BT infinity or Plusnet FTTC

Can't make my mind up between BT infininity option 2 and plusnet extra fibre with pro add on.

Use the net for all sorts really, video streaming (iplayer and youtube etc), web browsing and although I do download p2p I usually don't both during peak hours, mainly leave this for overnight, however on occasion, there is the odd bit of p2p I would need to download during peak times.

I've been thinking about this over and over for days, I can't really go for another ISP as can't afford the extra monthly payment.

I was almost sold on plusnet, however a few things bother me.

1. I've read that even on full 40sync, throughput is generally 1-2mbit slower than other FTTC providers.

2. Upload is capped at 2mb for the time being.

However everything else sounds great about it, I would be able to download the odd torrent at peak time with the pro add on and leave all other downloading overnight and from what I've read there should be no problem with anything else that I would use the internet for.

BT inifinity option 2 also sounds great but again a couple of things both me.

1. I've read that p2p traffic is heavily throttled during peak, so even though I would do most downloading overnight, if I did fancy the odd file at tea time then I've got no way of downloading it, other than using VPN which I don't want to do.

Also my existing ISP, when I requested my MAC code and asked if they could match BT in anyway, said the following :-

"there are increasing reports of people on that service seeing slowdowns on non-P2P traffic at peak times. This can be seen on various forums. Now, this may be a local issue or network, it is impossible to say"


I just really don't know who to go with, as it's 18 month contracts I'd hate to choose the wrong ISP and live with it, is there a cooling off period with either ISP once it's been connected to cancel and not incur any charges?

Do BT infinity throttle torrents so bad that it would be like dial up speed or is it reasonable? And apart from that do people see line speed for everything else? is it literally just p2p traffic that is shaped?

And with plusnet is it true people don't quite get the full usage of the 40mbit line?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Chris

Welcome to the forums .

Also my existing ISP, when I requested my MAC code and asked if they could match BT in anyway, said the following :-

"there are increasing reports of people on that service seeing slowdowns on non-P2P traffic at peak times. This can be seen on various forums. Now, this may be a local issue or network, it is impossible to say"

That sounds like scare-mongering. I bet they didn't give you any links or forum names.

Which ISP is it anyway? (It helps us advise others).

Did they supply the MAC? (That's the important bit!)

I too get the impression Plusnet may be a Mbps or so slower if you connect at the maximum speed, but not sure at those speeds that it is too relevant. The "Pro" option may do the job better in a few months time than BT Infinity, but I haven't seen any complaints here about it, despite what your ISP said.

What estimate are you getting from this checker?

A year ago there were several reports of some slowdowns. I think it was probably BT Wholesale didn't have enough backhaul in some parts of the country. Or it may have been BT Broadband didn't know where the demand would be so they weren't geared up correctly. But it seems to be sorted.

I'm in the same boat, though different requirements. I'm a light user and no torrents. Looking at the Infinity option 1 and Plusnet Value Fibre. It's almost a toss of the coin job, like yours. I've been on IDNet Fibre Lite for 12 months and can't justify the cost any more.

Edit - the "may" was missing in " option may do the job better".

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 04-Feb-12 22:06:03)

I've also been looking at fibre and considered plusnet but during peak time it would be slower than the broadband I had in 2002 (link - peak time 512kb/s P2P)

I don't download a lot but if I download a 300MB file I want it within 10 minutes, not in an hour or two. If I'm downloading overnight i don't need it to be fast, as long as its done by morning.

I'm waiting on Sky's fibre service which should launch a couple of months before fibre reaches my area.

Hi there and thank you for the quick response.

My current ISP is Xilo, which I have been very happy with on adsl max but there FTTC packages only have a 200 or 300gb FUP and I feel I could easily use that up with the faster speed of fibre.

I have requested the MAC but they advised it can take up to 5 working days to issue.

The results I get for FTTC are as follows :-

"Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a fibre technology with an estimated WBC FTTC Broadband where consumers have received downstream line speed of 40Mbps and upstream line speed of 20Mbps"

Kind regards

In reply to a post by rivageeza:

My current ISP is Xilo, which I have been very happy with on adsl max but there FTTC packages only have a 200 or 300gb FUP and I feel I could easily use that up with the faster speed of fibre.

But the most you can get on Plusnet is 120GB (8am-midnight), so that kind of rules them out.

In reply to a post by Kr1s69:

I've also been looking at fibre and considered plusnet but during peak time it would be slower than the broadband I had in 2002 (link - peak time 512kb/s P2P)

An extra £5 a month (Pro option) would eliminate this restriction.

In reply to a post by kasg:

In reply to a post by rivageeza:

My current ISP is Xilo, which I have been very happy with on adsl max but there FTTC packages only have a 200 or 300gb FUP and I feel I could easily use that up with the faster speed of fibre.

But the most you can get on Plusnet is 120GB (8am-midnight), so that kind of rules them out.

The 120gb peak usage won't be a problem as the majority of downloads will be performed overnight. Also I would go for the pro option without a doubt

Kind regards

Chris

Do BT infinity throttle torrents so bad that it would be like dial up speed or is it reasonable? And apart from that do people see line speed for everything else? is it literally just p2p traffic that is shaped?

Been on Infinity for 2 weeks now,I've been d/l p2p at between 1.5 and 4.5 Mb,Not much diff between Peak or Night time,been great for Me ( so far)

In reply to a post by pokchop1st:

Do BT infinity throttle torrents so bad that it would be like dial up speed or is it reasonable? And apart from that do people see line speed for everything else? is it literally just p2p traffic that is shaped?

Been on Infinity for 2 weeks now,I've been d/l p2p at between 1.5 and 4.5 Mb,Not much diff between Peak or Night time,been great for Me ( so far)

Is that your maximum download speed for anything or simply just p2p traffic?

Chris

Just in case you aren't aware, although the fibre is an 18-month contract, the Pro add-on is only monthly.

I think you can turn it on and have it working immediately, but not sure, so that would need checking if it is of interest. So depending on how occasional your "on occasion" is you might be able to go with that, then just before the end of the Pro month turn it off again.