Planning Internet for Moving House

MrRockliffe

MrRockliffe

MrRockliffe

Soldato
Joined
14 Apr 2014
Posts
8,518
Location
Hampshire
Hi all,

Need to make a plan for moving house.


Situation

With VM until 13th June
Moving on ~20th June
No mobile network where I live now - when not on WiFi I can't make calls or anything, so 5G wouldn't work where I am now, without a good external antenna I'd have thought, and the right network.


New House

No FTTP of any kind
No VM
Really poor mobile network, and house is surrounded by larger houses/trees - I've tried Vodafone & EE and I get maybe 1 or 2 Mbps with either one. Not sure if 4/5G would be feasible at all here.



I've looked at Starlink to help bridge the gap between the two. My thinking:

Apply for Starlink now, set it up on the 13th and then bring with me when I move. Job done, full transition with ease.


However, checking the website it refers to a minimum commitment period of 12 months, and a £299 "Change Fee" if I change address.


Can anyone sugge

starlink.com

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.
starlink.com starlink.com




Anything I'm missing/any thoughts?
 
How easy is it to speak to someone at Starlink? I'm sure you're not the first with this sort of issue. Or just extend your VM contract by a month.
 
Starlink ROAM might be worth a thought whilst you get fibre install at new house:

Starlink offers a 30-day trial for Roam (Mobile) service, allowing users to return the hardware for a full refund if unsatisfied. It is not a free month of service; you still pay for the hardware and the first month's subscription, which begins upon activation or 30 days after shipment.

Key Details of the 30-Day Trial:
What is Refunded: The cost of the hardware (Kit) is refunded if returned within 30 days of receiving it.
What is Paid: You are responsible for the monthly service fee, shipping costs, and any taxes.
Activation: The trial period officially starts upon activation (first connection) or within 30 days of shipping, whichever occurs first.
How to Initiate: You must request a return within the 30-day window
 
Thought I’d try my hand at emailing the Openreach CEO, as there are properties on the other side of my road (literally) which have FTTP.

Don’t ask, don’t get.


Already had someone from her team engage with me to talk options.


Excellent service, irrespective of whether a solution exists.


We need more of this in this country.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KIA
Broken Hope said:
Why would you move somewhere with such limited options and also poor mobile signal?
Click to expand...

A great question


Mobile signal isn’t much of an issue really with WiFi. The main annoyance is just the poor broadband, but Starlink is a solution to that.


The house itself is worth it. We got about £70k off the value because the owner is moving into assisted living, and preferred to deal directly, rather than through an estate agent.


We also have no chain as first time buyers.



It’s also a really nice property.


Detached 3 bed bungalow with a detached double garage and annex above it, plus plenty of land.


Oh and it’s recessed behind two properties, so very private with a nice long driveway.



Overall worth the compromise for me :)




Still annoying having to deal with pleb speeds though :mad:
 
MrRockliffe said:
Thought I’d try my hand at emailing the Openreach CEO, as there are properties on the other side of my road (literally) which have FTTP.

Don’t ask, don’t get.


Already had someone from her team engage with me to talk options.


Excellent service, irrespective of whether a solution exists.


We need more of this in this country.
Click to expand...

This is one of the things which annoys me greatly - over the years have had to escalate to executive level complaints with BT or Openreach several times - and then you get what should be the standard for customer service - sadly if everyone started contacting them through ELC they'd end up shutting it down as a route.

One of the more memorable ones was when we'd had shoddy work done 3 times in a row - the head of Openreach themselves got an engineer from out of region out on an emergency call out and stayed on the phone with them until the job was done properly! the engineer was seething.
 
Last edited:
Rroff said:
This is one of the things which annoys me greatly - over the years have had to escalate to executive level complaints with BT or Openreach several times - and then you get what should be the standard for customer service - sadly if everyone started contacting them through ELC they'd end up shutting it down as a route.

One of the more memorable ones was when we'd had shoddy work done 3 times in a row - the head of Openreach themselves got an engineer from out of region out on an emergency call out and stayed on the phone with them until the job was done properly! the engineer was seething.
Click to expand...

Yeah it’s tricky because you’re right.


At least you can actually get through to someone logical, unlike Virgin Media
 
What sort of price would you be happy paying for to have FTTP dug out to your house? First 3 years would be inflated (to avoid setup fees) and then you can get any old FTTP provider after that.
I have access to a few tools and could get a rough price if you wanted to DM the postcode (or also just check if there are any altnet plans!)
 
Last edited:
On Holiday said:
What sort of price would you be happy paying for to have FTTP dug out to your house? First 3 years would be inflated (to avoid setup fees) and then you can get any old FTTP provider after that.
I have access to a few tools and could get a rough price if you wanted to DM the postcode (or also just check if there are any altnet plans!)
Click to expand...

Not got a scooby really

I’ve got a few quotes open with FTTPoD ISPs, but interested to see what Openreach have to say in this situation and whether their “I’m gonna use my brain” approach compared to “what does the computer say” means it’ll be slightly cheaper.



The property is served by a pole too so no digging required on my side.
 
MrRockliffe said:
Not got a scooby really

I’ve got a few quotes open with FTTPoD ISPs, but interested to see what Openreach have to say in this situation and whether their “I’m gonna use my brain” approach compared to “what does the computer say” means it’ll be slightly cheaper.



The property is served by a pole too so no digging required on my side.
Click to expand...

Very roughly, for a new supply:
For worse-case scenario: £250/Month could probably get you several Gbps symmetrical.
Best-case: £75/Month for 1Gbps
 
On the 4G/5G thing signal can be a strange one - and sometimes getting an aerial up high can get good results even in otherwise poor areas - when I first moved in where I'm living currently the 4G performance was very poor and has got worse since - but there is a small spot in my bedroom where with a 4G router I get decent speeds - generally in excess of 80mbit during the day and upto ~150 at night - if I go a few feet in any direction it drops to like 3mbit!
 
MrRockliffe said:
Thought I’d try my hand at emailing the Openreach CEO, as there are properties on the other side of my road (literally) which have FTTP.
Click to expand...
When you say the properties on your road have FTTP, are you talking about the new house here?

If so, it does sound like it could be possible.
 
Nabinium said:
When you say the properties on your road have FTTP, are you talking about the new house here?

If so, it does sound like it could be possible.
Click to expand...

Yeah at the new place.

Literally the house on the opposite side of the street has FTTP. It’s a small group of 5 of them, new ish builds
 
Out of curiosity, what does it say on the Openreach fibre checker when you input the postcode & door number of your new house?

Building the UK’s Full Fibre Broadband Network

Openreach is building the UK’s Full Fibre broadband network, connecting homes and businesses with faster, more reliable internet.
www.openreach.com

I'm thinking, depending on what status it shows for your address on the checker, it could be that they're still building in your area. Given the houses opposite yours have FTTP, this could be the case.
 
Last edited:
Nabinium said:
Out of curiosity, what does it say on the Openreach fibre checker when you input the postcode & door number of your new house?

Building the UK’s Full Fibre Broadband Network

Openreach is building the UK’s Full Fibre broadband network, connecting homes and businesses with faster, more reliable internet.
www.openreach.com

I'm thinking, depending on what status it shows for your address on the checker, it could be that they're still building in your area. Given the houses opposite yours have FTTP, this could be the case.
Click to expand...

Just “we’re planning”

When we first looked at the house earlier this year, it was “we’re planing to build by Dec 2026” but in the March 26 rollout update, they downgraded it.
 
Moving to Scotland and looking at houses both sides of the border it amazes me at how appalling the English setup is.

Even unfinished barns literally in the middle of nowhere up here seem to be able to get fibre but I've seen houses in villages in England that only get 1-2mbps.

Fibre cables run from the telegraph pole to the house, no need to dig up every street. Why can't England do the same?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom