Help! Is a move to fibre worth it for me?

Hi...

With BT standard broadband for years. Due to the length of line from the exchange - I only get ~6.5Mb down / -0.9MB up.

Constantly bombarded by junk mail from BT (and others) pushing fibre - so looking at whether it's worth it. However - on trying to purchase - BT site telling me it's not available (... due to length of line).

So... if I were to jump to fibre (I can order it from the likes of plusnet / sky etc) - I take it I would always be hamstrung by my line length from exchange? So - whilst I may have a faster connection at the exchange - the length of the copper wires to the house mean performance will always be bad?

So - no point moving to Fibre? Right?

For FTTC it is the distance to the cabinet that is the issue rather than the exchange. For most people the cabinet is much closer and therefore provides a shorter copper distance. For some the cabinet is a long way away (and for a few the cabinet is outside the exchange).

Use this link with your phone number and post what stats it says around FTTC. That will give us a better idea of what the speeds might be.

If I'm reading that right - doesn't that suggest Fibre speeds are about the same as what I'm currently getting?

Table of results here : http://imgur.com/a/yLAUn

Wording below the table results :

For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

This line is on a Market B Exchange.

For VDSL or G.fast Ranges A and B, the term "Clean" relates to a line which is free from any wiring issues (e.g. Bridge Taps) and/or Copper line conditions, and the term "Impacted" relates to a line which may have wiring issues (e.g. Bridge Taps) and/or Copper line conditions.

In order to be eligible for handback, downstream speed should be less than Downstream Handback Threshold values.

Throughput/download speeds will be less than line rates and can be affected by a number of factors within and external to BT's network, Communication Providers' networks and within customer premises.

The Stop Sale date for Datastream is from 30-Jun-2012; the Formal Retirement date for Datastream is from 30-Jun-2014. The Stop Sale date for IPstream is from 31-Mar-2014; the Formal Retirement date for IPstream is from 30-Jun-2014.

If the End User wishes to migrate from their current Broadband supplier they will need to contact the Broadband supplier they want to take service from to arrange for the service to be migrated.

Please note that postcode and address check results are indicative only. Most accurate results can be obtained from a telephone number, NAD, UPRN or Access Line ID (ALID) check.
Note: If you decide to place an order for a WBC fibre product, an appointment may be required for an engineer to visit the end user's premises to supply the service.

Looking at that table and your current speeds for ADSL2+, they're above what the table says already, which may be a good indication.
I don't really think you'll get a huge speed boost, but even if you get something in the middle of the Clean VDSL2 range you'll still be better off than your current connection, with the potential of getting even more.
Unless the price difference bothers you, I'd say it's worth trying at least. Any chance you can go for a 30-day rolling contract to try it, or no more than a year at most? A fair few providers will state a minimum contractual (line) speed, that may help as a get-out card as well.

A bit quicker but not massively so. It appears you are probably a long way from the cab. That page will tell you what cabinet it is and on what exchange and others on here could probably tell you exactly where the cab is if you want to confirm it is indeed a long way away.

Thanks - its what I was thinking. Digging out the cabinet number - it's actually just across the street from my house (literally a few meters) - so it's worth a shot.

Its a rare scenario but one that is possible.

VDSL2 (fibre speed) does drop off quicker over distance compared to ADSL2+, this is because the higher frequencies do not travel so well down the copper wire.

The suggestion is that you are around 1.5 to 2km from the actual cabinet and the exchange itself is maybe another 1km or so away

If that is the case then the checker is wrong by a massive margin or that box is not your cabinet e.g. could be a sub cabinet (rare but they do exist in a few places)

Possibly just a database error. You can use the address checker (full address, enter the postcode and select from the drop down list) to look at your neighbours and see if theirs are the same as yours.

These sorts of errors are more common (if it is an error) if the cabinet was an infill cab as checker systems sometimes get messed up, if poster wants to private message cabinet/exchange will see what we have for the cabinet and its location