Which ISP in preparation for FTTC

PhunkeyMonkeh

PhunkeyMonkeh

PhunkeyMonkeh

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Joined
16 Sep 2007
Posts
158
Hi Guys,

After just being released from contract early from BT due to congestion issues (getting less than 0.05Mbit on a 18Mbit sync) I'm looking for a new provider.
My local FTTC cab has just been installed, but is not yet active.
So I'm looking to migrate to another supplier whilst I wait for that with the intention to upgrade to FTTC when I can.

Plusnet looks attractive from a price perspective, I'm just concerned after the speed issues I've had from BT. I am looking to eventually get the 76/80Mb FTTC package.

The likely candidates I suppose are
Sky
TalkTalk
Plusnet.

Are there any other you can suggest to take a look at? Or any personal experiences you can share?

Kind Regards
Phunkey
 
No they are all of the main options in my opinion.

I have been on plusnet for around two years and have had a stable connection at around 70Mb/s down and 13Mb/s up. Customer service has always been top notch for me and the price is pretty much unbeatable in terms of the big players (BT and Virgin Media).
 
I do have a dilemma it seems though.
If I sign up to an adsl service, I will no longer be a new customer for these fibre services so wont get the discounts.
I may have to wait until I can get fibre and then migrate.
 
PhunkeyMonkeh said:
I do have a dilemma it seems though.
If I sign up to an adsl service, I will no longer be a new customer for these fibre services so wont get the discounts.
I may have to wait until I can get fibre and then migrate.
Click to expand...

I can see what you mean if you sign up for an ADSL connection and then get an upgrade to fibre with the same company are you classed as a new customer?
 
Depending on how long you need an interim solution for, perhaps upgrading your mobile contract to an unlimited data package would work? I used to have this and got around 5 Mbps down with Three.

Obviously it depends how many people use your internet connection as to whether that would work for you. Would also need to be a plan / provider that allows you to tether.
 
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No, my exchange isn't accepting orders.
The rollout is being carried out by Superfast-Cymru and so far their golive dates have been pretty accurate. (With my exchange being listed as June)
From what I can tell most if not all the cabinets in my town have been installed. But I don't know if they have power, DSLAM installed etc.

Mobile could be an option, but I live in a old stone house (1910) with walls that are 2ft thick, signal is almost non-existent inside.
 
Alternatively, having just had a quick google, Direct Save Telecom via TopCashBack. One of very few that offer a 1 month rolling contract.
 
Thanks for that, looks interesting.
In the meantime it seems I have to wait a further 5 days for my MAC code from BT. I have emailed superfast-cymru to try and get an update/estimate on go live dates.
I guess I'll go from there.

Thanks for the replies.
 
I would advise against TalkTalk, your connection should be OKish(I had some congestion on mine) however the customer service is stressful. It ranges from foreign call centres, who although polite, you often can't understand their heavy accents and they don't cope well with off script requests - to UK staff on the community forums who take on average three days to reply to a question(not necessarily answer the question, but reply).

I jumped ship to Plusnet(who I've used before for fibre) mainly because the service is typically reliable and their UK based(what a relief!) staff engage with customers on the forums and sort out issues promptly and without hassle(can also raise a ticket, phone them, or use my favourite - online chat - to get requests sorted in minutes). I'll never use an ISP with a foreign call centre again.
 
Have you found the source of the congestion?

ISP?
Exchange?

0.05Mbit throughput sounds like exchange/bt wholesale congestion, which is surprising given you're on a 21CN connection.
 
PhunkeyMonkeh said:
Correct me if I'm wrong on this , but aren't Plusnet essentially BT?

Given the contention issues I've had with BT, that is a concern.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately for FTTC now matter what provider you use it will go through BT's equipment so if you have congestion now on FTTC moving providers won't help. Unless its gateway congestion.
 
PhunkeyMonkeh said:
Correct me if I'm wrong on this , but aren't Plusnet esentially BT?

Given the contention issues I've had with BT, that is a concern.
Click to expand...

They are owned by BT but operate as an independent entity e.g. BT foreign call centres, Plusnet UK staff, among other things. They posted recently that they have no congestion on their core network and I'm not seeing any on my Thinkbroadband connection quality graphs.

You may want to read this post from Matthew Wheeler - http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,135389.msg1231910.html#msg1231910

You can check out the fibre forum here(remembering it's going to be a self-selecting sample of people with problems) - http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/board,74.0.html
 
KIA said:
Have you found the source of the congestion?

ISP?
Exchange?

0.05Mbit throughput sounds like exchange/bt wholesale congestion, which is surprising given you're on a 21CN connection.
Click to expand...

Not sure.
What I can say is my sister 2 doors down (same exchange, cab and copper line running down the street) gets no speed issues, but she is with Talktalk using LLU. Same for my parents with sky (same cab, but not copper as they are on a different street)
And up until I migrated 2 months ago my connection was perfect also.
 
Plusnet offered me fttc 40/20 for £10 a month after having ADSL for a month or two. That's £5 off over 2 years which is better than their £11 off for 6 months deal. They also accidentally put me on 80/20 so even better for me.
 
Danny091 said:
Unfortunately for FTTC now matter what provider you use it will go through BT's equipment so if you have congestion now on FTTC moving providers won't help. Unless its gateway congestion.
Click to expand...

Not true. A handful of providers do not use the BT wholesale network.

The list includes:

Zen (some exchanges)
TalkTalk
Sky

PhunkeyMonkeh said:
Not sure.
What I can say is my sister 2 doors down (same exchange, cab and copper line running down the street) gets no speed issues, but she is with Talktalk using LLU. Same for my parents with sky (same cab, but not copper as they are on a different street)
And up until I migrated 2 months ago my connection was perfect also.
Click to expand...

Does the throughput speed go back to max during off-peak hours?
Who were you with before?

Please create a latency graph. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/monitors.html
 
I was previously with Post Office.
And yes, it's mainly during evenings/weekend.
If I tried it at say 5am, then I'd likely have 16.50Mb/s
Right now I have about 12Mbit, which isn't terrible, but it has been much worse.

I've set up that graph thing, guess I just leave it now?
However I don't think I can open the HH4 to ICMP?

EDIT: Now at 7.30PM the speed has dropped to 2.5Mbit. So yeah, it's definitely peak time congestion.
 
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