 Access, their service provided over BT's network but this is generally not very well rated and also not as cheap as their LLU offering.

If you go with Sky for your TV/Phone you can get their ADSL too for that sort of price, but that is only as part of a package deal.

Best option for you would be to use one of the Enta resellers, as that will be on the 21CN network (ADSL2+ upto 24Mbit etc.) and they are pretty decent.

http://adsl24.co.uk/broadband/home/

£20 a month is probably the best you're going to be able to do with a reasonable download cap.
 
It just means the plant records for BT not correct for the guesstimation.
Google your postcode and find another address and postcode on your street or strret very close by.

Try this a few times with a few different numbers and you'll get an idea what you're likely to get.
 
The reason I was going to go with 02 was that they are cheap and I have my mobile with them. Don't need anything more than 8Mbs. I do need unlimited download though as i use iplayer extensively. I also run Linux so obviousuly the package manager is always downloading stuff.
 
If you have sky TV then skys Broadband unlimited will cost you £10 a month with speeds upto 20mb. Think its £15 a month if u don't subscribe to the tv.

And they trully are unlimited.

Apart from that then the 21cn ones will be the other best option.
 
englishpremier said:
The reason I was going to go with 02 was that they are cheap and I have my mobile with them. Don't need anything more than 8Mbs. I do need unlimited download though as i use iplayer extensively. I also run Linux so obviousuly the package manager is always downloading stuff.
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Well you need an LLU provider if you want an unlimited / high FUP service.

And as I said already, you're not going to get that for 10 quid a month with a 1 month rolling contract.

O2 Access is circa £20 a month, so IMO you would be far better off with a decent ISP and just change the way you use the internet. I.e. do your large downloads overnight and if you're at work during the day most of your iPlayer usage will be off peak anyway.

I know that isn't what you're going to want to hear but you really don't have much choice here, you simpy can't get what you want without an LLU provider or paying a lot more than you're prepared to. If you don't mind having a longer contract then you can probably get a better deal but certainly no BT based provider is going to offer you unlimited usage for £10 a month.

You could look at someone like Plus.net but even that is above your budget and also a long-term contract.

EDIT: Or as bifday2k points out Sky is £15 / month but also a 12 month contract.
 
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Hmm, this could be a problem, I don't have a TV. i had a look on the orange site as they are cheap but when i enter my number i'm told they cannot supply me with a service.

It looks like you have a product or service supplied to this line that is currently incompatible with broadband. You will need to have the product or service ceased before broadband can be provided.
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This is a new number that was activated today so i don't know what that is about.
 
Leave it a few days, BT's database can take a while to update and those changes to show up on service providers systems.

Again Orange, not exactly a great reputation and also a long term contract - you'd be better off with Sky.

Also, it isn't unlimited - here is the text from their (Orange's) small print "Minimum term 18 month contract. 10GB monthly usage allowance."
 
I'd go with Sky then if you're happy for a 12 month contract, it is £15 a month but is by far the best deal you're going to get.

I would also talk to them about voice deals that they have as this can often work out cheaper than paying BT for the line rental.

Also check what the cooling off period is for their service so if it's no good you can get out without paying, but to be honest if you can't get cable or Be/O2 via LLU they are going to be the best value / service you can get without spending substantially more money.
 
I've just checked BTs backend database for the telephone number you provided.

Your line is connected to the exchange: EANCC and I'm getting estimates of 250kbps <-> 1mbps.

Email me if you require more info.
 
bifday2k said:
If you have sky TV then skys Broadband unlimited will cost you £10 a month with speeds upto 20mb. Think its £15 a month if u don't subscribe to the tv.

And they trully are unlimited.

Apart from that then the 21cn ones will be the other best option.
Click to expand...

£10 if you subscribe to Sky Talk or £15 without. But you do need TV from sky to get their Broadband.
 
My sister lives 225m from her exchange and max she can get is 3 meg, it depends where you are routed round tbh you might end up going 1 mile out of the way to get to the exchange.
 
I live 5.5km form my exchange, according to the BT database the max speed I can get is 0.5meg. I'm currently with sky and the actual speed that I get is 4meg.
 
The BT Wholesale estimate will be based on ADSL versus Sky, if you're on their LLU offering, using ADSL2+.

It's an estimate and a bad one at that. You can't put any real weight in what it says and it would have had even less value if you were going to go with O2.
There really isn't any remotely reliable way to estimate what you'll get without having an active ADSL service.
 
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