Best FTTC Providers?

I'm currently on O2 broadband with 17meg speeds and my downloads are still really slow and the internet connection is just [censored] (despite being close to the exchange).

I'm looking to change and I really want a fast connection and see that FTTC is available for me on BT and Plusnet saying I can get about 31Mb. And Virgin saying I can get upto 100Mb packages.

I'm not that clued up on FTTC and these providers (is Virgins service the same as BT Infinity FTTC or is it different tech?) and whether they would be good.

I download quite a lot so i'd prefer unlimited downloads too.

Ideally im looking for a Internet+Phone package and i'd like to get the best I can but not spend much more than £30-40/month (inc line rental).

Any suggestions on what is good and what I should be looking for?

What o2 package do you have?

if its the newer ones they have heavy traffic management

anyways

FTTC and Virgins cable is different

FTTC uses VDSL2 and Virgin cable uses DOCSIS 3.0

I would go for FTTC since its upload speed is way better

and BT are rolling out a 80/20 plan next year

also virgins 50-100Mbps service you're stuck using there "super hub" which is horrbile compared to the homehub.

BT Infinity option 2 seems the best for money

though has a bit of traffic managment on p2p.

Edited by epyon (Thu 10-Nov-11 14:52:43)

thanks for the quick response! i thought they were different and i was leaning towards the FTTC.

Im on the newer packages (The Works?) because i just moved revently, but its been terrible since I moved.

Which provider would you recommend for FTTC, is BT good? I'm just worried with their prices as their line rental is almost £15 once it goes up next month and their package price is also going up so it's looking like it'll be atleast £45 which is I think the most out of all.

This is probably a silly question but does FTTC work well on wireless because i was reading the Virgin cable thing about it not being as good unless wired up so i wondered if FTTC is similar?

Sorry I missed that you said BT looks the best value. Is the traffic management quite a lot and is it only on P2P then?

From what everyone says its only p2p thats effected though its potluck it can still be pretty quick i've seen people get full speed for p2p at "peak times"

there is eclipse fibre that does unlimited with no shaping but its like £55 + line rental...

Edited by epyon (Thu 10-Nov-11 15:01:08)

Thank you again!

do you know how plusnet is? i read that it runs the same as BT Infinity but is cheaper?

They have either

40GB peak usage or 120GB peak usage

then its unlimited from 12am - 8am.

They also offer a "pro" add-on which takes away all traffic shaping.

Wireless is something you have to be careful about even on ADSLx, because it is very subject to the capabilities of the router and other routers in the vicinity. For instance, we always recommend that when doing a speed test (that matters), people use a wired connection.

With the higher speeds of VDSL2 (FTTC) and Virgin cable, the quality of your wireless setup becomes more important.

A great tool for seeing what is around is InSSIDer. It might even help you on O2, by letting you find a good channel.

do you know what plusnet are like as a provider? i've not heard much about them so im just worried about their quality of service.

If plusnet works out cheaper im trying to work out of its worth going with them or sticking with BT for service.

As for wireless, thanks for the info, I use something similar at the moment for macs which gives info of surround wireless connections. I change my channel occasionally but it doesnt seem to make that much difference to my internet, or I probably dont understand what all the information the program is telling me about my channel in order to know what a better channel would be to change to.

Plusnet only do 2Mbps uploads at the moment.

They seem to be best of the cheaper ones, certainly good value for money. If I had to choose between BT and Plusnet I would possibly choose Plusnet. They are certainly not "bad".

Have you seen the traffic management details? At least they tell you them, which BT don't, and you can take the Pro option on a monthly basis to avoid them if you find they are a nuisance.