FTTC to FTTC migration cost

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or the Plusnet board.

I'm considering doing a broadband only FTTC -> FTTC migration to PN. Because I'm not interested in any of the PN phone packages I would have to pay them a £50 activation fee. This seems exorbitant given that I already have an OR modem installed.

I see in the BTW Feb 2013 WBC pricelist ( link ) at row 113 that an ISP would be charged £50 for an FTTC to FTTC migration.

However row 116 shows there is a price for an FTTC BTW CP to BTW CP migration of £11.

Surely this is what Plusnet should be charging for a move from another BTW WBC FTTC ISP but it does not appear to be available in PN's pricing?

I understand that it is my choice to move to PN or not but I feel that £50 is way over the top if they are only going to be charged £11 by BTW.

I did discuss this with PN Sales but the rep didn't have a clue what I was talking about.

NOTE: Mods, please move to PN board if you feel it more appropriate to be posted there.

Edited by Toxteth_OGrady (Tue 19-Feb-13 10:57:43)

Retail providers are free to charge what price market will support. Its less when you take phone as they can cross subsidise

Top username there Toxteth. Do you still hold the record for the world's stickiest bogie ?

the free migration for moving phone means little sense to me, what profit do they make on line rental £1 per month? and for that £50 migration absorbed?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Top username there Toxteth. Do you still hold the record for the world's stickiest bogie ?

Indeed - goes hand in glove with the 604 marshmallows!

they hope to capture some call revenue

Don't they provide a router worth £40 too? 11+40 = £51 so they are charging you £1 less than they should

In reply to a post by yarwell:

they hope to capture some call revenue

Do people still use landlines much now days? There needs to be a lot of calls to recuperate that £50. As not all call revenue will be profit either.

In reply to a post by Dilbert:

Don't they provide a router worth £40 too? 11+40 = £51 so they are charging you £1 less than they should

Not if you already have a better PPPoE router.

We don't , we did have anytime minutes on our landline, and I did away with that, which only leaves free evening and weekend calls to landlines. Now I've educated the wife to use her mobile we very rarely have any call charges, it's only when one of us forget we get the odd call charge. Plusnet changed the evening times from 18:00 to 19:00, so sometimes we do forget and use the landline before 7pm.

Shame I can't do away with the evening and weekend calls as well, or the phone entirely.

yes I have the same feeling, what happened to been able to have no inclusive calls at all on the landline?

On this subject its worth noting as well that the reason plusnet etc. even have the high base migration fee is that the wholesale fee is £50 even tho adsl migrations for the same process are nearer £10.

what happened to been able to have no inclusive calls at all on the landline

there are "line rental only" deals from several retailers.

Do people still use landlines much now days?

yep, they are often cheaper if you're calling another landline or an oddball number or overseas. PAYG mobile is expensive telephony.

In reply to a post by yarwell:

PAYG mobile is expensive telephony.

Even on contract, calling some companies is stupidly expensive thanks to 0845 numbers and being on hold. (and yes I know about saynoto0870.com).

If you have a BT landline and any smartphone, get BT SmartTalk. I loaded it a week ago and once you work out the settings you need it is brilliant.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

On this subject its worth noting as well that the reason plusnet etc. even have the high base migration fee is that the wholesale fee is £50 even tho adsl migrations for the same process are nearer £10.

Apparently the wholesale cost of BTW FTTC to BTW FTTC migrations is £11.

Edited by Toxteth_OGrady (Thu 21-Feb-13 22:08:10)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

If you have a BT landline and any smartphone, get BT SmartTalk. I loaded it a week ago and once you work out the settings you need it is brilliant.

Yes, I registered, saves having to find the old corded phone

I think that could be a mis-reading of the price list, or a very recent change.

The latter would make sense, as the "within WBC" migration process is almost certainly identical.

£13.20 in end-user terms of course.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I think that could be a mis-reading of the price list, or a very recent change.

The latter would make sense, as the "within WBC" migration process is almost certainly identical.

£13.20 in end-user terms of course.

Possibly, I'm only reading it from row 116 of the Feb 13 price list linked to in the OP. I have no other info.

nope its still £50, its even listed on that document ignition posted a couple of days back.

PAYG has improved a lot in recent years.

Contract mobiles give landline deals a run for their money.

eg. I pay O2 £13 a month for 800 minutes to any mobile, and unlimited 01/02/03 calls (not taken out of minutes).
O2 also have a new deal which is £20 a month for unlimited to landlines and mobiles but doesnt include 0845 0800.

So mobiles do currently lose on 0800 and 0845 no doubt but 0800 will be free soon as ofcom are changing the regulations. So it will just be 0845 left which often can get alternate numbers for. Indeed I now only use my landline for 0845/0800 rest is mobile.

PAYG is pricier per minute but factor in it has no line rental. For people who are low users PAYG should be cheaper than any line rental based product. I have a PAYG number which I havent made an outbound call on for nearly 2 years which I use for inbound calls. So not bad I got a number to use for no cost.

Edited by Chrysalis (Fri 22-Feb-13 00:45:26)

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

nope its still £50, its even listed on that document ignition posted a couple of days back.

That's the same document I linked to at the start of this thread. As I said in #1 it shows both a £50 and an £11 FTTC migration charge, depending on whether it's BTW --> BTW or not.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

So mobiles do currently lose on 0800 and 0845 no doubt but 0800 will be free soon as ofcom are changing the regulations. So it will just be 0845 left which often can get alternate numbers for. Indeed I now only use my landline for 0845/0800 rest is mobile.

Download BT SmartTalk to any smartphone. Apparently works away from home as well but I haven't tried that.

I pay £12 a month for 600 minutes and 1GB of data, wife pays £7.50 for 250 minutes and 250MB of data IIRC.

Both contracts were taken out with very good cashback deals, which I used to do each year, but now the monthly charge is low I can't be bothered with the hassle.

interesting although I have to take into account I need to make 2 calls every month only my BT line to get the caller display free which is something else to make a note off on landlines. VM/BT etc. have a habit of treating things like caller display, call waiting and ring back as extra chargeable features which are standard on my mobiles.