21 cn High cost access

Hi hope someone can enlighten me. Our market 1 exchange WWCHLL has just been upgraded to 21cn by BT. I have been with ZEN since we first got adsl max in 2006.So the dsl checker said adsl2 and 2+ would be available from july 31. On checking on july 22 it said Available so i phoned zen and inquired if that was the case and they said yes i can switch to adsl 2+ in approx 5 days. So on 31/07 i was switched to adsl2+ all good and fine.

I was only checking to see if fibre would appear in the not too distant future so was a pleasant surprise. (work starts on installing a cab on Nov 9 as we are E.O.lines here so fibre is coming.)

So as i was on the old 20cn i had the zen 8000pro which gave 500gb allowance.
When notified of the price rise to £40 per month i downgraded to the 200gb package .
with phone line rental included for i think a couple of pounds a month less than i was paying for the 8000pro.

When i ordered the adsl2 broadband active i was told over the phone that i would pay more for the phone line rental £16.99 and less for the B/B active £16.00 so a couple of pounds cheaper again and UNLIMITED allowance. Checking the portal shows the 200gb allowance is still there so i phoned and asked why only to be told it is correct. i have looked at the website the forum and the faqs nowhere can i see anywhere saying that broadband active is capped at 200gb.

I was told its because our exchange is in a high cost area . Surely that is not the case now we are upgraded to 21cn.

Only becomes low cost once llu and more competition arrives

I didn't know Zen did High/Low cost areas, except that ADSL Max (20CN) I seem to remember is more expensive than 21CN.

High/Low cost is normally based on the Ofcom Market Classification. These used to be 1, 2 and 3. Changed recently to A/B. But it is nothing at all to do with whether the BT Wholesale provision is 20CN or 21CN.

Ofcom basically classified them on the basis of the number of providers other than BT Wholesale. Typically Sky/TalkTalk/C& W LLU and Virgin Media cable.

However Zen over the last few years have introduced a number of POPs. (Points of Presence). That means they can provide a better and less costly (to them) service - AIUI it still uses the BT Wholesale MSANs but not the BT Wholesale WBC backhaul.

What has happened with your connection seems very odd. BT Wholesale 21CN costs them less than 20CN anyway! If it is one of their POP-linked exchanges, (Samknows shows Zen in the LLU column if it is, that's if sam is up to date), it should be cheaper still. I wonder if whoever told you it was a high cost area is confused? On 20CN it would be, but it is now 21CN.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Looks like i could be calling pulse 8 soon they are local too.

You should have the unlimited and lower cost product available to you, My exchange has no LLU but does offer the unlimited ADSL2+ packages.

If you put your phone and postocde into the Zen checker what does it offer you - the capped produccts have HCA in their name.

Probably a case of some of their systems not up to date yet - Samknows does not thing your exchange is 21CN yet.

Speak to them again and if you don't get the correct answer ask to escalate it to a team leader.

Ok i will do that first tomorrow .

Thanks for that

I am on a market one exchange with Zen. I was on the 200gb package with them but when I noticed the unlimited package rang them up and asked to be regraded to the unlimited package. This was done taking about 48 hours to go through and it has been a few pounds a month cheaper too. My phone line is with them as well and that remained at their usual cheap rate.

21CN is nothing to do with whether an exchange is high cost or not.

Samknows state the following for lower cost exchanges, and while it is out of date and not for your exchange it proves the point:

Four or more 'principal' operators provide broadband services at this exchange. Service in this area has been deregulated!

A principal operator is one with equipment in the exchange. You still have one principal operator, BT Wholesale. That they've upgraded their equipment in the exchange is irrelevant. They have to charge a higher rate on your exchange.

The costs are higher to try and entice LLU operators to unbundle the exchange and prevent BT Wholesale from pricing low and disincentivising unbundling of the exchange. If BT Wholesale were able to charge as they please in areas where they've a monopoly they are far more likely to retain that monopoly.

Hope this makes some sort of sense. It's not ideal but it's the way that it is.

So i called zen and no joy in switching to a cheaper unlimited package which when you see there are unlimited packages for £13.33 per month i am a bit peeved to be honest and feel that zen are not looking after long term loyal customers anymore . I have been with them since 2006 paying £29.78pm for a long time then it went up to £35.74pm which i was happy to pay for a good reliable service In 2013 i transfered my phone line too so zen have had good custom from me but i feel let down now so am moving to someone else.

To my question.

I have tried to switch to pulse 8 as the monthly contract and price appeals, But their checker says i am on ipstream and can only have the more expensive up to 8mb service it also excludes the line rental / BB bundle.so does anyone know if i did accept this ipstream offer whether i would be able to regrade quickly or would i have to wait until their checker is updated which could be who knows how long.

Or is it a case that they can only offer adsl2+ if the exchange has been unbundled by Talk Talk.

Thanks Paul.

Just to bump.

Also the BDUK work for our exchange has been brought forward to start next monday
They are installing an A.I.O cabinet.
24/08 so that being the case will we still be penalised for being in a a H.C A. when fibre goes live or will we have access to the same packages and costs as everyone else

Thanks Paul.

Edited by paul1306 (Mon 17-Aug-15 10:25:53)