As a Cheshire resident, I have just changed from o2 to BT as my ISP and have been pleasantly surprised by the download speed obtained. Previously I was (according to the Think Broadband speedtester) getting about 6.8Mb/s but now I am getting over 14 Mb/s for less money - my exchange is not LuLu for o2.
I was not overly impressed by BT's performance in physically delivering the HomeHub but I would certainly say their offers are worth considering unless you need a very high speed from Virgin.

No need to be surprised!

In reply to a post by bsg017:

my exchange is not LuLu ("Shout"?) for o2

but is 21CN WBC for BT. So you have moved from ADSL Max to ADSL2+ as would be expected.

he put down 1.5kb line of site so cable will not be 3x that (that he made up), Samknows should of told you the speed you can aprox get (1.5km estimate i guess would be 4mb or better my self, but with out the post code we are just guessing)

if your thinking of getting BT FTTC service (like sky,BT or plusnet so on) it's better if you keep the phone line and broadband with the same company that will offer FTTC that is if you want it

as the phone line and FTTC broadband needs to be with the same company for FTTC to be activated

you should also check that VM cable is not overloaded in your local area as well before you do switch back to them (when you can if they ever expand to where you are, "unlikely"),, and if its an new housing estate you never get cable not for 10 years at least or longer, unless the streets was Pre piped for virgin as well (as BT will not share there pipes)

Edited by leexgx (Sat 24-Nov-12 02:18:48)

In reply to a post by leexgx:

he put down 1.5kb line of site so cable will not be 3x that (that he made up), Samknows should of told you the speed you can aprox get (1.5km estimate i guess would be 4mb or better my self, but with out the post code we are just guessing)

I said 1.5 miles and assumed cable would be 1.5 to 2 times that length, hence the distance of 3.5 to 4.5 kilometres The post code is DA1 4FF, SamKnows doesn't know that post code. Even navigating to the road itself and selecting a random address, SamKnows gives options for places elsewhere in Dartford, or even Aberdeen! So it seems that until SamKnows is updated in this respect we can only take something of a guess. But TBB broadband speed maps give some indication of what others in the area are getting from BT lines via various ISPs.

In reply to a post by leexgx:

you should also check that VM cable is not overloaded in your local area as well before you do switch back to them (when you can if they ever expand to where you are, "unlikely"),, and if its an new housing estate you never get cable not for 10 years at least or longer, unless the streets was Pre piped for virgin as well (as BT will not share there pipes)

From the TBB speed maps Virgin looks to be in the area and is giving acceptable speeds. I'll be down there later today so will try to see any signs of Virgin, e.g. street furniture, in the road.

In reply to a post by leexgx:

as the phone line and FTTC broadband needs to be with the same company for FTTC to be activated

Not technically it doesn't! Some ISPs insist on it contractually, but some like PN let you keep your phone with any BT WLR provider.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by leexgx:

as the phone line and FTTC broadband needs to be with the same company for FTTC to be activated

Not technically it doesn't! Some ISPs insist on it contractually, but some like PN let you keep your phone with any BT WLR provider.

I think only three require it:- BT, Sky and TalkTalk. So "some" is a hundred or so that don't .

I wasn't counting! I use "some" to be "not all" to counter the poster's hypothesis

BTW: EE also requires it for all its BB now; there must be others.

Clever that :- "BTW: EE also requires it ....".

BTW = By The Way
BTW = BT Wholesale - which is the underlying ISP for EE broadband .

Hi,

Does your son have a smartphone as this has a built-in wi-fi hotspot that he could use until his broadband is activated in March. He would need an all-you-can-eat data tariff. His best bet would be from 3.

HTH,

Mark King MCP