Down to Sky now.

I was in a similar position, our cabinet going live about a year ago but due to the long distance to the cabinet (about 3km) no-one wanted to offer us FTTC, least of all BT who we are currently with.

The checker has been showing availability for months (albeit at a rate similar to our ADSL speed):
VDSL Range A (Clean) 7.2 3.8 1.2 0.8 2.7 Available -- -- Yes --
VDSL Range B (Impacted) 4.9 1.6 1.1 0.5 1.2 Available -- -- Yes --
WBC ADSL 2+ Up to 6 -- 3 to 9 Available -- -- -- --
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M Up to 6 Up to 1 3 to 9 Available -- -- -- --
ADSL Max Up to 4.5 -- 2.5 to 7.5 Available -- -- -- --

Our ADSL regularly drops out and a couple of engineer visits have failed to improve reliability and speed frequently drops to 1mbsp or below. BT will only authorise a visit when it drops below 1mbps so although we should be and frequently do get 3+ I am thinking VDSL is worth a try.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that plusnet were offering FTTC so I have an order in with them due next week. I'm hopeful that VDSL will prove a little more reliable as the issues in the past have always turned out to be between the exchange and cabinet. Added to that plusnet will guarrantee 1.6 rather than 1.0. I'll probably get a lower top speed but if it is more reliable (and it will certainly be cheaper) then it's a win.

BTW, after my last experience of switching to FTTC where we were left without any internet for 3 weeks I have taken the chance to get a backup in place. I picked up an EE Mini WiFi for 4.99 from Currys and have it set up to route through my existing home network (only 20GB for a month, will cancel after that unless we are still having problems) and it is giving me 39mbps. Shame it doesn't give enough data for a permanent solution.

Update from Exec complaints is that they can see they can provide fibre but their system still says no. Waiting for a system update over the weekend and should be good to go for Monday.

If the fault that's on your ADSL connection lies in the part of the copper line between you and the cabinet, then it'll likely be passed on to your new VDSL connection. I'd be inclined to try and get the fault you have now on ADSL fixed, before moving onto VDSL, just in case.

Edited by deleted (Fri 15-Dec-17 21:06:23)

In reply to a post by WilliamGrimsley:

If the fault that's on your ADSL connection lies in the part of the copper line between you and the cabinet, then it'll likely be passed on to your new VDSL connection. I'd be inclined to try and get the fault you have now on ADSL fixed, before moving onto VDSL, just in case.

If you are referring to my line then the fault has always been indicated beyond the cabinet so if the local loop is a problem this will be one way to find out. BTW, ping times on my ADSL are around 125ms even when everything is workin which seems way too high - if nothing else I expect that to come down.

Just a quick follow up. Our FTTC connection went live this week, the phone line was switched from BT to Plusnet exactly on schedule (didn't notice any downtime) and the broadband was live just after midnight the same day. Since I had put a 4G service in place before the change day and removed it again last night the family haven't noticed that I have changed our provider yet which is a bonus.

As expected the speed is almost identical to the ADSL speed (sync at 3.2 in VDSL vs 4ish on ADSL but data rate also 3.2 in VDSL vs 2-3 in ADSL). That's before the line has had time to settle so I guess it may go up slightly but I'm not betting on it.

That might sound like a pointless move but the ping time has dropped from 125 to 21 so everything seems much more responsive and the uplink is also slightly faster. I live in hope that it will prove more stable, oh, and it's about £20 a month cheaper all in.

Another update. We have not had one single dropout of service since the VDSL went live in December.

Data rates have improved a little as the line settled and we now get a reliable 3.5-4.5mbps connection which is, if anything, slightly better than ADSL. Goes to show that being 3km from the cabinet does not necessarily rule out FTTC. We have had no streaming issues all over Christmas but the best things are no dropouts and faster ping times.