John Lewis or BT in rural area (no fibre)

Hi. I have just joined the group as I am looking for some advice.

I live in a rural area without fibre broadband. Have been with BT for several years and have just come to the end of my broadband contract. Was about to recontract when I saw on a comparison site that John Lewis do a much cheaper offer (£19 / month vs around £25 for BT, plus free evening & weekend calls from landline which is useful as we also have poor mobile signal indoors). The question is, will my internet speeds and wifi signal be worse than with BT? Five people in the house including one gamer so getting the best speed that we can under the circumstances is important. JL quote a range of 6-13 Mbps for my area. BT quote 7-14 Mbps - why should these be different? I sometimes get higher than this though, 15 or 16 if I run a speed test. Part of me wants to just try JL and see, but the 14 day cooling off period expires the same day as the JL connection starts so there's no trial period. Minimum speed guarantee is a paltry 2.5 Mbps which means it has to be virtually unusable before you can leave in contract without paying a hefty cancellation charge so it could be an expensive mistake if I end up getting the lower range of the speed estimate.

Currently have a BT smart hub. John Lewis customer service told me that they use a Zyxel VMG8924. Does anyone know how this compares to the BT smart hub (which is locked to BT) for wifi signal?

Thank you in advance for your help. I'm not technologically-minded so please be gentle!

The ADSL2+ side should not change in speed, unless the modem is poorer or better than the Smart Hub. Hard to give any definitive answer as so many variables involved.

John Lewis is a white label Plusnet service, so same connection as Plusnet just different hardware and possibly different customer service levels

The speed quotes differ because of interpretation of the data, one might be playing it safe, the other optimistic, or it might be a reflection of a bigger slow down to be expected at peak times, impossible to say with certainty.

If the gaming is as tolerable i.e. good for the speeds and latency you have then I'd pay the bit extra and say with the devil I know, rather than risk things.

John Lewis may be cheaper than Plustnet in areas served by small exchanges where Plusnet charge more.

Thank you. My teenage son is saying the same. As I understand it, JL won't be faster and there's a good chance it could be slower because of traffic management protocols and / or inferior modem/ router. Shame, as that £40 John Lewis voucher for signing up, is dangling tantalisingly in front of me. If it was just me, I'd change. Roll on fibre broadband - expected sometime in the next 5 years...

Yes, plusnet was more than BT.

If you think that you might be happier staying with BT, don't be afraid to tell them about the other offers and cashback deals, and ask them if they can offer you a better deal.

They do have some flexibility to offer discounts if you are out of contract and are prepared to sign up for another fixed period deal, as you would have to with a new supplier anyway. However, do bear in mind that BT have recently introduced higher annual increases in monthly charges, CPI+3.9% I think?

Edited by sparky_paul (Sat 14-Nov-20 16:39:51)

If you sometimes get 15Mbps on an ADSL line I'd stay with your current supplier.
ISP changing can be a nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

In reply to a post by chud51161:

If you sometimes get 15Mbps on an ADSL line I'd stay with your current supplier.
ISP changing can be a nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

How many of the people that change ISP have problems, please?

In reply to a post by chud51161:

ISP changing can be a nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

I think you have that wrong.

In reply to a post by GonePostal:

In reply to a post by chud51161:

If you sometimes get 15Mbps on an ADSL line I'd stay with your current supplier.
ISP changing can be a nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

How many of the people that change ISP have problems, please?

everyone i know complete nightmares