Plusnet Fibre Packages

Plusnet have announced their coming packages, available from April 19th: http://www.plus.net/fibre/

Value package at £16.50 for 40GB, and Extra seems to be at £21.50 for 120GB.

With as yet unspecified (so far as I can see) traffic management.

The sales page just says that traffic management will be there - but with the Plusnet ethos, there's no way it wouldn't be present.

A post on the forum, from Plusnet staff, says "The expected speeds on the Fibre variants of Value and Extra will *not* be the same as they are for their ADSL counterparts, however there *will* still be rate limits in place. "

Another post that "There will be rate limits akin to the current Value and Extra ones, although they will be less aggressive for customers taking Fibre."

I should say that I don't mind their traffic management.

I've read & understand the rationale behind the management they do, and I find myself in reasonable agreement. Its likely that the management they do on a day-by-day basis leads to the price levels they charge, but I also think that the kit (& experience of running it) means they ought to be better placed for emergency events that force an ISPs hand. Imagine a 9/11 or Diana event, and the traffic levels we'd get nowadays.

Of course, agreeing with a rationale is of no benefit if their choice of management happens to disagree with my needs. Luckily, I'm not put off by the data rates that are quoted - mostly because I'm not really using the protocols that get heavily squeezed mid-evening (P2P and binary Usenet).

Of course, once you find your own behaviour is met by the managed system, it offers you the great advantage that your service is protected from those who want to take the wee.

In addition, years of experience on an older tariff shows almost no problems. I once had horrendous 'ssh' terminal behaviour, when I ran my ssh on a non-standard port (to aid security). A change of port fixed this. Since then, no problems at all.

It isn't for everyone, but it isn't a monster either.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

I should say that I don't mind their traffic management.
....

A sentiment with which many will agree.

It isn't for everyone, but it isn't a monster either.

Very true. I didn't mean to imply it is . Just adding to the information.

My package isn't traffc managed. I like it that way. However my allowance doesn't get anywhere near Plusnet's, and I pay more. (It is competitive however with the BT Infinity offerings (which are the cheapest so far) in my case, which is why I chose it).

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 30-Mar-11 09:39:05)

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

The sales page just says that traffic management will be there - but with the Plusnet ethos, there's no way it wouldn't be present.

A post on the forum, from Plusnet staff, says "The expected speeds on the Fibre variants of Value and Extra will *not* be the same as they are for their ADSL counterparts, however there *will* still be rate limits in place. "

Another post that "There will be rate limits akin to the current Value and Extra ones, although they will be less aggressive for customers taking Fibre."

Just to add to this, a member of staff has said there will also be a "Pro-like" experience.
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,9471...

I'd be tempted to "downgrade" from Extra to Value when I get fibre (tomorrow according to the BT Wholesale checker - yeah, right!) because I get nowhere near the 60GB allowance on Plusnet Extra and I'm pretty sure 40GB would be enough for now.

Hehe - I've an order going through to get onto the trial using the current Extra package, because the current Value limit is too low. But we too are just below the new threshold for the fibre-Value package (in the high 30GB's for peak+off-peak), so that might make sense in a month or two.

However, one aspect learnt from the trial is that people's usage seems to go up by around 40% on fibre - presumably just by making HD video more accessible.

So, on balance, I think we're going to end up on the higher package anyway.

Like you, 60GB is more than I need. Maybe 30GB or 40GB, so the 40GB package would be fine. It's a moot point cos my exchange isn't even ADSL2 yet, but here's hoping.

My one concern is the likelihood of the better option (less management) being the 120GB one. Plusnet don't seem to offer a fast, unmanaged package with a reasonable usage allowance. On ADSL it's 20GB or 60GB, with the latter being more heavily managed.

There's no mid-package of 30-40GB with less management than the 60GB package. (Hintity hint for PN reps watching)

my comment which I put on the news page also.

is ironic BT seem to be struggling to find FTTC rollout viable in various cities and they the ones devaluing the product making it pay less as they own the 2 isp's selling it for cheap.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

my comment which I put on the news page also.

is ironic BT seem to be struggling to find FTTC rollout viable in various cities and they the ones devaluing the product making it pay less as they own the 2 isp's selling it for cheap.

Very true.

I suppose there's heavy competition from:
1) Virgin cable (where available)
2) People who just don't care; some might have a 5mbit ADSL connection (quite possibly from an LLU operator) and find that it can stream two iPlayer streams at once, or be snappy enough at browsing for their needs - the extra cost of Fibre (even when very low as with plusnet's deals) just isn't something they wish to consider.

I wonder how much option 2 is troubling them..

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

Value package at £16.50 for 40GB, and Extra seems to be at £21.50 for 120GB.

Thanks for the info/link.

For the Plusnet Reps (if reading)
Unfortunately, I can't find any pricing details for the 120GB package on your website.
Nor can I find any details of the upload speed for either package. Are you now part of Virgin Media?

Failure to clearly disclose the upload speed (just like Virgin Media) implies that you are ashamed of the product on offer or have nothing of value to offer.

What upload speed/sync rate is offered on the 120GB package?
BT isn't ashamed of its Infinity products.

Don't be coy. Fix your website!

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

Value package at £16.50 for 40GB, and Extra seems to be at £21.50 for 120GB.

Thanks for the info/link.

For the Plusnet Reps (if reading)
Unfortunately, I can't find any pricing details for the 120GB package on your website.
Nor can I find any details of the upload speed for either package. Are you now part of Virgin Media?

Failure to clearly disclose the upload speed (just like Virgin Media) implies that you are ashamed of the product on offer or have nothing of value to offer.

What upload speed/sync rate is offered on the 120GB package?
BT isn't ashamed of its Infinity products.

Don't be coy. Fix your website!

Sounds like you are a regular visitor here, either not registered or deliberately logged out, with an axe to grind.

As for your post, that can only be described as utter tripe.

They haven't yet got an FTTC product for sale so why should they publicise full details? As for the childish question about Virgin Media ....

I suggest there is nothing for Plusnet to fix as yet, but your attitude certainly needs to change.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

Value package at £16.50 for 40GB, and Extra seems to be at £21.50 for 120GB.

Thanks for the info/link.

For the Plusnet Reps (if reading)
Unfortunately, I can't find any pricing details for the 120GB package on your website.
Nor can I find any details of the upload speed for either package. Are you now part of Virgin Media?

Failure to clearly disclose the upload speed (just like Virgin Media) implies that you are ashamed of the product on offer or have nothing of value to offer.

What upload speed/sync rate is offered on the 120GB package?
BT isn't ashamed of its Infinity products.

Don't be coy. Fix your website!

It's quite amusing when you consider Plusnet are part of BT and Virgin have had higher upload speeds that BT for years up until the introduction of FTTC (With the introduction of the Virgin 100Mb/10Mb service they're now the same).

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Unfortunately, I can't find any pricing details for the 120GB package on your website.
Nor can I find any details of the upload speed for either package.

I agree the webpage has some additional questions/answers that need adding, but to be fair, Plusnet don't hide things or ignore any questions.

On the forum, a set of extra questions have now been answered.

It seems that both packages get a 2Mbps uplink.

As for the cost of the Extra (120GB) package... It doesn't explicitly show a breakdown for the "new customer" price.

However, for existing customers, it is quoted as being £10 extra; The way Plusnet work is to offer discounts for those on Market 3 exchanges - the two existing ("Value" and "Extra") packages are priced at £6.49pm and £11.49pm for market 3 exchanges (but £4.30 more for market 2, and still more for market 1), so the assumption has to be that the "Extra" package on fibre is priced at £21.49pm for market 3 exchanges.