Prospective New User Questions?

Once FTTC is available to me (hopefully soon now) I am considering signing up to Plus.net. Reading the forums I have the following queries?

1. Some users are reporting it takes time for Plus.net to recognise a new connection once the router is plugged in. This means Openreach do not wait when they do the install. Does this mean I can't use my own router as Plus.net routers does something special?

2. To get the best deal you need to sign up with line rental what disadvantages does this have moving away from BT?

3. A self install option would be great - difficult to arrange being in during the day. I have an original BT ADSL master filter and the modem would connect to this - straightforward setup. Are there any realistic chances of self install becoming available soon?

Thanks

I can only speak from my experience of the fibre upgrade process...

In reply to a post by think26872:

1. Some users are reporting it takes time for Plus.net to recognise a new connection once the router is plugged in. This means Openreach do not wait when they do the install. Does this mean I can't use my own router as Plus.net routers does something special?

In my case the Openreach contractor didn't want to hang around while the PlusNet router got itself set up. I was very unimpressed by his whole attitude. You might be lucky to get a more conscientious engineer (maybe even a genuine BTOR one).
From what I have been told on these forums I understand that the 15 minute period is just the time it takes for the new router to be recognised on the network and then configured with its broadband username and password using the TR069 remote management service.
I can see no reason at all why you cannot use your own router as long as it supports PPPoE and you set it up with the right parameters. Equally, I understand there is no problem with using your own VDSL modem (usually built into the router) to replace both the BTOR modem and the PlusNet router. If you have a line problem you'd need to put the BTOR modem back so BT can run their diagnostics, but I'm thinking about getting a Fritz!box or maybe a Draytek 2850 to replace my BTOR modem and PlusNet router...

In reply to a post by think26872:

2. To get the best deal you need to sign up with line rental what disadvantages does this have moving away from BT?

Haven't figured out any yet apart from having to pay an extra £1 per month for CLI. I'm not sure if there is going to be a cost to move my line back from PlusNet to BT in the future, but if there is I think BT normally waive it if you sign up for a 12 month contract. Others may have more info on this - I've only just joined PlusNet.

In reply to a post by think26872:

3. A self install option would be great - difficult to arrange being in during the day. I have an original BT ADSL master filter and the modem would connect to this - straightforward setup. Are there any realistic chances of self install becoming available soon?

This site reported that there are some trials of self-install going on, but I'd be surprised if this gets rolled out in the near term. The BTOR engineer has to visit the cabinet, a few hundred metres from your front door, so it's not too much extra effort for him/her to come to the house, plug in the modem and check it works. I guess it depends how the trials go.

In reply to a post by Bright:

This site reported that there are some trials of self-install going on, but I'd be surprised if this gets rolled out in the near term. The BTOR engineer has to visit the cabinet, a few hundred metres from your front door, so it's not too much extra effort for him/her to come to the house, plug in the modem and check it works. I guess it depends how the trials go.

The difference is of course that OR can go to the cabinet any time they want, whether you are at home or not; also, if they have several installs on the same cabinet they can decide to do that with just one visit to the cabinet, but won't be able to schedule several home visits in the same time period.
So self-install would actually save a lot of engineer time, and they may not need to send half-trained contractors.
The disadvantages will be that more installs will go wrong... I guess the trials need to figure out if the engineer time saved by self install is more or less than the engineer time wasted by fixing a faulty self-install (but I wonder how much time is wasted now by having half-trained contractors )

In reply to a post by Bright:

Haven't figured out any yet apart from having to pay an extra £1 per month for CLI.

Do you mean Caller Display rather than CLI?

My understanding that although there is no charge for Caller Display with BT, you still have to sign up to BT Privacy at Home with the following terms:

In reference to www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/landline/calling-features:

A minimum call commitment of 2 calls per month is associated with this product. Calls can be chargeable or those included with your chosen call plan. A charge of £2 applies in each month that you do not make the required number of calls. Calls to the following numbers will not count towards the minimum call requirement: 0800/0808/0500 Freephone numbers; 100/198/155 Operator; 112/998/999 Emergency services; 150 BT Customer Services; 151 BT Fault Reporting; 195 Blind and Disabled Directory Enquiries; 1471/1571. Calls made using BT Broadband Talk and Chargecard are also excluded.

So there is an outside chance that you could get charged £2 per month if you do not use your home phone that much.

In reply to a post by bluefish2303:

Do you mean Caller Display rather than CLI?

Caller Display is what your phone does to represent the CLI (Caller Line Identification) information received from the network.
So you pay (or not!) BT or PN for CLI if you want to use Caller Display.
Simples

The way I read it was that I had to pay to make my CLI available to others to see...or not!!

The reason I read it this way is because when my parents-in-law switched to TalkTalk a while back, their CLI was not enabled for some reason which made it difficult to distinguish their calls from other blocked numbers.

Usually if they make a charge is for setting things up to keep your number private - so maybe TT set things up for your parents in law wrongly (assuming they haven't requested it and paid whatever charge TT makes for it).
It is of course free to enable or disable sending your number for one call only by dialling 141 or 1470 before the number - the call will cost the same as if you didn't dial these numbers.

As Uilebheist says, I meant CLI

And you pay BT or whoever to present CLI for incoming calls on your line, so you can see who is calling you with the Caller Display feature on your phone.

It sounds like your parents-in-law had CLIR (Calling Line Identification Restriction) set up on their line, to suppress presentation of CLI when they made outgoing calls.

I had BT Privacy at Home on my line ever since they introduced it, but I've never been charged for it, even though I'm pretty sure that some months I've not made the requisite calls. But then their billing system does seem to be held together by bits of string, sealing wax and sellotape.

I had BT privacy at home when I had my phone with them (years ago!) and they charged once for not making the requisite calls, although there had been many more cases I hadn't and they "should" have charged for it, but I didn't feel like reminding them

Hi there,

Just checked with our provisioning team and CLI should be enabled by default - we can turn it on or off for free, and it's a 24 hour order.

Having checked your account I can see that the £1 charge is for caller display, not for the CLI?