Is Zen worth it over Plusnet ?

I have been with Zen for years, their equivilent "all in" package for fast fibre is £45 where-as Plusnet is £34. This includes phone line, fastest FTTC speeds, anytime phone, etc. So like for like.

Got to admit the price difference is tempting, but if I get higher latency and slower speeds obviously it is not a good thing. I am not in a contract so I am tempted to move but I know the grass isn't always greener and you often get what you pay for. I also notice from month 13 the price gap decreases at £41 for Plusnet to £45 with Zen which evens things out a bit. I am a heavy user and gamer.

Ideally I want the best service rather than the cheapest, but if there is no difference then obviously it makes sense to change. I have always been with smaller companies ever since I used the internet, I have never been with a big name, so just worry it may be a bad move (I consider Plusnet the big name, due to their BT connection).

Anyone here know if speeds and latency are likely to be different (ie worse) with Plusnet over Zen ?

Thanks.

Edited by BlizzardUK (Sat 30-Jan-21 23:25:57)

In reply to a post by BlizzardUK:

I also notice from month 13 the price gap decreases at £41 for Plusnet to £45 with Zen which evens things out a bit.

Zen's prices for broadband (not sure about call costs, never use the phone!) are guaranteed for life. The 80/20 service is £30 and you'll always pay £30 (unless the rate of VAT changes).

Meanwhile every year Plusnet will increase your fees by inflation plus (is it?) 3.9%. You'll soon be paying as much to Plusnet as you would Zen.

Never used Plusnet but have no hesitation is highly recommending Zen.

In reply to a post by Woolwich:

Zen's prices for broadband (not sure about call costs, never use the phone!) are guaranteed for life. The 80/20 service is £30 and you'll always pay £30 (unless the rate of VAT changes).

As I read it, Zen's prices for up to 80/20 are £35, while 40/10 is the £30 price point, which happens to be enough for me even with extensive network administration work from home.
Then again, SSH never needed much bandwidth, just reasonably low delays.

In reply to a post by prlzx:

As I read it, Zen's prices for up to 80/20 are £35, while 40/10 is the £30 price point,

Yes, sorry, that's correct. I currently have the 40/10 at £30, its a fiver extra for the 80/20. My other points remain though!

BTW you take about unlimited calling plans. Are these really worthwhile? I have a mobile, never use the landline. Even if you're in a bad mobile area you can use WiFi calling. But you may have other reasons for wanting to use a landline.

Post deleted by Davey_H

I moved provider more times than I care to remember when on FTTC and never really found much, if any difference in latency or connection speed with any of them.

Have you considered Pulse8?

Their 80/20 package is cheaper than both Zen and Plusnet!

They're a small business focused ISP, with no long minimum terms, just 30 day rolling contracts and their CS from experience is certainly better than you'll get from Plusnet should you need it.

https://pulse8broadband.co.uk/fibreoptic-packages?ty...

Thanks, yes the prices I mentioned were including landline and anytime calls. I need that as I live in a zero reception area for mobile, so couldn't use that even if I wanted.

In reply to a post by Davey_H:

Their 80/20 package is cheaper than both Zen and Plusnet!

With the £2/month fee for static IP I'd say that puts them no cheaper than Zen for a fair comparison.

However for me the lack of IPv6 connectivity nor any evidence of progress on that would rule them out,
as lack of a target date or even a plan was why I migrated from former ISPs onto IDNet and eventually Zen.

That said, I'd only previously heard of the Pulse8 brand from their telephony offerings.

Edited by prlzx (Sun 31-Jan-21 18:58:24)

In reply to a post by BlizzardUK:

I need that as I live in a zero reception area for mobile, so couldn't use that even if I wanted.

That's what WiFi calling is for! All the networks do unlimited minutes for not very much now. As far as I know they all (the big four that is, maybe no so much Tesco or Asda) do WiFi calling. Your mobile connects to the WiFi and makes calls using the mobile network via your broadband.

Don't you need a specific mobile phone for that though ? I presume only the expensive phones ? Also I would still need the line rental for broadband, so what I save in paying £10 for unlimited landline calls I am guessing I lose on paying for a £300+ phone ? Or can cheaper phones get it ?