Which ISP - Migrating from Plusnet

Afternoon,

I have been with plusnet since 2004 and I am in need of a change. They have always been reliable, however I have never been able to get decent speeds using peer to peer or usenet, which I am sure plusnet is throttling these types of downloads (Speed tests show that I can download at around 6 mb/s.).

Due to the speed issues I rarely download anything, however for the first time I have reached my useage this month of 15 gig, apparently 75% of that is from streaming (I watch a lot of sports).

My local exchange (http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/ESDUN) has BT Wholesale as the only supplier.

I am looking for a new ISP with a 20 - 30 gig allowance for around £20 per month.

It seems that Entanet is the best option? However, it also seems that there are a lot of issues with them at the moment. If I went with Entanet would I get the same issues as BT Wholesale would be providing the network?

I am a bit of a noob how all this works.

Thanks.

Your options are:

- upgrade to Plusnet Pro to get away from the traffic-shaping then add extra bandwidth;
- go to Entanet but yes you will get all the problems that you see there at the moment as all Entanet connections are BT Wholesale;
- go to O2 Access but due to a sudden influx from Entanet that doesn't seem to be coping very well just now;
- Newnet Home S on the monthly contract, but the 20GB includes upload and extra is expensive;
- wait a bit and possibly buy a bit extra bandwidth for a couple of months to see what happens to Entanet and O2 Access.

I recommend either the first ot the last of those. If you are already on Plusnet Pro then start complaining bitterly, if you haven't already done so.

I wouldn't bother with Etanet at the moment I am with them and I am getting modem speeds for downloads. It is a waste of time and money.
I am looking at BE* asa possibility.

That doesn't add to what I said . And the OP can't look at Be*.

Well, can look but not go there.

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I am looking for a new ISP with a 20 - 30 gig allowance for around £20 per month.

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You won't go wrong with either Zen or IDNet.

That means spending £25 per month. That's a 25% price increase.

IDNet.
Zen.

That's what you pay for 20 - 30 GB with an unthrottled connection with no traffic shaping, which is the criteria.

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for around £20 per month

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So is that a criterion.

It depends what is most important to the OP. To most people money is.

But the two you suggest are well worth considering.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 19-Jan-09 10:15:58)

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for around £20 per month

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That criteria would mean about £15 to £25 a month, that is around £20 a month.
I would recommend IDNET, no shaping, throttling or any other controls whatsoever.

Well, if around means + or - 25%. Not what I call close .

Anyway, as I said, useful suggestions. It's up to the OP now. He could move to one of those two for a while and see if O2 or Entanet improve later, as he would only be on a monthly contract.

Thanks guys

I think £25 is a bit too much for me at the moment, its £10 a month more than I am paying at the moment, although obviously you get what you pay for.

I don't mond having a lower download limit to be honest, 15 gig has been fine for me for the last year or so. I will just have to curtail some of the wierd sports that I watch.

With all these people unhappy with entanet you have to think that a lot of the heavy downloaders will leave? Hopfully speeding it up as a result.

I have my Mac code now.. hmm.

Have you got Sky TV. If so, get their broadband.

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Have you got Sky TV. If so, get their broadband.

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I have got Sky TV but can't get their broadband in my area.

I have gone with adsl24, hopefully the speed problems will be sorted out by 13/2/09, if not then I will move on after the month.

Thanks all for the help.

A good choice of reseller, and the complaints seem to have died down over the last 24 hours.

Next week will be interesting as four of the six Centrals are being shut down so all their users will be on IPSC. It will be a fairly straight fight between the ALT system and the bandwidth Entanet are willing to pay for.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 21-Jan-09 22:10:31)

RobertoS,

Are the problems at O2 solely with the IPStream Access product or has the influx of the Entanet mob also clogged up the LLU service that you are on.

I am looking at O2 Standard for a friend who is currently on PlusNet Legacy PayG using about 3GB amonth. Is there anything in your experience which says "don't do it!"

How was the migration from NewNet to O2? Did you simply get a MAC and pass it to O2? Was there a Cessation charge? What happens if you want to migrate back to IPStream? .... would you need to pay a connection charge?

Taking your questions in order:-

LLU is fine, though slightly affected in my case in the last three or four days. Although at non-heavy times I still get my expected 5.9-6.1Mbps I can at some times be as low as 5.1Mbps. As in the past, Be have announced that network enhancements are on their way and these have always happened.

The last lot were in mid-December and would have been based on growth trends continuing as normal. The Entanet influx is bound to have upset that forecast.

Prior to the last lot Access was suffering as well and improved at the same time, presumably as something the other side of the servers from users got upgraded. Anyone's guess on that this time, but not relevant to your friend.

So I would say he/she should join O2.

Reasons for leaving Newnet.

Migration details here, including getting a free SIM.

If I ever leave which on current form is unlikely, (but like most people saying that about their ISP things can change quickly - I used to say the same about Newnet, but my usage suddenly started growing), by then IPSream will probably be dead and the packages on WBC and WMBC could have different joining terms. In any case, at the moment Newnet at least still have a one-month contract and no joining charge from LLU and there may be others, and freeola still have a low charge.

In any case, with the money saved on O2 I see no drawback if I have to pay a joining fee to a new ISP if necessary.

On O2 LLU (Standard) even with no huge speed gain the freedom from even thinking about how much I have used in the month is a great relief, and the absence of the IP Profile pain after a slightly low sync and then four or five days for it to recover is sheer bliss.

Initially I was using the O2 Box. That was fine - giving me higher speeds 24/7 than IPStream/Newnet, but lower in the evenings and night than day-time as I always got a re-sync due to noise and lost about 300-400kbps. Recovered immediately by re-sync'ing manually next morning.

I have now got a NetGear 834N and can tweak that to give even higher speeds, as above, and been sync'ed since 10am 5 Jan.

Thank you for that RobertoS. Very comprehensive tips for the migration especially the Quidco rebate.

He has requested his MAC and a Free SIM from O2 so he is on his way...

Many thanks, R

From the allowance point of view, Entanet would fit the bill. From the speed point of view, enta do not traffic shape the same way that plusnet does. Enta throttle speeds when nodes or centrals start to reach capacity to avoid packet loss, and they will apply that throttle to whatever extent they need to, to achieve that goal in avoiding packet loss. Usually this kicks in when peak hours end, 10:00pm (that might change), but it can be applied at any time, it just depends on what the demands on the system are.

You would be subject to the same issues as others have experienced, should they re-occur.
If you are really are getting stuck for allowance, then enta might be the answer. If you can wait for the dust to settle, see what happens, plusnet are in the process of ordering additional capacity.

Edited by oleo (Thu 22-Jan-09 15:47:36)

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You would be subject to the same issues as others have experienced, should they re-occur.
If you are really are getting stuck for allowance, then enta might be the answer. If you can wait for the dust to settle, see what happens, plusnet are in the process of ordering additional capacity.

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If you are considering these options, definitely wait a bit if you can before deciding. Enta are in bit of a mess at the moment, and there are changes coming next month that we aren't allowed to know the details of yet and PlusNet are getting extra capacity which might imply package changes too, so waiting a month or so to see how it all turns out would be a good idea.