FTTC 80/20 options

Hi, thanks for reading this. It's my first post and hopefully someone can help me with some bright ideas!

I am looking at FTTC and need a new line, as I'm currently with Virgin and the BT line has been disconnected in the cabinet. Postcode/house number checks estimate I can get very close to the 80/20 (or 76/19.5 if you prefer) speeds.

These are my requirements, in descending order of importance:

1. Stable connection
2. No noticeable reduction in down- and upload speeds at any time (due congestion or point 4 below)
3. No usage caps
4. No restrictive traffic management (combined with point 2 above I suppose)

On top of that I want good value for money. If the points above can be accomplished by a cheaper ISP, then the decision will be based on price.

I can rule out AAISP and Zen, as they are simply too expensive for what I believe they return. SSE doesn't meet point 2 and 4 and Origin doesn't seem to be any good either.
Virgin's only package that meets all 4 requirements is the Ultimate Gamer package (200/20), but even with their customer retention offer it's more expensive compared to others. I am considering IDNET as well, but including offers etc. they are almost twice as expensive as TalkTalk, and I don't know how or why to justify that.

In order of cost over an 18 month period (including offers and new line installation fees, ascending order).

1. Talktalk
2. Plusnet
3. Vodafone
4. NowTV
5. TalkTalk Business
6. Virgin Ultimate Gamer
7. IDNET

I'd like IPv6, but in my shortlist only NowTV (or Sky) offers it currently. Only TalkTalk Business and Plusnet offer the option of a static IP (which I'd also like, but not a hard requirement).

Long story short: which would you choose and why? And which would you recommend?

edit: IDNET removed due to their availability checker not working on my address and therefore not showing the correct prices. Turns out they're roughly the same price as Zen.

Edited by deleted (Wed 16-Nov-16 14:26:19)

Postcode estimators are unreliable. The reason being that there is often more than one cabinet serving a postcode, so it matters where you are within it. The checkers generally only give the first in the database.

You need to use the Address option of this checker.

Re your shortlist, it is worthwhile considering Pulse8Broadband, which uses TalkTalk Business Wholesale and possibly run better than TalkTalk Retail. A small company but with a good reputation. Also only a monthly contract.

It's also worth checking your exchange here to see if both TalkTalk and Vodafone are shown in the LLU list. If not, a bit of deeper investigation by others on this forum wrt where the FTTC actually comes from is needed. It may not be your telephone exchange.

Other than that, quite a good shortlist. Bear in mind the upstream speeds unless you go for the 80/20 product. Plusnet and TalkTalk Retail only do the 40/2 not the 40/10. That's if the upstream matters to you of course. It can matter if you stream a lot, as it can clog up with the ACKs for the downstream.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Postcode estimators are unreliable. The reason being that there is often more than one cabinet serving a postcode, so it matters where you are within it. The checkers generally only give the first in the database.
You need to use the Address option [...]

Ah thank you, yes that's what I meant. I've amended my post accordingly.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Re your shortlist, it is worthwhile considering Pulse8Broadband, which uses TalkTalk Business Wholesale and possibly run better than TalkTalk Retail. A small company but with a good reputation. Also only a monthly contract.

I remembered having looked at them in the process of comparing but I didn't write it down. I knew there was a reason but I checked again anyway (you never know). Turns out Pulse8 are more expensive than IDNET.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

It's also worth checking your exchange here to see if both TalkTalk and Vodafone are shown in the LLU list.

Vodafone, TalkTalk and Sky are all available as LLU on the exchange according to Sam knows.

With regards to speed. I'm looking at 80/20 specifically.

Thanks for your reply!

Edited by deleted (Wed 16-Nov-16 12:01:57)

In reply to a post by wutr:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Re your shortlist, it is worthwhile considering Pulse8Broadband, which uses TalkTalk Business Wholesale and possibly run better than TalkTalk Retail. A small company but with a good reputation. Also only a monthly contract.

I remembered having looked at them in the process of comparing but I didn't write it down. I knew there was a reason but I checked again anyway (you never know). Turns out Pulse8 are more expensive than IDNET.

Really, I've just migrated to Pulse8 and they definitely worked out cheaper than either TalkTalk Business or IDNet. The only thing I can see that might change that analysis is the cost of a vDSL router, but you would need that with IDNet anyway.

Just be aware that paying more doesn't always give you a better quality of broadband - even if support is UK based. There was a poster on here the other day who recently joined IDNet and was getting evening/peak time congestion.

Hi
What about Origin Broadband?
K

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

Just be aware that paying more doesn't always give you a better quality of broadband - even if support is UK based. There was a poster on here the other day who recently joined IDNet and was getting evening/peak time congestion.

Any provider who uses BT WBMC for backhaul are at the mercy of BTW as parts of their network can and do frequently suffer from high contention issues i have experienced it twice in the time i have been with Zen using BT for backhaul And a dam sight more when i was with Plusnet who didn't get it sorted
I still am of the opinion there were BTW svlan issues affecting the connection coupled with perhaps Plusnets under provision at peak times

Edited by tommy45 (Wed 16-Nov-16 14:32:35)

In reply to a post by jaydub:

Really, I've just migrated to Pulse8 and they definitely worked out cheaper than either TalkTalk Business or IDNet. The only thing I can see that might change that analysis is the cost of a vDSL router, but you would need that with IDNet anyway.

You are right. I've amended the opening post accordingly. IDNET turns out to cost roughly the same as Zen (not even including a modem yet). The availability checker didn't play ball, so I was working on the "from" prices rather than the actual 80/20 unlimited usage price. Their customer service clarified that for me over the phone.

In my case Pulse8 still works out more expensive than TalkTalk Business (not including the purchase of a modem and possible £89.89 cashback via topcashback on TTB), but is definitely cheaper than IDNET. Still no IPv6 though and +£2.00 p/m for a static IP, so TalkTalk Business makes more sense than Pulse8 in my situation.

In reply to a post by keymaster:

What about Origin Broadband?

I ruled out Origin (I think I mentioned it in the OP) based on reviews saying it was going downhill. I recall reading similar stories regarding plusnet, however I included TalkTalk because they seem to be doing better recently.

If anyone could comment on any of the above that would help.

Hi
Well I am out of contract with Origin and would move elsewhere if I could find better for cheaper but so far that search has been fruitless.
My experience with Origin in last 20 months has been mixed.
Price 8/10
Performance 7/10
Support at begining 2/10
Support in last year 8/10
Router if you take it 8/10 (Asus)

When I first joined (on Price) they were like clowns, everything that could go wrong did, fibre was off for 2 days, they gave me a new telephone number and it was already allocated to local school so rang off the hook with parents reporting abcent kids, customer service telling lies etc. etc.
since month 3 I have not had any issues, I have rang support a couple of times about minor questions and they were brilliant, answering very quickly and they offer 24/7 live UK telephone support on an 0800 number - who else does that for anywhere near the price?
this is my honest review.
K