Plusnet, Struggling?

I'm just about to change broadband providers and am looking for any insight on Plusnet since I haven't been keeping up with them(although I never had any problems with them as my first fibre provider).

Currently there seem to be a lot of complaints about capacity though their staff have commented that there is no congestion on their core network. I really hope Plusnet aren't becoming TalkTalk Mk. II.

To be honest the only other ISP I'm considering is Zen but they apparently want me to revert back to ADSL and then place a fibre order(not sure how long that'll take) - which is not an attractive proposition.

There has been no conclusion to the performance issues.

People yesterday were still showing poor performance in the capacity thread, so clearly its not resolved.

If you dont mind gateway hopping to get good performance then go ahead, otherwise it may be wise to not sign up at this time.

You may also want to consider pulse8 who are supposed to be as good as AAISP but without the eye watering prices:

https://pulse8broadband.co.uk/

Had a look to see what the monthly charge for ADSL1 unlimited usage would cost me being connected to a 20CN exchange market1/A and at £28 per month for BB it is sadly too costly for me.

Edit: FTTC is not available at my rural exchange (EO)

Edited by Apprentice (Mon 04-May-15 09:20:47)

The current Plusnet problems appear to be regional, with extra complications based on which gateway you happen to get connected to (as mentioned by Chrysalis). Many complaints come from Manchester or places close enough to have some association with it.

My speeds (Winchester) have been immaculate night and day, and I believe (but can't verify) that is the case for a large but silent majority of Plusnet customers. However, clearly there are issues, and if things are not right you won't get the same level of service from Plusnet as from a premium company .

Certainly had a problem last night, even my netflix would not play. Sort it out Plusnet.

Just proves how bad broadband is in this country, I do not think there is one supplier that offers a decent service. I can not and will not pay AA prices.

I would go for Zen if I was you... I've been with Plusnet since February and not having a good time at all...

Online gaming currently is screwed due to gateway issues... speed isn't so bad but then speed is only one factor of many that makes a good connection...

Saying that, I've been having some speed issues this weekend, and currently seems like Plusnet's QOS system isn't working to well under the load as streaming in the evenings goes to .... even though the bandwidth is available..

Plusnet's support on the matter has been very poor too.... trying to say that as I'm able to use the broadband to transfer high amounts of data (bare in mind this is in the day) that they aren't going to class my issues as a fault...

They've promised many callbacks but I've not received one... I have an open complaints case with them but they just seem to be ignoring it...

So do yourself a favor and pay the extra for a better service...

PS. If Sky LLU is available it might be worth looking at Sky Fibre Pro... heard a few good things and then won't be relying on too much on 3rd party infrastructure so the provider can on be to blame in circumstances like those Plusnet customers are suffering.

I think it s the fact that our Broadband is so cheap that it fails consistently in this country...

They're not enough revenues to keep the service afloat, specially when you consider what broadband used to cost compared to today...

The best move for Plusnet IMO is merge with BT... increase the prices and offer a "truly great" service.

I was just as bad, I wouldn't really pay much more for my service if it wasn't in line with other providers but then realized some benefits of doing so...

The fact is I can't afford Andrews & Arnold FTTC currently and wasn't sure about their ADSL packages but I saw the Xilo was basically in 2nd place behind AAISP so thought I would give them a go...

I'm going to be ordering an ADSL connection with them this week, and then I'm going to start optimizing my usage levels...

I think there is some regional issues coupled with the fact that plusnet appear to run some of their gateways close to capacity sometimes. They havent said that this is the case but it feels implied by some of their posts on their forum.

Got to be honest, with the cashback deals from Quidco and Sainsburys vouchers offers from BT I think thats where I will be moving to as BT broadband customers dont appear to be suffering like plusnet customers.

Also the added benefit of 12 month contracts which ties in with yearly line rental saver and a much better router in the form of a home hub 5.

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

You may also want to consider pulse8 who are supposed to be as good as AAISP but without the eye watering prices:

Those fibre prices are totally eye-watering compared with Plusnet's. For the record, I have had now slowdown or congestion problems at all, but I realise that doesn't help those that have.