Why do different ISPs make a difference?

[mpj88]

We're coming to the end of our BT contract and looking to change for a better deal. We've been considering options from Vodafone and Plusnet.

My question is why would different ISPs provide different levels of service? On a local Facebook group there are quite a few bad reviews of Vodafone.

I thought all providers used the same hardware, so where does the difference in quality come in?

 

[mpj88]

The physical connection from your house to the exchange is owned and operated by Openreach. Between the exchange and the internet there are many different combinations depending on the ISP.

In addition, different ISPs offer different routers, some of which are much better than others. TalkTalk offer the Eero as an example and they are extremely decent bits of kit for an ISP offering.

Thanks, that helps me understand better.

I guessed about the router, but I would just need it to operate in modem only mode as use my own router and wireless access points.

 

[mpj88]

Exactly this. The equipment owned by different ISPs once it hits the exchange will be better or worse, depending on the ISP but not only that, some ISPs will have a contention ratios for their users and if that exchange has everyone using Vodafone then their equipment might be maxed out and not running as well, potentially throttling your connection. Nobody in your area might use TalkTalk so their kit is sat there at full performance waiting for someone to use it.

The reviews aren't always a great guideline because most people don't know what a router is and would just call it an Internet box. I feel sorry for the support people when they have to ask them to do anything other than switch it off and on again! I find that most companies are the same to be honest, they always try to get you to do the stupidest things when something's not working but if you have a bit of IT skills you know what to do or know that what they're telling you is BS. Most people don't, unfortunately, and will just leave a bad review because their Internet is broken.

Yes I do try to bear this in mind regarding reviews as its what i think when someone post on a facebook group saying is anyone else's wifi down....

 

[mpj88]

I recently moved from BT to EE and haven’t noticed any change except for the £25 cheaper per month. Same speed across the body and the change was seamless.

BT own EE anyway so wouldnt the kit/backend from the excahnge be just the same?

Edit - had a quick check of EE packages and although better than what I'm on now, still not better than vodafone/plusnet offerings

 

[mpj88]

@mpj88 Right now is super bad to be changing. You want to get someone who will not raise prices in April. Your best bet is to log into BT, click Broadband tab then Upgrade Broadband. This will give you tailored upgrade offers. If they are still bad, live chat should pop up. Just make sure on the bot you go to "Leaving BT". You'll get through to retentions team in Newcastle who will help you. BT is losing hundreds of thousands of customers each quarter to altnets, they have to stop the bleeding: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/th...-million-broadband-customers-in-a-year.41164/

If BT are stil being awful and you want to switch, make sure that cashback is obtained for whoever you go with.

@Viberious Not surprising, it's the same company and line. Funnily enough if you have EE broadband you can stil login with PPPoE details from BT.

I have tried this, the retentions team were hopeless. Didn't put up much of a fight to try and keep me. The £1/month increase in April would still save me over £10/month than what I'm paying now.

 

[mpj88]

In my humble experience, the real difference is customer support.

You invariably find, with more expensive ISP's, that the customer service is massively improved.

What pushed me to a better ISP where two experiences -

1. Virgin CS - Phoned them up to find out what options were available for the new occupier of my home (who was a friend). Explained it to them that I had sold my house but the new owner wanted to keep my telephone number...was that possible? He clearly did not understand what I was asking for, so the call ended with no conclusion. However, the guy renewed my contract!! And when I moved out a week later, Virgin demanded £180 for terminating the contract early .. and threatened to take me to court if I didn't pay up. This quickly spiralled in to threatening letters from what appeared to be a legal firm, but in fact is just another Virgin department..

2. Talktalk - Changing my contract to include an additional service, Talktalk thought all I wanted was that new service and they cancelled everything else. They disconnected my broadband and it took two weeks to get it reconnected. Once again, a CS department misunderstood what I wanted.

3. The final straw was when my data was stolen in the Talktalk hack. It specifically annoyed me that I incurred additional costs to make things secure again and never received a penny from Talktalk or even a decent apology.

Anyway, I went with Zen after that. Although the service from Zen has declined over the years, they are still a darn sight better than the average supplier.

Thanks for input. Had a quick look at zen but seem to be £10/month more than same service from plusnet so will give them a shot.