FTTP ISPs

BT are currently installing the fibre/pole drops for FTTP around my street, I havn't looked into the ISP situation for atleast a couple years now. Last I heard ISPs can provision 40/80mb VDSL over FTTP aswell, is that the case?

If not, guess I'm stuck with BT or Plusnet for a reasonable ~£50/month service?

Cheers!

It is not VDSL over FTTP, but the equivalent speeds for the same price.

So you can order BT Infinity 1 or 2 depending on what speed you want, and there will be no slow downs due to line length.

PlusNet offer connectivity, but you might have to chase them, as they've not fully launched their FTTP options.

In effect for the consumer the only provider is BT Retail http://www.thinkbroadband.com/isp/bt.html

So Infinity 1 at £23/month with up to 38 Mbps
Infinity 2 at £26/month at up to 76 Mbps
and as its FTTP an extra two options exist
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/broad...
160 Mbps
and
300 Mbps around £50/month

Thanks, by VDSL I meant being able to order a FTTC service with a FTTP enabled line - so in theory any ISP with FTTC services could provide them over FTTP?

Just wondering if it will be worth shopping around individual ISPs, or if BTs 18 month contracts are as good as it gets.

Again the use of the word FTTC is slightly wrong and would cause confusion, as you would have an ISP saying you cannot order a FTTC service on a FTTP line, which is correct.

What you can order is a GEA-FTTP product that is speed and price matched to the GEA-FTTC products.

For FTTP at present as a consumer BT Retail and PlusNet are the only two to offer the 40 and 80 speed products to people on FTTP lines.

The majority of providers who sell the 40 and 80 Meg products currently only sell them in areas where FTTC is available, due to their desire to keep things as simple as possible for sales staff.

I believe once you enter your details on the BT retail website it should open up and show the full range of FTTP options.

Alright, thanks for that. Will just go with BT Infinity 4 for now and look at options again in 18 months

In effect for the consumer the only provider is BT Retail

Incorrect information there saying only BT Retail can supply it! Some of the smaller ISPs can supply it through Entanet (as can we!)

Sorry the information you have been given is wrong, it is not only BT Retail that can supply FTTP services.

PlusNet offer two variants of FTTP at present through their trial:

Plusnet Essentials Fibre up to 38Mbps - £16.49 per month
Plusnet Unlimited Fibre up to 76Mbps - £19.99 per month

Some changes are due end of this year/start of next as quite a few of us on the trial and on a data variant being retired by Openreach.

I did have a look around yesterday, I am not to keen in being in yearly+ contracts for much over £50/month right now so BT is the only game in town for unlimited 100mb+ services as far as I know.

Infinity are 18 months contracts too.

Some of the smaller ISPs offering FTTP are going to be pretty pricey if you want unlimited data + faster speeds. I looked at AAISP when getting my FTTP and worked out they would have been something like £200 a month for my usage.

Openreach no longer sell the 40/15Mb, 100/15Mb, 110/15Mb, 100/30Mb and 330/20Mb variants. For existing end users, they will be withdrawn in March 2014 so ISPs will need to move end users to different variants (40/2Mb, 40/10Mb, 80/20Mb, 220/20Mb and 330/30Mb). ISPs could still offer a throttled connection - e.g. Infinity offer a 160/20Mb service which will basically be a throttled 220/20Mb service from Openreach.

I am on the 100/15Mb service and I get between 83-90Mb download speeds on average. So you will get between 10-15% lower than the advertised speed. Even still, I think anything above 80/20Mb is a bit of an overkill for the majority of people. Websites won't load any quicker and your ping times won't be any lower by being on the 330/30Mb service compared to say 80/20Mb. The only advantage of having that kind of that downstream speed is if you are regularly downloading and require fast downloads.

I would have a look at PlusNet's 80/20 service for FTTP (I am also with PlusNet). It's £6 cheaper a month than Infinity and hopefully PlusNet will be launching a 220/20Mb service (or similar) at some point in the next few months, if you need to upgrade your speeds.

What is your pricing then?

In reply to a post by vivaciti:

Sorry the information you have been given is wrong, it is not only BT Retail that can supply FTTP services.

I've put in a couple of numbers for houses that can get FTTP into your checker and it only brings up ADSL as available broadband options.

Unless you build it into your checker or add a FTTP product page, people won't know you can offer FTTP. I think very few people would end up emailing you to ask.

The point I was making is that it is NOT only BT Retail that can sell FTTP services and I think some people are fully aware of that even though it is not convenient to mention it.

But the largest ISPs (except for BT Retail) have chosen not sell FTTP services for some reason. Even with the likes of PlusNet, you would need to be a customer before upgrading to FTTP.

There are very limited ISP options for people in FTTP areas. Even with some of the smaller ISPs, it is not clear on their sites whether they sell it or not and their checkers have not been updated to reflect that FTTP is an available option.

BT Retail is the only ISP (that I am aware of), that actually tells an enduser that they can receive FTTP from their online checker and gives them a list of possible speed variants.

Even the likes of AAISP have totally outdated information on their site for FTTP. If you look at http://aaisp.net.uk/broadband-FP.html , you will see they are still advertising speed variants withdrawn by Openreach a couple of months ago.

I can only presume you are referring to me, and while I could have listed the FTTP service options from others that are on our listings, they are SME type services, and NOT what it appears this poster was seeking.

The current situation is that for a consumer looking to pay in the region of £10 to £30 for their broadband (ignoring line rental) and in an Openreach FTTP area, that BT Retail is largely the single option.

I mentioned PlusNet and their trial, but if there is another consumer type ISP in that price bracket I would be pleased to add them to my memory, and make sure a note was placed against the listing to show it was also available in FTTP areas.

Zen's FTTx FAQ implies that Zen will offer FTTP service on a trial basis. If they offer the current FTTC packages on FTTP, they might be a viable option, but they are more of an SME ISP and are right at the top of your stated price bracket at £30/month.

As wholesale FTTP is now available at the same price as wholesale FTTC, there's little reason for ISPs not to support FTTP other than the different support requirements.