FTTC; Competition or does the BT monopoly remain?

My tax pounds have contributed to the arrival of FTTC in my area, at last, installed by BT Openreach. Promptly, BT retail are now offering Infinity 1 & 2. Ever hopeful, I contacted my own provider, Plusnet, to enquire about upgrading my line. I was told I would have to wait a while because, naturally, BT would offer the upgrades to its own customers first.
Is this how it should work, or simply how it does work - because our regulator is ineffective? Please put me in the picture.

Load of rubbish.

If BT Consumer can sell it then the full BT Wholesale gamut of providers can sell it. Sky and TalkTalk are sometimes a week or two slower due to the need to order the fibre link at the exchange.

More likely the news of the upgrade had not trickled down to PlusNet, if https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html says it is available then PlusNet can supply.

If that link says its not available then BT Consumer is lying.

Try going in through the online side. (Check out TopCashBack and Quidco for deals first, and if you go through one of them either use a different browser or clear cookies immediately before the ordering run).

Edit - Cashback sites irrelevant, sorry. But have you logged into your Member Centre and checked for the upgrade facility?

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 26-Sep-14 23:04:52)

As others have said you should be able to order ... my cabinet went live 29/3/2013, I placed an FTTC order with Plusnet on the 30/3/2013.

In reply to a post by MikeVybiral:

Ever hopeful, I contacted my own provider, Plusnet, to enquire about upgrading my line.

Not that it's completely relevant; PlusNet is owned by BT, so I see this as the opposite to monopoly.

In any case they are talking absolute rubbish (Was going to use a stronger word). All ISPs (Including BT Retail) who offer the FTTC product more or less order their FTTC products from BT Wholesale. If one ISP can order a connection for a customer on FTTC then all ISPs can.

Sounds like the guy on the other end of the phone needs more training to put it politely.

It may be their database is slow to update as-well. What does the BT Wholesale checker say?

service provdiers are give the same information arounf enabled Cabs as the same time (this will only be once the Cab has been handed over byu openreach)-- its then a docusssion with your ISP (assumeing it sells FTTC)

Edited by deleted (Sat 27-Sep-14 21:22:29)

In reply to a post by Fastman2:

service provdiers are give the same information arounf enabled Cabs as the same time (this will only be once the Cab has been handed over byu openreach)-- its then a docusssion with your ISP (assumeing it sells FTTC)

Edited by Fastman2 (Sat 27-Sep-14 21:22:29)

That's after editing?

Ye gods!!