is the plusnet ipstream any good??

as the title,i have not got an llu option so can only get ipstream

just wondering how it fairs? i here the o2 one is poor

thank you

It's fine for normal browsing and streaming (iPlayer for example) and gaming is fine on the right package
Other protocols are throttled depending on the package and type - see here for a package comparison http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/plusnet_shaping2.htm
To an extent it depends on what you use it for and what is your normal monthly usage.
One thing to be aware of on IPstream (from all suppliers) as compared to LLU is the dreaded IPprofile which can be a [censored] on an unstable line

hi thanks for replying

it will be used for just browsing maybe a little youtube,email,,no p2p and about 2-3 hours a day.

the ipprofile,not sure what that is but would it cause slowing down

thanks

As oldjim says, in a few circumstances Plusnet can be good, but an 18-month contract is an awful commitment if it isn't right for you.

See their throttling details here, more politely called traffic management.

O2 Access varies hugely. They keep getting oversubscibed so it goes bad, then they get more kit and it is possibly the best (but not cheap) IPStream on the market for a few weeks, then they get more customers and rubbish again. There is the advantage of a 30-day getout period.

The important things, as oldjim says, are what you use the net for and how much you download and upload per month.

For under 20GB per month then Newnet are top of the pile. Above 20GB per month they get pricey so the ones to look at are IDNet, Zen and AAISP.

Depending on your type of usage and budget there may be a couple of others to look at, but try those for starters.

Here's a comparison of them all, plus BT for info, and minus O2 because the LLU and Access are grouped together so it is useless as a measure of either.

nice post,,the newnet one how much would the 3gb get??,im looking at 2-3 hours surfing a day and email say i can send 10-15 a wk,,no gaming,no p2p or downloading music/films etc,maybe an odd mp3,,like 2-5 month...

it was only reason i was lookin at plunet with the 10gb for all of the above.

but the 18 months is long,but not if it works and isnt one the goes to a standstill

ps noticed the traffic shapping isnt for the surfing,so it shouldnt affect me

thank

I would normally wave the +Net flag here. I'm pretty satisfied with service I get, but I do not have the burden of a lengthy contract if things go wrong. Heed the words of RobertoS and OldJim before you make a final decision.

Good luck

I used to be on Newnet 3GB and it was fine for 18 months. The difference between me and you is I do a lot of browsing and posting on these forums but no mp3 downloads.

I began to hit my 3GB limit, so had to buy a couple of topups. In those days the topup system wasn't quite so good as they didn't carry over if unused, but now they do. Also the short unmetered night period wasn't there.

O2 LLU was on my exchange and by using a rubbish (for away from home) mobile phone I was able to get a free O2 SIM, top up by £10 once every three months giving me 500 free minutes in month 1 and the topup to use in m2 and m3 - so nearly zeroising my BT calls bill - and get LLU unlimited for £7.50 (now vat-adjusted £7.34) per month. The 12-month contract scared me but I had a 50-day getout clause. So I jumped. Unfortunately this option isn't open to you .

I suggest you try either Newnet Home Lite or Newnet Home M for a few months and see how it goes. Take the monthly contract option and you can always change again to Plusnet, whereas you cannot move from Plusnet to Newnet for 18 months!

If you do go to Newnet it depends how much you want to bother checking how your usage is going. Home M should far exceed your current requirement, but Lite may be all you need. There is a fairly complex (at first) system for buying topups that means if you are happy checking your usage now and then you may very well be fine with that plus occasional pre-buys and still be cheaper than Home M. And the excess charge for not pre-buying is not a lot more anyway, and through the control panel you can control how much over-allowance usage you are willing to pay for in a month as well. There is an automatic emailing system to warn you at 75% and a few times after as well, though it doesn't seem to be totally reliable.

Having said all that - as a convinced Newnet fan/believer which you need to take into consideration - Newnet is in my opinion the better of the two, but Plusnet is definitely the best alternative. You should only be looking at these two, from what you have said so far.

IP Profile is a banding system that BT use on the IPStream wholesale product. As far as I know its only purpose is to make it easier for their computers to allocate bandwidth across their network.

It is a total PITA to users, but you cannot get away from it. Getting away from profiling is one of the major benefits of LLU.

This is one reasonable explanation of how it works.

If you have a poor line so you get frequent disconnections, particularly at night, then IP Profiling is really bad news. If your line stays connected with no problem for days the profiling doesn't really affect you - unless there is a thunderstorm in which case you can suffer very low speeds for up to 5 days. There is nothing you can do about it though, unless you can afford to buy BT and change the system.

Regarding your line, many people get several hundred kbps higher connection speed by following this FAQ. Two or three users I have recommended this to have gained over 2Mbps connection speed. The effect is very similar to buying and fitting a BT iPlate. (From the broadband side this is better than the iPlate unless you are using a plug-in phone extension cable, from the phone side the iPlate may have a slight but normally irrelevant advantage).

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 05-Jun-09 23:41:50)

The only point I would add to this is that if your usage is under 15GB per month (or only a bit more) and you are on a Market 3 Exchange then the Plusnet product "Value" at £5.99 per month and £2 per 2GB block over that, but with no carry over, is very attractive

Edited by deleted (Sat 06-Jun-09 10:19:06)

He can't get any LLU from what he says in the OP, therefore it cannot be Market 3. I was talking specifically about the options for him, not a general assessment .