I moved to the UK about 18 months ago. My first place had no fibre and I was not permitted to run a line. I had sky, and after taken a month to get connected it was fine. For the last year I've been with virgin, and was very happy to get connected in two days. A bit bothered that it will frequently go down for a few hours to a day and frequently slows down but over all have been very satisfied with the service. Now I'm moving into a new place in a week. When I first searched I was only offered 8Mb/s, several days ago searches offered 18Mb/s and tonight I have found the fibre options are available, all except for virgin. Now I'm offered so many choices but I don't know which providers are better or worse. I've heard the EE has a really good ac router and I've read good and bad about all providers. I can go with EE, BT, SKY, Talktalk, plusnet. The advantage of BT is a 12 month contract. My fiance and I are heavy internet users. I would prefer a faster connection (70-80) if it isn't too much more than slower offerings (37-40). I don't mind paying up front and all the other tricks to reduce the total cost. I have been on uswitch but it doesn't compare the total cost over the contract. Does anyone have any advice? I will move in a week so would like to get signed up tomorrow.
If you have the phone number for the new place or the address put it into the bt wholesale adsl checker (Avoid Postcode as it can cover multiple properties and is the least accurate). https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html It will tell you what adsl and what FTTC speed you can expect, its only a few pounds more for the 80/20 package but if the estimate is not much above 40 then save your money and go with the cheaper package. As for Isp their is not much difference in FTTC offerings- BT/Plus Net/EE etc all use BT wholesale while Sky/TT use their own networks. Have a look at each isp offerings as their will be deals etc.
I can highly recommend Plusnet for heavy use. I have regularly backed up and transferred large quantities that would get VM throttling you before you could say "Why so slow?" But not a peep from Plusnet. Not sure if you game online but the ping was also very low and very stable. If there's anything you want to know more about them just ask. I will however be a cheeky monkey and hint at my referral link in my signature if you do decide on Plusnet. As for the other's I can't vouch for their FTTC personally. But I've heard decent things about BT, Sky was ok and TT have really improved their customer service (some of their tech support still don't know what they're doing or are too rigid with following their troubleshooting procedures).
Absolutely go with Plusnet. Our services is great, and the customer service/technical point is second to none.
I'm looking to join PlusNet but waiting for BT to send me my MAC code, they say I have to wait 5 days. Really looking forward to a £204 a year saving and getting a faster service too with any luck Currently on BT Infintiy 1 unlimited, £53 a month it is with other bits we have, Plusnet after the 6 months at reduced cost will be in the region of £36 a month
FTTC is awesome No throttling or slow downs. On TalkTalk but I'd probably suggest Plusnet for their support if your not really broadband technical.
I'm on BT Infinity Option 2 and it has been great. No throttling ever, even on months I hit 1TB download...
The max I've managed to push is 5TB in a month. TT seem to be happy with 2-3TB a month for the last year or so. /touchwood.
BT Infinity/PlusNet Fibre are both good options. I'm currently on BT Infinity Option 2 and have never experienced any issues with slowdown or connection drops. I get pretty stable 70-76 downstream / 16-17 upstream. On average, I'd say that I download somewhere between 12-15 TB a month and upload around 5-6 TB. Haven't had any quibbles about my usage so I assume all is good. I've also been with PlusNet in the past (switched to BT simply because they offered FTTC before anyone else in my area). They've got a pretty solid support team that often kept me updated with information when systems were down, they even text me on an hourly basis to let me know if there were any major updates to troubleshooting.
on sky fiber 2 package which is ment to be 60/20 getting 85/20 at the min and its been that way since about a week after we got it around 8 months back which is when it arived around here. Few issues the first week or so 100% stable since. Download / upload at least 1tb data a month on random torrents ect. They also dont care what you download or upload which is never a bad thing.
Hmm just looked a PlusNet myself after reading posts here, almost quadruple my speed for the same money. Tempting.
@ccxo - the BT checker doesn't seem to be accurate. the BT, EE, ect. sites only started offering high speeds last night so it could take some time to update. Also, I will move in on Monday but would like to sign up earlier. @ferret141 - good to know that plusnet doesn't throttle. Seems all services are pretty good across the board. What about hardware? I was talking to a guy in carphones and he says that EE gives an ac router with fibre connections. Unfortunately going from 37-76MB/s per second is too much to consider with EE. I would like to get the highest speed possible while paying 25-30 a month or 540 over an 18 month contract. BT works out to 29.32 a month for 76Mb/s TT works out to 27.62 a month for 80Mb/s TT works out to 22.68 a month for 40Mb/s plus net is 33.34 a month for 80Mb/s plus net is 28.34 a month for 40Mb/s Sky I can't check 80Mb/s prices
BT's hardware these days is the Home Hub...5? It's an integrated router and VDSL modem (and ADSL apparently) that seems to be rock solid in terms of reliability in my experience. I've upgraded over the last few years from the 3, 4 and now the 5, all for free. http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...fi/modem-routers/bt-home-hub-5-1239932/review These guys seem to think it is pretty good. GigabitE, USB port for a shared network drive or printer, and dual-band 802.11n and 802.11ac. 3x3 antennae set up as well, good for beam forming. Saying that, I barely use the HomeHub's features. We still have the Openreach VDSL modem connected up, and the box is literally in routing mode with WiFi disabled, as those duties are handled by Apple's AirPort gear. As an aside, never ever ever use TalkTalk as an ISP. Ever.
Looking at plusnet, it seems the hub is one of the few that doesn't offer AC and they are one of the more expensive providers. I will try giving BT and plusnet a call tomorrow. What are the problems with talktalk? They seem to be the cheapest and have an ac hub, while not great seems competitive as plusnet is only N. BT has a nice looking ac hub if I can get a bit of a discount over the phone, I also like that it has a 12 month contract. It seems that EE, TT and BT have ac routers plusnet and sky only have N routers
The BT checker is what the isp use to determine if you can order a service, if the checker via either a phone number or address is not showing fttc, then its not available. Is their a phone line installed in the property or will you need to order one? As for TT while they are cheap their customer service is very poor- forum support is okay.
I know online BT are offering a lot of their stuff half price [+£125 Sainsbury's gift card], IIRC option 2 currently works out at £25/mo + LR [12m contract] BT-but-not-bt [PlusNet] IIRC are cheaper at £20/mo +LR but at the expense of a longer contract [18m contract] TalkTalk should never be considered ever, because they're monumentally **** in every way conceivable... Sky offer good deals iirc if you sign up to their TV, but I won't give them any money on principle... I had a look at some of the smaller ISPs but they all appear to be extracting the urine on price, speed, usage or all of the above...
I didn't go with sky as I don't want TV and they don't give prices for 76Mb/s. PlusNet seems to cost more when I calculated it. TalkTalk was the cheapest but to many people said to avoid it EE charges £15 to move from 37-78Mb/s BT worked out to be almost the cheapest, the BT Hub 5 has good reviews so I thought I would give it a try. A 12 month contract is also good as it matches my contract for the flat. Maybe BT will be available in a year. Thanks for all the advice. Installation as Feb 2
TalkTalk are cheapest, but they consistently led the table in Worst Company in the UK for several years due to their customer service, and every single person I know who went with them has now left. You should be happy with BT. I've had no issues for the years I've been on Infinity 2, and actually just had a price cut!
I'm biased because I work for them, but have a look on our site....... http://www.pulse8broadband.co.uk/ Constructive feedback always welcome
