FTTP ISPs?

Hi all

I've tried searching around for the answer to this, but can't really find anything concrete - so wondered if you could help.

My building is lucky enough to have gotten an offer from both Openreach and Hyperoptic to install FTTP. Hyperoptic looks very good, but there is some concern that you are essentially locked into their retail regime forever.

However, having looked around regarding Openreach FTTP, the situation does not seem much better. I had assumed that any FTTC package would work on FTTP, but I'm not sure that is the case as no FTTC ISP website seems to mention it at all. Can anyone confirm this or not?

Separately, there don't seem to be many proper FTTP packages available apart from BT retail - and they don't even quote a price. Does anyone know what it costs? I know plusnet also are doing a trial, which seems to not be taking any more signups for the time being....

Any info appreciated.

Thanks
Richard

Why not Hyperoptic 1Gbps ?

Zen do FTTP but I do not know what their prices are. BT obviously do too, I believe their prices are the same as their FFTC offerings except of course for their 200 and 330 options. There are a couple of others but I cannot remember who.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Why not Hyperoptic 1Gbps ?

"but there is some concern that you are essentially locked into their retail regime forever"

Plusnet had been supporting FTTP (at the two main FTTC-like speeds) as a trial, which essentially meant they had to put you onto the products manually rather than through their standard order-processing system.

However, they recently stopped accepting new trialists, while keeping the old ones going. It isn't clear whether they don't think it is worth even the manual effort, or they're about to bring out a proper product.

In reply to a post by rathga:

Hi all

I've tried searching around for the answer to this, but can't really find anything concrete - so wondered if you could help.

My building is lucky enough to have gotten an offer from both Openreach and Hyperoptic to install FTTP. Hyperoptic looks very good, but there is some concern that you are essentially locked into their retail regime forever.

However, having looked around regarding Openreach FTTP, the situation does not seem much better. I had assumed that any FTTC package would work on FTTP, but I'm not sure that is the case as no FTTC ISP website seems to mention it at all. Can anyone confirm this or not?

Separately, there don't seem to be many proper FTTP packages available apart from BT retail - and they don't even quote a price. Does anyone know what it costs? I know plusnet also are doing a trial, which seems to not be taking any more signups for the time being....

Any info appreciated.

Thanks
Richard

AAISP Do FTTP and you don't even need a phone line with them.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Why not Hyperoptic 1Gbps ?

"but there is some concern that you are essentially locked into their retail regime forever"

Does that mean you're locked into 1Gbps down and 1Gbps up forever?
Where do I sign?

In reply to a post by rathga:

Hi all

I've tried searching around for the answer to this, but can't really find anything concrete - so wondered if you could help.

My building is lucky enough to have gotten an offer from both Openreach and Hyperoptic to install FTTP. Hyperoptic looks very good, but there is some concern that you are essentially locked into their retail regime forever.

However, having looked around regarding Openreach FTTP, the situation does not seem much better. I had assumed that any FTTC package would work on FTTP, but I'm not sure that is the case as no FTTC ISP website seems to mention it at all. Can anyone confirm this or not?

Separately, there don't seem to be many proper FTTP packages available apart from BT retail - and they don't even quote a price. Does anyone know what it costs? I know plusnet also are doing a trial, which seems to not be taking any more signups for the time being....

Any info appreciated.

Thanks
Richard

BT option locks you into BT, it's just that they supply it via other companies. You still need to have a phone line (or FVA, but few offer that), and whoever you go with you pay money to BT.

BT FTTP vs hyperoptic wouldn't even be a question to me.

I think the real problem, for a lot of people (and probably *most* people), is that they could no longer get their cheap broadband alongside their Sky TV subscription (like their current 2-year-free offer). Or change to TalkTalk when their promotional offer is better. Or switch again when they feel support is not good enough. Etc.

And remember that where KC offer Lightstream FTTP, they are finding that most people pick the cheapest package: 50/5 speeds, slower than BT's FTTC. They aren't looking for gigabit speeds now.

So, for most people, having an Openreach connection isn't perceived as being locked into BT. It is perceived as being open to many ISPs - no matter who they wholesale from - and that being open, allows them to choose from nationally-available cheap bundles.

Most people therefore vote against losing this free choice of bundles, rather than voting for Hyperoptic's gigabit option (or similar) - especially as most wouldn't go for the expensive top speed option anyway.

For most people, the choice you are asking them to make is "cheap now, fast enough now, but too slow in a decade" vs "expensive now, too fast now, but still fast enough in a decade." Pretty much all of them stop after reading "cheap now".

Hyperoptic do have slower and cheaper packages for those who aren't chasing absolute speed of course.

Hi all

Many thanks for the replies so far.

The only ISP that has been mentioned that does FTTP seems to be AAISP, which seems very expensive looking at their website. And Plusnet, who no longer are accepting orders at the moment, and KC which is area specific. Are there any others that people are aware of?

WWombat: you seem to infer that people can get FTTC services over FTTP, but I'm not sure that is the case. Do you know? Note that we do not have FTTC in our area as we do not have any cabinets, so the choice for us is Hyperoptic or Openreach FTTP, or (extremely poor quality) ADSL.

Thanks
Richard

Richard

I'm on the Plusnet FTTP trial and the prices charged are the same as for FTTC at either 80/20 or 40/20. However as mentioned above, Plusnet are no longer accepting new FTTP clients and have not mentioned their plans for the future.

BTR charge the same as for FTTC on their 80/20 or 40/10 options.


George

Can confirm that if you order a 40/10 or 80/20 product in an Openreach FTTP area then wholesale price is the same, whether providers do the same is down to them.

In reply to a post by rathga:

WWombat: you seem to infer that people can get FTTC services over FTTP, but I'm not sure that is the case. Do you know?

Take care to distinguish the service from the technology carrying the service.

So, in an FTTP area, you will get your superfast service provided by FTTP technology, and will not get it provided by FTTC technology.

Then, when you order your service, you will (should) be given choices that depend on the technology available. If you have FTTC available, you can be offered services with the underlying speeds of 40/2, 40/10 or 80/20.

If, however, you have FTTP available, then you will also be offered a choice from the same services that are available via FTTC plus some extra services that are faster and more expensive.

When carried by FTTP, the services that offer the same speeds as under FTTC have the advantage that the speed is not affected by distance.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

For most people, the choice you are asking them to make is "cheap now, fast enough now, but too slow in a decade" vs "expensive now, too fast now, but still fast enough in a decade." Pretty much all of them stop after reading "cheap now".

The assertion that the current last-mile technologies are going to be "too slow in a decade" is a conjecture, and a woefully unsupported one. For something that works now to become "too slow" an application has to become popular which needs the extra bandwidth. Essentially the only thing that drove the present expansion to 10+ Mbps is live streaming video, whether in the form of Skype video calls or watching TV and movies.

Video resolutions may increase, gradually. But that's a race against the codec researchers, who will be packing the same quality into fewer bits every year. When I first had Gigabit Internet access almost twenty years ago you needed 10-15Mbps to stream mediocre full screen video from a pre-recorded source. A few years later DVD was doing the same at higher resolutions in 6-10Mbps. Today everybody owns devices that live stream better quality higher resolution at 4-6Mbps.

Actually, I agree totally.

The "too slow next decade" was a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference to the slogan used by the "fibre to all is the only solution" brigade.