Which ISP FTTC - BT, PlusNet or Eclipse

Dear All,

I am thinking of moving to FTTC from Be with either BT, PlusNet or Eclipse and wondered what your thoughts are?

Do I also need to cancel my ADSL before ordering?

I have a master socket and extension and would like these swapped around so the current extension becomes the master socket - can this be done?

Thanks

Keith

In reply to a post by keithbucknall:

I am thinking of moving to FTTC from Be with either BT, PlusNet or Eclipse and wondered what your thoughts are?

Depends on what you want out of it, apart from the obvious speed. If the same answer was correct for everyone there would be only one supplier by now.

Do I also need to cancel my ADSL before ordering?

No. Just get your MAC as per a normal migration and sign up with it to the package/ISP of your choice. In other words, the procedure is just the same as ADSLx.

Note that if you choose BT Infinity (if you can get it), your line rental has to be with BT as well.

I have a master socket and extension and would like these swapped around so the current extension becomes the master socket - can this be done?

In some cases yes, but if it is normal extension cabling maybe not. Tell us more about the setup.

Thanks, I am looking for unlimited quota and ideally at least 1 static IP address.

My line rental is with TalkTalk.

At the moment my master socket is in the kitchen, the main BT extension runs from a junction box above our kitchen door (internal, 1 wire to the master socket and 1 wire outside). The extension runs outside all the way to the front of the house through the wall and into the lounge.

I am trying to get the lounge extension as the mast socket.

Does this help?

In reply to a post by keithbucknall:

Thanks, I am looking for unlimited quota and ideally at least 1 static IP address.

ADSL24's Pro Office product should fit the bill. My package is unlimited/unshaped etc from 20:00hrs to 08:00 hrs during the week, weekend is 20:00hts Fri tp 08:00 hrs Monday. I have chosen a limit of 45 GB outside of those times...£41 pcm approx.

In reply to a post by keithbucknall:

My line rental is with TalkTalk.

Oopsie! That is why I choose to stay with BT. Your line would have to move from TalkTalk AIUTS.

DrT

Will the the TalkTalk FTTC offering not be any good to you ?

I have BT Infinity myself. Apart from a few teething problems, its been fine and given pretty consistant speeds.

What I can't get my head around is why people would choose any other FTTC ISP other than BT at this moment in time. As far as i know, they are all going to be the same as BT's offering. They all cost more than BT and have usage restrictions like £40+ and 45GB cap peak. Whats the point of that. You have a fast connection and are bound to go over that in most cases. BT £28 unlimited usage. Makes no sense to me why people choose these other ISPs. Ok, so their support may be UK based, but to pay sometimes double, is it worth that?????

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

I have BT Infinity myself. Apart from a few teething problems, its been fine and given pretty consistant speeds.

What I can't get my head around is why people would choose any other FTTC ISP other than BT at this moment in time

Because the OP is a TT user, TT FTTC would seem like a better choice.

Because BT currently throttle p2p, as many punters are reporting. Their contract states that they reserve the right to manage their network as they see fit, so in the future you might find they decide to throttle (say) downloads from itunes. The punters would whine and scream, but BT would be well within their contractual rights & the customers would have to lump it for the rest of their contract terms.

For me, I wouldn't want to be at the mercy of that.

Thanks all,

I think it has to be Eclipse or PlusNet, Eclipse are £60 a month unlimited though which is a complete joke.

Does PlusNet offer static IP addressing as I cannot see that from their website at £40 a month with the extra £5 a month to ensure traffic shaping is not on the line.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Does PlusNet offer static IP addressing as I cannot see that from their website at £40 a month with the extra £5 a month to ensure traffic shaping is not on the line.

There's a one time charge for a static IP address - it's carefully concealed somewhere on their web site.
What's even better concealed, is the 2Mb/s upload with no 10Mb/s upload option (currently).

[whinge mode]
As it's advertised, PlusNet appear to offer a fully symmetrical service - 40Mb/s down & up! Then again, Virgin do the same...

Considering that PlusNet are upfront and honest with their traffic management policies, careful concealment of the upload speed is a tad deceptive.
[/whinge mode]

Having whinged, if Plusnet announce 10Mb/s upload within the next 28 days, I'll probably subscribe to their Fibre offering rather than BT's... (price is a consideration).

GOOD HONEST DISHONEST BROADBAND FROM YORKSHIRE.

JC

if you whinge at CS they can upcap you're upload

well from what i've seen they have done it for some people anyways.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Does PlusNet offer static IP addressing as I cannot see that from their website at £40 a month with the extra £5 a month to ensure traffic shaping is not on the line.

Now that the football has finished (2-0 & 1-5 although it should have been 2-5), I've had time to search for the carefully concealed FAQs

STATIC IP
2Mb/s Upload
10Mb/s for trialists only

I am sure when i started to go through the ordering process an option was to select 10Mbps upload for £5.

In reply to a post by keithbucknall:

I am sure when i started to go through the ordering process an option was to select 10Mbps upload for £5.

Plusnet does not currently offer 10Mb/s upload. It would be nice, but at the bargain price 2Mb/s upload is fine.

Edited by kasg (Sun 02-Oct-11 21:23:20)

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

I have BT Infinity myself. Apart from a few teething problems, its been fine and given pretty consistant speeds.

What I can't get my head around is why people would choose any other FTTC ISP other than BT at this moment in time. As far as i know, they are all going to be the same as BT's offering.

Cripes, where do I start? I have a 12 month contact against BT's 18 month offering. Very generous genuine unlimited hours. No shaping or throttling. Support based in UK. TBH, I don't know why anybody sane would go with BT .

DrT

If you choose to order from Plusnet, then make sure they deliver your router. My activation date is Wed the 5th and I was told the modem would turn up about three days in advance. It has not so I have just rung them to discover that it has not been ordered yet, and they can only say 3 to 5 days delivery. This means I may have the connection, but no router for 2 to 3 days. Needless to say I am not a happy bunny at the moment. If you do want to check you can view your order status in the members centre, and it seems their 'automatic' system does need checking.

You do not need the router to make a connection, you can connect with the modem on its own. The BT engineer supplies the modem on his visit.

DrT

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Does PlusNet offer static IP addressing as I cannot see that from their website at £40 a month with the extra £5 a month to ensure traffic shaping is not on the line.

There's a one time charge for a static IP address - it's carefully concealed somewhere on their web site.

It costs £5 and is only available on the 'Extra' product. More info here.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

What's even better concealed, is the 2Mb/s upload with no 10Mb/s upload option (currently).

See here and here. 10Mbps upload has taken longer than we initially expected to get sorted, however when it is made available it will probably cost an extra £2-3/month.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Having whinged, if Plusnet announce 10Mb/s upload within the next 28 days, I'll probably subscribe to their Fibre offering rather than BT's... (price is a consideration).

If you don't mind the conditional surcharge as mentioned above, then feel free to sign up and I'll see what I can do!

In reply to a post by philippercival:

If you choose to order from Plusnet, then make sure they deliver your router. My activation date is Wed the 5th and I was told the modem would turn up about three days in advance. It has not so I have just rung them to discover that it has not been ordered yet, and they can only say 3 to 5 days delivery. This means I may have the connection, but no router for 2 to 3 days.

Sorry about that! Have we offered to apply some credit to your account to compensate?

Best regards,

In reply to a post by bpullen:

In reply to a post by philippercival:

If you choose to order from Plusnet, then make sure they deliver your router. My activation date is Wed the 5th and I was told the modem would turn up about three days in advance. It has not so I have just rung them to discover that it has not been ordered yet, and they can only say 3 to 5 days delivery. This means I may have the connection, but no router for 2 to 3 days.

Sorry about that! Have we offered to apply some credit to your account to compensate?

Best regards,

No but I did receive a very nice appology.

I was also assured that I would keep my static IP number, (which I need). Can you confirm this is the case.

Thank you for your very fast response.

--edit--
I should add that the static IP address I have currently is with yourselves.

Edited by philippercival (Mon 03-Oct-11 14:05:21)

Hi thanks for the reply.

Yes I know, but there is only one socket on the modem and I have more than 1 computer that wishes to connect and from several different locations in the house. I would have preferred the router to be available.

--edit--
Of course if they break all records in delivery, it may be.

Edited by philippercival (Mon 03-Oct-11 14:08:47)

I'll take a look if you can provide me some means of identifying your account? e.g. a username or recent support ticket reference?

Rgds,

Sent you a PM sorry about the name mix up.

BT had it over a year now and its working perfect.

Very satisfactory outcome, now that is what I call service. Thank you Bob