In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I don't see where your TalkTalk figure comes from at all. Their website is far from easy. It looks to me to be more than you have found.

Are you not interested in what Quidco or TopCashBack might come up with?

Talktalk £ is what I get when simulating the order, but now the website is looping and I can't even check availability lol.

Not interested in cashback at all, thanks.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

While you can pay in the £200 region for your own VDSL router, basic modem devices are cheaper and can pair with an router that accepts an Ethernet WAN connection, the price of that router depending on how fast you want the wireless side to be.

TP-LINK Archer VR900 AC 1900 (VDSL modem included) is £115 now, but there is no other choice at the price.

Is there a thread or a list of recommended VDSL modems? I'd like to get AC wireless, but no more than £100

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I always try to compare like with like. So for example I would spread the £50 Plusnet setup across the first year when comparing with other first-year costs. £4.17pm.

Just curious, but is the setup fee payable even when migrating FTTC service?
If so, it seems unjustified to me.

Something tells me some have had variable experience with the Archer in terms of VDSL2.

Standard recommendation is

TP Link W9970 at £33 running in bridge mode i.e. wireless and router off so just a modem linked to something like the TP Link Archer C8 at £66 down from its usual £115 and is a fast dual-core CPU device which is better for fast VDSL2 PPPoE based connections.

In the email from BT is there not a link to a personalised offer?

It gave me the choice of infinity 1 for £10 or infinity 2 for £17.50 (both need line rental added)

If I was to leave I'd have gone to plusnet for both line rental and calls via topcashback.co.uk.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Something tells me some have had variable experience with the Archer in terms of VDSL2.

Standard recommendation is

TP Link W9970 at £33 running in bridge mode i.e. wireless and router off so just a modem linked to something like the TP Link Archer C8 at £66 down from its usual £115 and is a fast dual-core CPU device which is better for fast VDSL2 PPPoE based connections.

Thank you very very much.
That's a great configuration! £33 for a VDSL router, looks like a joke

I think I am going for Talk Talk if BT cannot offer anything better. I will take the risk of their not so good customer support. As said earlier and specified here, they do not apply any traffic shaping at all.
PlusNet is not so clear on this, and I am an heavy streaming/downloading/uploading user.

In reply to a post by Kr1s69:

In the email from BT is there not a link to a personalised offer?

It gave me the choice of infinity 1 for £10 or infinity 2 for £17.50 (both need line rental added)

If I was to leave I'd have gone to plusnet for both line rental and calls via topcashback.co.uk.

I would stay in BT for £17.50 on Infinity 2, that's a great deal actually. No link to personalised offer, they told me they are increasing prices!

In reply to a post by olivercer:

TP-LINK Archer VR900 AC 1900 (VDSL modem included) is £115 now, but there is no other choice at the price.

Is there a thread or a list of recommended VDSL modems? I'd like to get AC wireless, but no more than £100

Just to add to this thread, I contacted TP Link UK sales regarding VDSL Modem routers (with the ability to add guess access) and got this reply.

Thank you for your interest in TP-Link Products.

For high end VDSL router, Please have a look at http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/cat-15_Archer... , Price on Amazon is around £195
For middle tier VDSL router, Please have a look at http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/cat-15_Archer... , Price on Amazon is around £100
For entry level VDSL router, Please have a look at http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/cat-15_TD-W99... , Price on Amazon is around £33

The "low end" is a TP Link WD9970 which retails anything around £30. I am tempted to start with one of these BUT I may go with a Archer VR600 (AC1600) which is around £100. My argument with getting a standalone VDSL router/modem is that you can configure and monitor it!

Yes.

Basically the extortionate line rentals of the big ISPs subsidise the broadband. Remove that from your contract and they make far less money from you, so do all they can to (a) recoup that in other ways, and (b) discourage you in this sort of way from not taking line rental.

Sky and TalkTalk only allow you not to have their line rental in very special circumstances. BT Consumer don't advertise a broadband product detached from their line rental but I believe they do have one - Solus. I've no idea what the pricing structure for that is.

In reply to a post by olivercer:

PlusNet does cap speed using rate limits based on activities

Not really. It's more like a QoS system. It ensures your most latency critical activities aren't impacted by other things you are doing. So if you're playing a game and someone else in your house kicks off a download PN's systems will (if/as needed) limit the download stream to ensure that your game playing doesn't suffer. From their description it sounds like this is applied both individually and across their entire network.

For an individual connection it sounds like a good idea. Without that system in place your gaming stream will have to fight with the other resident's download stream and you may find yourself struggling. Of course the person doing the download will be happier as they will get a marginally faster download rate.

For the entire network I'm not sure. I suppose it means that if a significant number of PN customers are doing latency critical things those downloading might notice poor performance. But I've been a customer for over two years now and have enough trust in their network planning to be happy that either the system rarely has to do anything or else the way it works is transparent.