Plusnet or BT (or neither?)

I'm currently trying to decide which ISP to move to for Fibre broadband (or whether to stay with my current ISP talktalk and just upgrade to Fibre). I'm tempted to switch providers because I could then potentially get some decent cashback (e.g. via Quidco you get £115 to switch to Sky Fibre) and also I'm tempted to go to BT Infinity so I can get BT Sport for 'free' (subsidised by the higher cost of BT broadband obviously) which considering I do want BT Sport is a nice bonus. The prices seem to be :-

BT Infinity 2 with BT Sport free £26 pm (£20pm for the first 3 months), 38Mbps
Plusnet 70Mbps with BT Sport £27.50pm (£20 for the Fibre broadband + £7.50 for BT Sport HD)
Sky Fibre £20pm for the 38Mbps option or £30pm for the 70Mbps option
TalkTalk £10 extra to upgrade to Fibre 38Mbps

My line is capable of 70Mbps according to the line checkers and I can believe it as I can walk to the cabinet in a minute or two tops so there is benefit in going for one of the faster packages so Plusnet is tempting in a way but by the time i've paid for BT Sport it'll cost the same as BT Infinity 2 although obviously Plusnet will be upo to 76Mbps whereas BT will be the slower 38Mbps speed. Anyone got any recommendations , is Plusnet worth going for if the price is the same as BT overall? I'm put off going to Sky because of the hub they provide as I'd like to use my own router ideally so going with plusnet will at least ensure I get an openreach modem and separate router that I could then upgrade if need be.
Basically are plusnet any good and is there any reason not to go for them over the other alternatives

Ta
Andy

A correction - BT Infinity 2 is the up to 76Mbps package not the 38Mbps.

The only provider in your list I generally wouldn't consider is TalkTalk as their past reputation has not been good.

All 3 of the others have good and bad points but in general they are all capable ISPs - and all 3 go through peaks and troughs for customer service/support).

Plusnet are probably the easiest of the 3 to get direct contact with as they are active on these forums and the guys that post here tend to be pretty good at getting stuff done (although they have had issues with their call centre of late waiting for the new call centre to come online).

If you want BT sport then go with BT or Plusnet.

I expect the majority of people on here would recommend you go with Plusnet, although there are a few trolls who will pop up to tell you not to touch them with a bargepole. For me one of their main advantages over BT is the UK-based support (and yes, I know BT owns Plusnet, but it's not directly relevant here), although response times through the official channels can be somewhat slow.

You seem to have done the sums, although I haven't checked the figures. Have you considered the line rental issue and do the figures assume you will be moving your line rental as well? Also, Plusnet are extremely likely to be launching their own TV offering soon, which may change the calculations.

Ask away if you have any specific questions.

The £7.50 per month for 6 months on Sky for the up to 38 Mbps was missing

Though is now an 18 month contract and router is £6.95 delivery

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/isp/sky/package/1417.html

The price he gives is for Infinity 2, so it's the 38mbps he is mistaken about and can take out of the comparison .

Just dropping in to say hi and thanks for considering switching to us.

Just let me know if you have any direct questions for us.

I like Plusnet for the problem tracking system.

Regardless of how an issue is raised you can monitor and add information to the "ticket"

I do not know if any other ISP has such an open problem handling process. When I was with BT they did not have such a system which would have been very helpful in dealing with their out sourced support group re clarity of voice communication.

However I did move to PN 10 years ago and so things may have changed in the BT customer support process.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The price he gives is for Infinity 2, so it's the 38mbps he is mistaken about and can take out of the comparison .

I thought that's what I said? Maybe I didn't word it clearly enough

In reply to a post by zAndy1:

so going with plusnet will at least ensure I get an openreach modem and separate router that I could then upgrade if need be

Isn't the 78 Meg FTTC now a self-install with no OR modem but a VDSL/ADSL combined modem/router instead? Or is PN the only major ISP not doing this?

Hi, yes we do still use the same system to track process or system problems. We should have an open ticket (or one on hold) including the ID if it's one that affects an individual or a small group of customers. Anything affecting a large proportion of our customer base would usually be posted as a service status http://status.plus.net

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Isn't the 78 Meg FTTC now a self-install with no OR modem but a VDSL/ADSL combined modem/router instead? Or is PN the only major ISP not doing this?

I don't think any ISP does integral modems on 80/20. Infinity is only self-install without OR modem on 40/10. Sky is the same on 40/10 - I don't know what they do on 80/20 but I'd be surprised if it's using an integral modem.

I assume you know what EE do?

Duh! I got mixed up. It's the 38 Meg FTTC that is self-install without OR modem from some ISPs like BT.

But not EE which provides the BrightBox2 integrated VDSL modem/router only with its 78 Meg FTTC, so presume only that is a self-install with EE.

Ah yes sorry I didn't realise Infinity 2 was up to 76Mbps, so basically if I was going to get BT Sport then BT Infinity 2 is £1.50 a month cheaper than PlusNet Unlimited Fibre, ah but then again the Line Rental is £1.50 a month cheaper with PlusNet so basically BT Infinity 2 and PlusNet are the same price if I get BT Sport, so any advantage for going for one over the other apart from the UK based support?
The PlusNet website FAQs suggest you get a separate BT Fibre modem which you then plug the fibre router into, that would suit me more than having a one box solution as it paves the way for an easier upgrade path e.g. if I was to buy an Asus RT-N66U for example. Leaning towards PlusNet I must admit , £35 cashback on Quidco at the moment compared to the paltry £10 for BT Broadband although you do get a £50 Sainsburys voucher from BT.....
I have to say though the reports of long wait times getting through to support is making me hesitant , it's all very well having UK support but it's no use if you can't get through to it..maybe I'll try ringing support before i make my decision...

Edited by deleted (Thu 17-Apr-14 22:14:45)

I'm currently trying to make the same BT or Plusnet choice myself.
My brain tells me to go with Plusnet however my wife wants BT Sport and we don't have a Sky Box so would need a BT TV box.
After browsing Plusnets ' site I can only see the option to use BT Sport with a Sky Box.
Am I right on this assumption?

In reply to a post by DooGie:

I'm currently trying to make the same BT or Plusnet choice myself.
My brain tells me to go with Plusnet however my wife wants BT Sport and we don't have a Sky Box so would need a BT TV box.
After browsing Plusnets ' site I can only see the option to use BT Sport with a Sky Box.
Am I right on this assumption?

Yes I think so, I've got Sky so it's not an issue for me

For the moment, yes. Plusnet are running TV trials on YouView so you can expect BT Sport to become available without Sky at some point, but not sure when.

I wonder why no iptv version tho?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I don't think any ISP does integral modems on 80/20

My brothers Infinity 2 install was with the HH5... And the Kellys subcontacter refused to give him an Openreach modem even when he saw our custom dual ISP router.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

I wonder why no iptv version tho?

That's what the Youview trials are for, it will be delivered by IP, same as with BT now.

Is this the one that was posted about not long ago, and someone replied that was another one now on eBay?

No... but I thought most Kellys installations were pretty similar

It seems so - all a complete mess.

but that still needs a box, why no browser access or mobile app?

Edited by Chrysalis (Fri 18-Apr-14 16:48:33)

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

but that still needs a box, why no browser access or mobile app?

Well I didn't know BT offered those options so wasn't expecting Plusnet to.

Plusnet all the way if you go with my experience of BT:-

BT closing posts and banning users

I would not advise my worst enemy to go to BT for anything, they use totally useless third world "support" (or first line of defence!).

Edited by deleted (Fri 18-Apr-14 22:07:06)

Thanks for the reply.

In reply to a post by Busa:

Plusnet all the way if you go with my experience of BT:-

BT closing posts and banning users

I would not advise my worst enemy to go to BT for anything, they use totally useless third world "support" (or first line of defence!).

Certainly if you value forum support there's no comparison.
I've also suffered BT deleting posts that were only slightly critical after very poor treatment when trying to switch to infinity, glad I stayed with Plusnet in the end.

I was with PlusNet at one time and found the waiting times on their phones very long, 30 mins was regarded as acceptable by them but not by me.

At the moment I'm with BT on the Infinity 2 and find the service excellent, any time I've had to phone it's been answered very quickly and by British staff and any problem has been dealt with swiftly and easily, I couldn't fault them. I've just renewed my contract and would rate them far better than PlusNet.

How do you get British Support when everyone else get's Indian Call Centres?

AFAIK BT do not have British Support unless you get their Executive Customer Complaints which usually only deal with you after you write to the CEO, they do not advertise their own existance.

They do however have British Sales to lure you in, once signed up you get the useless Indian Script Readers.

In reply to a post by Busa:

How do you get British Support when everyone else get's Indian Call Centres?
.

When you call BT, DONT select any option, you will then hook up to UK call centre.

I have to agree with you. I too am with BT infinity 2 and have to say after the experience of several other suppliers I have found BT to be very good and on the extremely rare occasion I have contacted them they have been very polite and professional in handling my queries.

Residential or Business Infinity 2? And do you do as professor973 suggests or do you get UK support even when using options?

In reply to a post by professor973:

In reply to a post by Busa:

How do you get British Support when everyone else get's Indian Call Centres?

When you call BT, DONT select any option, you will then hook up to UK call centre.

Useful advice, thanks - I'll pass it on to my friends who are with BT.

Edited by binary (Sat 19-Apr-14 13:47:31)

My Kelly's installation seems OK - and the chap fitted a new junction box in place of an old, warped one where the line comes into the house, then a new bit of cable to a new NTE5 (the previous socket was of the pre-NTE5 design). He didn't have a clue what I was taking about when it came to the 'data extension cable' (aka home wiring kit) though!

My FTTC speed isn't quite as good as predicted, but I'm not sure how my particular installation might be the cause of this.

Just to note that what you won't get with Plusnet is the ability to watch BT Sport online (streaming via your browser), or access to the BT Sport mobile apps.

With BT you'd also get the dual-band Home Hub 5 - the Plusnet supplied Technicolor router is not dual-band (and the consensus seems to be that it's wifi coverage isn't the best - seems to work well enough though). However you've said you'd like to be able to use your own router, and with BT you're likely to just get the Home Hub 5 without the separate Openreach FTTC modem whilst Plusnet Fibre is a two box arrangement, so you'd easily be able to substitute your own router.

In reply to a post by binary:

My FTTC speed isn't quite as good as predicted, but I'm not sure how my particular installation might be the cause of this.

Given your previous wiring it is possible you have extensions direct off the new junction box. That would mess up your FTTC even if you don't use them - just the presence of the wires is enough.

To check, you need to remove both your new master faceplate and the VDSL plate behind it. Then try a phone in every extension socket you can find, and make sure you don't get a dial-tone.

Residential and I usually select options, I was very wary when I signed up with BT, it was when O2 closed and there was no way I was joining Sky, for contractual reasons Virgin can't supply to the block of flats I live in so the option of BT was really my only option, I can only say I've been pleasantly surprised with their service from day one.

My experience is completely different to your comments, are you a BT customer speaking from your experiences or just from hearsay?

Thanks for all the replies so far , I'm really struggling to decide who to go with, they all have their pros and cons, BT has free BT Sport but you get the HH5 which by all accounts has drop out issues and no open reach modem, you do get access to WiFi out and about though, Plusnet you get an openreach modem so easier to use your own router but you have to pay for BT Sport and don't get WiFi out and about and the support wait times are a concern as are issues with provisioning from what I've read, Sky is a decent price for 6 months (£7.50) but you get the Sky Hub which doesn't have 5Ghz WiFi as far as I can tell but you do get access to Sky WiFi out and about, no BT Sport though without paying £12.50 for it. Aarrgghhhh it's a nightmare and the fact they're all 18 month contracts doesn't help!

From a vast amount of experience, read my post in the BT Forum. I linked to it in this thread.

You didn't answer my question, are you a BT customer or not?

I responded to the OPs question giving my honest opinion, I have no reason to read your post as it has no bearing on my experience with BT or PlusNet.

[cough]
_{Name Jack Charles
Title newbie
Total Posts 19}
ISP Newnet
[cough]

In reply to a post by jac2285:

You didn't answer my question, are you a BT customer or not?

I responded to the OPs question giving my honest opinion, I have no reason to read your post as it has no bearing on my experience with BT or PlusNet.

Yes, he has been a BT customer.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

ISP Newnet
[cough]

Relevance? Many let their profile lapse. The bloke said he was now with BT and is v. happy with it. We have no reason to doubt that.

For the sake of completeness, you omitted:

Registered on Sat 09-Jun-07 18:50:49

And you did not read my post; if you had you would have found out I was an Infinity 2 customer for some 1.1/2 years. I am no longer a BT customer, again you would have found this out had you bothered to read.

I also gave my honest assessment. As you seem so busy I'll tell you that my findings (note: not opinion, it is based on fact) differ to your own but leaving it at that I shall wish you the best of luck with the worst company I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with, BT.

I would not give BT a further penny of my money as long as I breathe.

You know what i'm beginning to think I might just stay with talktalk and just upgrade to fibre with them. I've been with them for the last 18 months on ADSL and had no problems, and we'd keep our phone number which would be a bonus. I'm guessing I could probably get a very good deal to stay if I threaten to cancel, maybe £10-£15 per month + line rental (which i'd pay in advance cos it's only about £10pm doing that) for up to 38Mbps fibre which would be good No BT Sport though unless I subscribed seperately which I guess I could do using the saving from not migrating elsewhere..hmmm decisions decisions

Have you got Sky TV?

I apologise for not updating my ISP in my profile but can't see its relevance in this matter, I have been with BT now for 15 months and stand by my previous comments, I was with Newnet for about 3 months and I was dissatisfied with the service so returned to PlusNet for around two years when I went to o2 which was by a long way the best ISP I had been with until they sold out to Sky.

I didn't post in this forum to enter into a slagging match, just to give an honest opinion to the OP.

You haven't been in any slagging match - you posted a rather unbelievable statement about always getting a UK call centre when you phone, which you have backed up with the method you use and you have challenged someone-else's opinion by querying if they are qualified to hold that opinion, which they are.

I'm sure many of BT's millions of customers are quite happy with their service. Some aren't. It happens.

Edited by deleted (Mon 21-Apr-14 10:43:50)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Have you got Sky TV?

Yes , why?

I don't think you can get BT Sport except from BT, Plusnet trial, or through a £12 subscription on your Sky TV. You said you might go for TalkTalk Fibre and pay for BT Sport. Can you get it on TT?

You can certainly get it on Sky HD.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I don't think you can get BT Sport except from BT, Plusnet trial, or through a £12 subscription on your Sky TV. You said you might go for TalkTalk Fibre and pay for BT Sport. Can you get it on TT?

No (but the OP can get it via his Sky box).

A big part of the BT Sport concept is BT wanting to create a greater level of customer 'stickiness' and reduce churn. Though it does still cost a lot and needs the channel to have a viable audience (especially in the early days), both of which probably explain the Virgin Media carriage deal. But offering it to their main rival in the landline and broadband market (TT) isn't on BT's agenda.

In reply to a post by binary:

But offering it to their main rival in the landline and broadband market (TT) isn't on BT's agenda.

Which is odd given that "YouView is a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva"

My post was addressed to RobertoS who quoted from my out of date forum profile which I felt was trying to belittle my right to an opinion, especially as he was selective in the parts he posted.

If you don't want other people to comment on your posts, I suggest you use PM.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

You can certainly get it on Sky HD.

Is that broadband or TV? Remember the question started with my asking if he has Sky TV, precisely because I know that BT Sport is available there.

I posted the relevant parts, and if you are unable to interpret "[cough] ... [cough] " as clearly signifying a joke I feel quite sorry for you.

I mean BT Sport is available on a Sky TV satellite box, both in HD and SD, irrespective of ISP (if any).

In reply to a post by binary:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I don't think you can get BT Sport except from BT, Plusnet trial, or through a £12 subscription on your Sky TV. You said you might go for TalkTalk Fibre and pay for BT Sport. Can you get it on TT?

No (but the OP can get it via his Sky box).

I'm confused by your and BatBoy's post that I replied to before seeing yours. Isn't that what I say in the quote?

Ah, right . I took that as a given in what I said. That's why I asked if he had Sky TV in the first place. I didn't mention Sky broadband.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 21-Apr-14 12:23:28)

It seems odd that BT won't offer BT Sport to TalkTalk even though they both sponsor Youview to compete with Sky TV, but they offer it on Sky TV.

I was thinking earlier about why they let Sky have it. I think that must be because the expected income from doing so is greater than the net forecast profit from the number of broadband customers they might otherwise gain from Sky.

The TT question is strange. Don't forget I've queried the poster as to whether or not he can get it on TT, though I doubt if he can. I was worrying that he might think he can get it anywhere.

Wow at the VM availability of it. Similar to the Sky TV deal, at £15 by the look of it.

I think he's already aware of being able to get it on Sky

In reply to a post by zAndy1:

No BT Sport though unless I subscribed seperately which I guess I could do using the saving from not migrating elsewhere

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

I think he's already aware of being able to get it on Sky

In reply to a post by zAndy1:

No BT Sport though unless I subscribed seperately which I guess I could do using the saving from not migrating elsewhere

Exactly, if i stay with TT then the option is to get BT Sport separately on Sky, think it costs £12.50pm though

Yeah, on Sky TV it's £12 per month plus a one-off activation fee of £15, and an extra £3 per month for HD.

Edited by deleted (Mon 21-Apr-14 13:06:25)

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Yeah, on Sky TV it's £12 per month plus a one-off activation fee of £15, and an extra £3 per month for HD.

Really, blimey didn't realise it was extra for HD, so basically it's half price on Plusnet and free on BT Infinity, if it wasn't for the fact BT have such a bad reputation I'd probably have gone with them by now, the problem is there isn't one ISP that has a particularly good reputation these days so you just have to make as informed a choice as you can and hope for the best. If anyone is going to go wrong its pretty much always during the migration process, once things are up and running generally things are ok, it's getting to that point that's the problem. So to summarise then , assuming I want BT Sport:-

Plusnet is £19.99 + £7.50 (BT Sport) + £14.50 line rental (Bonus with plusnet is it's up to 76Mbps for no extra cost) = £755 over 18 months
BT is £16pm for first 3 months then £23pm + £15.99 line rental (up to 38Mbps) + £30 activation charge = £700 over 18 months or for the equivalent of Plusnet is £20pm for first 3 months then £26pm + £15.99 line rental = £737 over 18 months
Sky is £7.50pm for first 6 months then £20pm + £15.40 line rental (up to 38Mbps) + £15 BT Sport = £832 over 18 months or for the equivalent of Plusnet £30pm + £15.40 line rental + £15 BT Sport = £1087 over 18 months (not competitive at all that!)
Talktalk is probably around £13pm (need to ring retentions for a figure) + £15.95 line rental + £15 BT Sport = £791 over 18 months

Surprisingly it would seem BT are the cheapest , wow I never expected that although if I forgot about BT Sport then obviously talktalk would probably be cheapest, hmmmm

Edit: Just noticed Quidco are doing £100 cashback for Plusnet now, it was £30 the other day! BT is a paltry £10 lol and Sky is £100 as well , might that just have tipped things in Plusnets favour, I think so

Edited by deleted (Mon 21-Apr-14 15:16:11)

Is Plusnet giving the HD version, or are all the online ones?

Plusnet has the HD versions, but I'm not allowed to tell you that

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Is Plusnet giving the HD version, or are all the online ones?

Yes it's available through Sky, SD channels for £5.99pm and HD channels for £1.49pm extra

Well based on the fact the quidco cashback increased to £100 for plusnet sometime over the last few days I've decided to go with them, its the best overall package cos I get an estimated sped of 72Mbps for £19.99 and the option to add BT Sport for £7.49pm if I want to Just pleased I've finally made a decision now it's in the lap of the gods I guess, come on Plusnet don't let me down.....

Good luck. You should be fine.

Actually no you responded to my own post but as already said let's leave it at that I have nothing to prove that I haven't proven already.