Confusion on what is actually available - help please?

Hi everyone,

Okay, I am in the market for upgrading my BB and have spent most of the day researching many aspects of what is out there and available. First up some info about where I am etc:

I am currently with PlusNet (Premier Option2) - quite an old package and pretty expensive compared to what's out there at the moment, hence the desire to change. I have to say that I have enjoyed excellent service from PlusNet for nearly 7 years.

Calne (Wiltshire) exchange. According to SamKknows, I'm 890m from the exchange as the crow flies (and probably double that as the line goes). It further states that ADSL Max is enabled but ADSL 2+ is not. FTTC has limited availability but not to my house/phone (according to PlusNet and BT websites).

BT and PlusNet estimate that I should be able to get speeds up 7.5Mb which is consistent with ADSL Max. However, when checking other providers, they indicate much higher speeds would be available to me: -

Be - gives a range of 7.0 to 13.5 MB with an average of 10Mb
Sky - gives a range of 7.0 to 14.3 MB

Am I correct in thinking that ADSL2+ would be required to achieve speeds higher than 8Mb? And if this is the case, how does Be and Sky estimate above this speed on this exchange which apparently is not enabled??

If you want some more techie type detail, the following line stats obtained through my router might help:

Status: ShowtimeRetrain Reason: 0
Channel: INTR, Upstream rate = 448 Kbps, Downstream rate = 7616 Kbps
Link Power State: L0
Mode: G.DMT
Channel: Interleave
Trellis: OFF
Line Status: No Defect
Training Status: Showtime

SNR (dB): 6.9/24.0 (Down/Up)
Attn(dB): 29.0/18.0 (Down/Up)
Pwr(dBm): 19.8/11.9 (Down/Up)
Max(Kbps): 9120/1100 (Down/Up)
Rate (Kbps): 7616/448 (Down/Up)

The main reason I'm asking is that I don't really want to be committed to a new 12 or 18 month contract if I'm not going to get a decent speed increase. I'd rather wait a while for FTTC or FTTP to become available.

Thoughts and considerations from any of you guys greatly appreciated, especially if you can deal with my confusion over the speeds available from this exchange.

Regards

Ian

Sky and BE use there own equipment that supports ADSL2+ based on you're line stats you'll probably get 11-12mbps actual speed (15000ish sync)

No need for BT to get involved

though if you're exchange is enabled for fttc then BT/PN adsl2+ should be there aswell.

Edited by epyon (Sat 29-Oct-11 18:46:43)

Thanks for the quick reply epyon - it all makes sense now.

I guess I now have to decide on speed versus cost as I've pretty much narrowed it down to Sky and Be.

All the comparisons suggest Be customers get better speeds but Sky is cheaper and as I already have a tv package, it would open up Anytime+ which is an added bonus. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be too many Be customers in my area, so drawing direct comparisons is not easy!! Argghh!!!

Ian,

Your exchange is enabled for O2/Be LLU if the SamKnows info is correct. That is probably why Be gave you a range of 7.0 to 13.5 Mbps with an average of 10Mbps.

On the basis of that, any Be broadband deal might certainly be worth your while

Thanks 4M2,

I've just done yet more research and Sky does seem to be coming out the better deal at the moment.

Current costs: PlusNet BB £28.74, BT Line rental £13.29 + Call costs = £42.04 + calls

Sky BB Unlimited + Sky Talk Anytime = £21.00 rising to £24.50 after 6 months

BE Unlimited + Anytime call package = £36.00 per month

Added bonuses: Quidco £70.00 cashback on Sky upgrade to BB Unlimited for existing customers and I get Anytime+ with my Sky TV package.

It seems like a 'no brainer' to me and I've probably answered my own question, but is there anything I should know about Sky BB that might change my mind?

In reply to a post by epyon:

though if you're exchange is enabled for fttc then BT/PN adsl2+ should be there aswell.

It is quite common for the FTTC cabinet attached to a PCP, (phone cabinet), to be fibre-connected to a different exchange from the PCP. ie one that is WBC-enabled.

That's probably why only some areas of this exchange have FTTC. Cabinets than can be conveniently routed elsewhere for the fibre.

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 29-Oct-11 19:55:28)

Ian,

Be offer a 3 month contract I believe, not sure about any short term Sky deals, and you might get FTTC availability at some point. However if the tv side of things is important to you then for sure Sky is the best bet.

Or you could just change your current Plusnet deal to something less expensive, since you are on a Market 3 exchange, without the need to enter into a new contract with them - e.g. Plusnet extra (broadband only) at £11.49 for the first 3 months then £15.79 (or you could haggle and maybe get a good discount - especially if you mention that you need a MAC key) and no activation fee.

In reply to a post by celticbrue:

but is there anything I should know about Sky BB that might change my mind?

Yes, very important. Sky is Full LLU which means they take over the ownership of your phone line from BT, This makes it very difficult and prolonged if and when you want to move your BB to another provider, incl. FTTC, which necessitates getting your line back to BT. This does not happen with the other ISPs (Be is Partial LLU & PN is just BT anyway).

Thanks again 4M2 and XRaySpeX, especially the info about Sky being full LLU which could be a pain the backside if I ever did want to move. Quite likely if FTTC/P becomes available in the not too distant future.

PlusNet probably isn't an option if I want extra speed because (as XRay points out), they are just BT by another name these days and use BT's kit at the exchange. This means they are not enabled for ADSL2+. I will need one of the providers that have gone down the LLU route, either partially or fully in order to get the speed increase.

All I've got to do now is weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision - easy eh??!!!

Thanks again everyone

Ian

Ian,

A significant speed increase is not guaranteed though if you go for LLU - perhaps a 3 month contract with Be using a partial LLU service might be the way to go? Then if FTTC becomes available you wont have any problems with switching the line to BT.

I think that would be my choice but I'm not interested in Sky TV

He can get Be LLU through IDNet now, on a monthly contract at standard IDNet prices. (I assume the ADSL2+ ones). He may need to contact them as I only today found out about it and haven't looked into the details.

That looks good Bob

Wish I had that option instead of just TTB SMPF and MPF

Edit: http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,27...

Edited by 4M2 (Sun 30-Oct-11 21:46:57)