Plusnet - From Digital region to OR

Hi

Im seriously considering switching from My current provider Little Big One on digital region to plus net Obviously on Openreach.
Main reason im considering the switch is because im currently paying them £35 a month for their faster package and plusnet offer this for 19.99 my current ISP is unlimited but i can get used to plus nets 250 Gig Peak /UL Off Peak downloads. The second reason LBO's support is quit shocking they are nice enough and do try but they have no control at all and have to get every little thing done by digital region which after been with an ISP like sky & VM were they can sort most things out while on the phone with you and not takeing an average of 42 hours it gets a bit tedious. They also keep lowering my speed down to like 45meg claiming due to stability problems but i hardly call 1 disconnection a day that much of a stability problem then i have to mess about again some times taking 72hours to get them to raise it back up (everything on the digital region is done manually so its not some DLM putting me down its them manually editing my profile have even been told this)

Anyway to the point I asked a few questions on plusnets chat and they seamed to answer most questions very quick and well answered already an improvement on LBO's Customer Service. But one answer seamed to bother me because they did not elaborate why.

My current sync is 70000/24869 (digital region do speeds as fast as your line can go with a max upload of 30meg)
But the plus net checker (i presume uses the BT wholesale checker) says i can get 58/20 i know my upload would go down to 20 but when i asked she also said my download speed would drop to 58 because thats all id be able to get with them but did not say why there would be such a drop id of thought if i can get 70 now (all be it with 1 disconnection a day) i should be able to get it with them.
Is this true or would i still get what i get now (except for the upload) or would it indeed drop to 58 if so why? The BT checker also says i can only get 6meg on ADSL2+ but i used to get 12 so id presume the FTTC checker would be the same just because it predicts something still might get more.

Also can anyone confirm plusnet use BT wholesale for their phone service as im thinking about switching that at the same time but dont want it to be full LLU they have some good deals on for fiber extra with phone.

Sorry for the little essay as always i appreciate any help

Ash

Edited by acpsd775 (Thu 01-Nov-12 23:27:08)

The estimates tend to be low, just as they were on ADSLx. However, initial speeds can fall over time as more users come on the FTTC cabinet. Crosstalk seems to be more of a problem on VDSL2, so it is possible the estimates were made with that in mind. The number of people reporting this happening to them is fairly low.

Plusnet have no LLU provision at all. So yes, the phone will be a "BT line". Technically it will be Openreach Wholesale Line Rental, (WLR), which isn't BT Wholesale. Clever naming strategy - not!

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The estimates tend to be low, just as they were on ADSLx. However, initial speeds can fall over time as more users come on the FTTC cabinet. Crosstalk seems to be more of a problem on VDSL2, so it is possible the estimates were made with that in mind. The number of people reporting this happening to them is fairly low.

Plusnet have no LLU provision at all. So yes, the phone will be a "BT line". Technically it will be Openreach Wholesale Line Rental, (WLR), which isn't BT Wholesale. Clever naming strategy - not!

Right so you think i should still get the speeds i get now but as time go's on it might fall might not? TBH i dont mind if it falls a little as the price difference makes up for that i just found it odd that she basically said i would not get over 58 period if i switched lol .

And sorry i meant WLR always call it by the wrong name lol im currently on WLR now with post office. i like the post office but plus net have a good deal on if you take the phone with the BB and the line rentals are the same so its not a big problem.

Thanks again

Ash

I've just read your sig, and your speed at 588m surprises me. Mine was ~57Mbps at 600m until the weekend, when interleaving was applied and the sync fell. I'm hoping it will revert to Fast Path in a bit and the sync rise again.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I've just read your sig, and your speed at 588m surprises me. Mine was ~57Mbps at 600m until the weekend, when interleaving was applied and the sync fell. I'm hoping it will revert to Fast Path in a bit and the sync rise again.

TBH i dont know how exact that is its what LBO told me im actually about 350-400 road wise but as we know phone lines dont always go were we think as far as i can tell the lines go pretty much the same distance as the road but LBO say other wise so i just put what they said as for all i know it could loop back somewhere for a few extra meters lol

Current stats out of router if they help to compare against anything relating to speed

70000kbps / 24869 kbps
noise margin upstream: 6 db
output power downstream: 0 db
attenuation upstream: 0 db
noise margin downstream: 6 db
output power upstream: 10 db
attenuation downstream: 23 db

Ash

Just an update thanks for your help im going to go ahead with the order problem i now need to find £75, mum don't want to switch the phone from post office so it adds £50 install £20 for first month and £5 del for router. Aposed to just 25 up front for first month and del

Ash

Why doesn't your Mum want to switch?

In reply to a post by lodge:

Why doesn't your Mum want to switch?

the post office have this card were you can top your account up with anything over £2 so if shes got a couple of quid change left in her purse when she pay's her other bills she just sticks it on that then when the bill comes most of the time its oni a few quid or twice now shes been in credit , she also likes the fact the post office is only a 30 day contract with no commitment.
The broadband is always in my name so she dose not care if there contracts with that as its my Responsibility i suppose its not too bad, the only real downside is i have to pay the fibre install charge and lose out on 3 months broadband at a fiver lol but ill be saving £15 a month over my current provider anyway and there is £40 cash back if i order online so when u add the 15 a month + cashback im still saying a fair bit

Just out of curiosity dose anyone know a program to help me monitor my usage i currently have DU meter but it only tells you total usage id like a program were u can set it to monitor between 8AM and midnight so i can keep an eye and make sure i dont go over the 250gig peak limit i dont think i will as i do most of my steam/heavy downloads and things like that after 12 anyway leave it going when ive gone to bed but i do seam to be watching more and more netflix, iplayer ETC in the late afternoon.

Ash

Edited by acpsd775 (Fri 02-Nov-12 14:21:33)

I use NetWorx. It only shows what you have used on machines it is installed on though, so if you do anything through a mobile or pad it won't pick those up.

Your Plusnet usage monitor on the website breaks it down for you by day with peak and off-peak split. I'm not sure how often it is updated, but mine is showing usage for today.

Peak
27 Sat    28  Sun    29  Mon    30 Tue    31 Wed    01 Thu    02 Fri    Total 
257MB     481.5MB    241.94MB   66.63MB   191.52MB  131.11MB  368.85MB  1.74GB
Overnight
16.76MB   13.1MB     15.18MB    15.85MB   14.85MB   18.06MB   19.78MB   113.57MB
Total
273.76MB  494.61MB   257.12MB   82.47MB   206.37MB  149.18MB  388.63MB  1.85GB

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I use NetWorx. It only shows what you have used on machines it is installed on though, so if you do anything through a mobile or pad it won't pick those up.

Your Plusnet usage monitor on the website breaks it down for you by day with peak and off-peak split. I'm not sure how often it is updated, but mine is showing usage for today.

Peak
27 Sat    28  Sun    29  Mon    30 Tue    31 Wed    01 Thu    02 Fri    Total 
257MB     481.5MB    241.94MB   66.63MB   191.52MB  131.11MB  368.85MB  1.74GB
Overnight
16.76MB   13.1MB     15.18MB    15.85MB   14.85MB   18.06MB   19.78MB   113.57MB
Total
273.76MB  494.61MB   257.12MB   82.47MB   206.37MB  149.18MB  388.63MB  1.85GB

Thanks for that i did not realize plusnet had an online counter i can keep an eye on that at least

I only have my PC and mums pc connected, mum dont use internet on her phone at all and im on one plan so never enable wifi on those lol, I think last time i used DU meter on my mums pc in 30 days she used under 1GB she only visits pogo.com.

I have My PC connected to the TV via HDMI for all the netflix watching so ill look into that NetWorx as well currently dont have any consoles either so even less to worry about 99% data is via my pc at least till xmas when i get a replacement ps3 then need to be a bit more cautious and remember to wait till after 12AM to download my 110+gig collection of games ha

Ash