I just had a year with IDNet, but I'm a light user so the cost compared to Infinity wasn't much different once I paid the year up front, which means only paying for 11 months. It also gave 10Mbps upstream connection, whereas the 40GB Infinity is only 2Mbps upstream.

Since then Infinity prices have fallen and Plusnet have come into play. I tossed up between the 40GB from Infinity and Plusnet and plumped for Plusnet. The traffic management won't affect me so far as I can see, and it is only an extra £5pm to get rid of that, in fact getting priority as well.

Speeds seem just as good as IDNet, barring of course the 2Mbps upstream. Web pages such as the Beeb seem snappier, presumably faster DNS. Normal latency is 15ms compared to IDNet 13ms, both Fast Path.

Don't forget to check out the cashbacks from TopCashBack or Quidco. But if you order through them you must clear cookies first.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 27-Feb-12 00:17:51)

BT are swallowing the costs at a loss, the activation fee is charged by BT Wholesale for migrations and activations and this also includes charging for migrations from FTTC to a different FTTC provider by doing this they are making sure that the smaller ISPs cannot compete and also can't ply for the custom from BT Retail on cost as you can't expect a customer to have to pay that sort of money to migrate their current service to a smaller provider.

I investigated all the ISP's offerings thoroughly just 3 weeks ago and, after a lot of tossing and turning and brain going into overload, came down on the side of Plusnet in the end. I was going to go with BT Infinity for Business, but paying an extra £5 to Plusnet for their Pro upgrade seems to offer the same kind of prioritised connection as Infinity for Business, but at cheaper cost. That said, Plusnet do not offer unlimited downloads and I'm on their 120GB package. Also at the moment I only get up to 2 Mbps upload. Whether the 120GB cap will be a problem, I'm not yet sure. If it becomes a problem, then I'd have to go for Infinity for Business instead. I'd love it if Plusnet offered an unlimited package as that really would make them perfect for me. So far Plusnet have been excellent, very helpful, with a UK based support team and call centre, and I now have a fast stable connection with them with no slowdown in the evenings or at weekends because of the Pro add on (£5 a month for prioritised connection). An 80/20 fibre connection is currently being trialled and will be introduced in the future I understand.

Yes, I believe they are owned by BT, but so far I can't speak highly enough of them. For now, because of the lack of an unlimited package, I'd give them 9/10. Offer unlimited and they'd get 10/10 marks from me.

I was sad to leave BE/O2, but sadly their lack of a fibre offering at the moment meant that I had to look elsewhere.

Edited by deleted (Tue 28-Feb-12 14:14:35)

I was sad to leave BE/O2, but sadly their lack of a fibre offering at the moment meant that I had to look elsewhere.

Having missed the boat, they haven't even hired a speed boat, or even a jet-ski, to catch up with it. My course, Newnet ADSL >> O2 LLU >> IDNet Home Starter Fibre >> Plusnet Value Fibre.

an extra £5 to Plusnet for their Pro upgrade seems to offer the same kind of prioritised connection as Infinity for Business

The Pro option is only on monthly terms, even though your underlying contract is 18 months. I suggest you give it a whirl without it.

Plusnet have been excellent, very helpful, with a UK based support team

Do Yorkshiremen believe themselves to be in the UK, or rather that the UK is a useful export market?

I'll give the connection a try without the Pro add on next month. It will be interesting to see what difference it makes.

Thanks for all your help in the BT thread, Roberto - that was much appreciated. Even though I decided against Infinity in the end, I still have an open mind about migrating to BT Infinity for Business if necessary i.e. if Plusnet do not come up with an unlimited option. But I'm very pleased with the speed and stability of my fibre connection so far, so thanks for the encouragement to take that leap of faith!

Post deleted by RobertoS