In reply to a post by bentrimble:

Some under-subscribed ISP's may offer similar performance figures

That's an original way of saying Plusnet is over-subscribed and already over-contended. Paying for a premium quality service sounds like a excellent idea.

We lit a new 622mbps central pipe early in June, our contention is absolutely fine!

To be fair Martin, I think what Ben means by "under-subscribed" is that there are ISPs who currently are fine with the number of subscribers they have, but that if this number were to increase, they may not be able to cope because their products are not priced correctly.

Plusnet have proven that they can turn a profit, and at least they are open about how their products are shaped. The 20GB Pro product at £16.49 a month on Market 3 exchanges, and with free overnight usage, I feel, is an excellent one.

matt

In reply to a post by matthewlowry88:

The 20GB Pro product at £16.49 a month on Market 3 exchanges, and with free overnight usage, I feel, is an excellent one.

That looks a good point on the face of it, but I don't think it holds well on examination.

Almost without fail a Market 3 exchange will have at least one good LLU supplier with unlimited allowance. Probably Sky and O2/Be with unlimited allowance, with C & W through xilo/uno and vivaciti also. High quality LLU with 75GB allowance on many, through the same two resellers. TalkTalk can validly enter the list for huge numbers of people.

The ADSLx performance on all of those is almost guaranteed to be higher than any BT Wholesale ISP, and the price of most lower than £16.49.

Which brings us to the other flaw in your point. In the context of this thread it is irrelevant, or at least the price is. The OP is on a Market 1 exchange.

I do realise that Market 3 exchanges are ones where deregulation has occurred due to adequate competition (i.e. LLU providers being present meaning BT Wholesale should be allowed to compete on an even playing field). However, I was merely using the Pro product as an example of how Plusnet know what they are selling. They know what they can provide it would seem, no matter what the wholesale situation is.

A lot of BT Wholesale-based ISPs do not, and if their customer base increases they probably will not be able to cope. If I was in a BT Wholesale area with no LLU providers, I would plump for Plusnet because I know they will still be around a year down the line.

matt

In reply to a post by matthewlowry88:

... However, I was merely using the Pro product as an example of how Plusnet know what they are selling. They know what they can provide it would seem, no matter what the wholesale situation is.

A lot of BT Wholesale-based ISPs do not, and if their customer base increases they probably will not be able to cope. If I was in a BT Wholesale area with no LLU providers, I would plump for Plusnet because I know they will still be around a year down the line.

Fair enough, valid points.

I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion though.

I think the likes of IDNet, Zen and Timico/Newnet have things well worked out, with a totally different business model to the mass-market Plusnet one.

The Plusnet traffic management except on Pro is a major drawback for many, even non-heavy downloaders. When I want some new software or major update I want it on demand, and on Newnet I got that facility.

Nor do I really consider the possibility of an ISP disappearing much of a problem, particularly the ones mentioned. I did jump ship from Prodigynet before it died, but the writing was on the wall for well over a year. As I believe it has been for other notable ones. The industry seems to react quickly and effectively to maintain service for users.

can I ask who are you to comment on someone else's business setup?

Is yours all it could be??

I would be very careful before criticising others, commenting on other peoples business plan may come back and bite you