Reply With QuotePlusnet are BT.
Zen seem to get good reviews elsewhere.
I'm moving house and need to find a new Broadband provider. I don't use a landline to make calls but I assume that I will still need one for the router? I probably want fast fibre for streaming Netflix and the like. Any good deals out there and are there any providers I should avoid? Thanks in advance!
Edit: Plusnet seem to get good reviews:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...-a8334036.html
Last edited by Rocket Man; 23rd October 2018 at 20:48.
Plusnet are BT.
Zen seem to get good reviews elsewhere.
Is that supposed to be a negative? Yes, Plusnet are owned by BT but separate products, hardware, service standards, pricing etc.
Best judged on their own merits.
I hope you don't mean Bloody Terrible!Originally Posted by Bravo73
I have just moved over to Vodaphone, saved a fair bit coming from BT and it is much faster, because I don't use my landline at all I didn't go for a call package so I pay £29 a month all in
They offer a discount if they can't achieve their advertised speed and they have been true to their word so far
Plus they gave me a gopro hero for signing up
Moved to Vodafone a few months back. Fibre was nearly half the price of BT. Impressed so far .
The Plusnet “free” router is shocking, in my experience. I bought a BT router from eBay which improves things.
Plusnet free router is kind of crap, but I've been with them for years (ADSL then fibre) and always been happy with them. (I've just looked, I'm coming up to 15 years with them across 2 addresses.) I doubt they're the cheapest, but I've found them reliable and when I've had cause to use their tech support lines they've been very good.
Dave E
Skating away on the thin ice of a new day
I use Plusnet and even though the parent co is BT the same goes for EE BTW they are a seperate entity and having suffered BT’s “ service” over the years they are far better on both customer service and technical support as well as broadband i have a landline as my mobile reception in awful and so far all ok.
If you want BT sport because Plusnet are part of BT their charges are far less than Sky and i view through the Sky Q platform.
Last edited by mart broad; 24th October 2018 at 08:23.
If you have Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) then you don't need a landline. If it is Fibre To The Cabinet then the final connection to the house will be copper and I think that you are stuck with a line rental.
We moved in the summer and went with Zen for a number of reasons including loads of awards and their support for local charities. Their reputation for good customer service is exemplary and we're very happy with our choice so far.
I posted a thread asking for some pointers at the time:
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...sion-Providers
Was with BT for years...customer service and support was not good.
Then with Plusnet for years...customer service and support superb.
Plusnet treat you as a valued customer. So for me it is Plusnet.
Moved from Plusnet which are fairly good to Zen which are excellent. Pays your money and your choice. Zen costs more...
done exactly the same...Plusnet have been an absolute pia to leave and get final bill
was with Zen years ago...back into the fold again with zen
was this a special deal? - can't see it mentioned on their site. Am switching soon as well and Vodafone was one of the contenders.
We recently put in Virgin fibre. Good speeds. But their customer service is terrible. My old phone number hasn't 'restored' and each time I have called them, I have spent at least 40min on the phone - 1 hour 20min on one occasion. Registered a complaint, wrote to the CEO - tried everything but still no resolution...
I was considering Zen. Price acceptable but I am not prepared to pay the setting up charges.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Plusnet vote here...
Had no issues with them though they sent BT out three times to do the original install and the comment from the installer was 'you have the correct VDSL splitter and a suitable PPoE router already setup so no idea why I'm here' but he had to sign it off before the service would get turned on. Anyway apart from that initial agro it's been fine now for 10 years. I pay £38pm for unlimited data (and often it's over 300meg for a month - that's Netflix for you), all calls (inc. to relations damn mobiles!), fixed IP and 60meg speed (55meg over wifi but 60meg with a lan cable to the PC). I've never had to contact them so I can't tell you how good their service is... as far as I'm concerned never having to contact them means excellent service! ;-)
Yes it was a special offer last month
Just about to leave Plusnet, wouldn't offer me a deal as good as a new customer could get.
Overall a decent year with them, good broadband service. Terrible customer service, as in trying to get them to answer the phone is very long winded, last 3 call to them took 25min, 35min and 15mins to answer.
Looks like I'm off to Vodafone as they are doing an offer for 35mb at £21 a month Inc (no calls) and a £75 Amazon voucher. Never used them before so no idea what they are like.
I'm also leaving Plusnet.
Currently paying £48/mo for fibre and phone calls.
Signed up for EE at £33/mo (18mo) for similar product and £135 Quidco cashback.
Again, no idea what EE are like. Never has a problem with Plusnet, just too expensive.
Most providers will supply you with an Openreach service to your master socket, then the only real difference is the router. Watch out for the small print, e.g. sky have 2 fibre products, one has limited data and they will switch you to the higher tariff if you exceed it twice in 6 months. Vodafone are pushing some good deals to get market share, if you don't want to be reliant on BT then virgin have their own network, but can cost more.
I have Virgin Media business fibre to the house, very fast as not many businesses in the area as it's a residential area. Love not having to have a land-line (although my wife is driving me mad for one just incase one of her elderly relatives needs to call it). Support is not bad as business, not great but better than previous residential ones I've had.
Previously I had Talk Talk for a long time then tried Zen but they couldn't sort out a fixed IP address for me and I found the support really unhelpful.
I guess I missed it. Story of my life ;)
I've been on just Virgin media 50mb, no landline or TV subscription. Just buy a Freeview box and add Netflix. Should be under £30 per month and consistently good speed and reliability.
That’s strange I’ve always found zen support to be great and you get a single static ip by default. What was the issue with zen, I assume you needed more static addresses?
Wish me luck - I've just ordered a Superfast Fibre package from BT. Seemed like a good deal, particularly because they are currently offering a free Fitbit Charge 3 which I was thinking of buying anyway.
Yes I got it because of the static IP address but for some reason it caused them problems to set it up, then I had very poor performance. Eventually moved house mid contract and they made me pay my way out of the contract which at that point I preferred to do rather than sign up for another year in the new house.
I found BT to be absolutely fine - it turned on, it worked and I never interacted with them - I only switched away because of price.
I'm paying BT £50 for unlimited super fast fibre, I can't get Virgin in my area. Thinking of trying to get it cheaper if I can?
Mine creeped up and up - I switched to plusnet (owned by BT) - the speed is the same and with a cashback offer I had it works about £22 a month...
My fibre Plusnet service is currently operating at under 10Mbps standing next to the router. (Supposed to be 25+ and the website says everything is functioning to their satisfaction.)
Called their “award winning” customer service to be told there’s a 20 minute wait to speak to someone.
Fortunately my contract has just expired and I’ll be binning them ASAP.
If you get a bit nostalgic for the 90s like i do, then sky are good, every evening i get reminded of what dial up used to be like with the drop off in speeds
I’m probably going for that too. There’s a decent Topcashback pay out too, I think.
Yes, that £75 Amazon voucher offer is only for new customers (for some reason mobile customers can't get it either). So that's me out.
looks like TCB £75 and hope they pay out.
How? I'm paying £38 for the same package.... unlimited data fibre/phone calls plus a fixed IP. I'm thinking there are some extras on there other than the internet and phone calls?
Did you do any tests to check the wifi link? By 'wifi' I mean the quality and speed of the radio waves connection from your device to the router. Did you try something like a proper computer with a lan cable connection. Then you can check the raw connection speed to the router to see what the line is giving. There can be so many reasons and a few simple tests can help enormously in diagnosis.
I know Talk Talk get a lot of bad press but we've been with them 13yrs now and have no complaints. The speed is good at £27 a month. They let us stay on the same tariff when it's due for renewal.
Talktalk are the Ryanair of broadband suppliers. Never again.
Beyond my knowledge, equipment and patience.
Foolishly, as Plusnet seemed OK when I started out, a friend went with them on my recommendation. Initially all was good and then the service went right off for him. He spent ages on the phone with them and they just say it's all working fine.
Maybe wrong but Plusnet's reputation is gradually sliding following the BT takeover.
Of course, I don't know if infrastructure issues hamper every provider.
Talking as someone that is often on the end of these types of technical support calls, it's very hard to try and diagnose issues when the caller has zero IP or networking knowledge. btdt!
Sometimes it's better to simply say send the item back and we'll refund you!
It's like discussing the problems of a persons car engine when they don't know how an internal combustion engine works.
The latest Which magazine survey as reported in The Register. I've no idea how they selected the survey sample.
(For what it's worth. I'm a contented IDNet customer.)
Only 300Mb ?
I'm up to 198.93Gb and only halfway through my month.
Plusnet have been great... it's BT that need to get their fingers out of their #### and upgrade the cabinet near me. I am getting about half the speed that I am paying for with Plusnet, but it's not their fault.
sorry yes.... 300gig ;-)
I'm currently with BT for broadband, also looking to move to something cheaper. Suppose it all depends also on which area you live in.
For me it's either stay with BT £58 a month or move to Sky, must say no complaint with BT apart from the cost
If they are charging you for a service, it’s their responsibility to provide it! If BT are causing them a problem, they should be getting compensation from them and passing it on to you. As we know, BT and Plusnet are part of the same group now.
Ok people
Since Plusnet is nothing special to me I have started yo look around, thanks to (or because of) this thread.
Following what appears to be a consensus I looked at Zen, IDNet and A&A
As stated earlier I do not like the £55 set up charge with Zen. I am however aware that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that this charge is levied elsewhere with the others.
IDNet’s website tells me that I can get FTTC 20/80, which I am not getting at the moment.
So they look best offer. Then there is the equipment.
At the moment I have
(You can tell I understand the techie bit, can’t you?)
Their offer is either a Billion 8800NLr2, a TP-Link Archer VR 600 or an ASUS AC3200 + Comtrend modem.
The only thing I understand apart from the price, doubling from to the next, in this order) is that the latter one offers 2 1300 Mps 5Ghz when the middle one offers 1 and the first one has to be satisfied with a 600 Mps @ 2.4 GHz
What difference will they make to me?
Is there one whose signal carries further than the other?
HELP!
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Why not give them a call on their 0800 number and invite them to explain it to you themselves? In my experience they don't go in for the hard sell and you will almost certainly be speaking with one of their support staff.
It will also give you the chance to assess their capabilities and communications skills first hand at the same time.
Yes, there is that
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Is that infinity or do you have limited usage?
2.4 GHz usually carries further than 5 GHz but it’s slower. Never heard of Comtrend, wouldn’t get that one. For a simple set-up, 1 channel is usually enough.Ok people
Since Plusnet is nothing special to me I have started yo look around, thanks to (or because of) this thread.
Following what appears to be a consensus I looked at Zen, IDNet and A&A
As stated earlier I do not like the £55 set up charge with Zen. I am however aware that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that this charge is levied elsewhere with the others.
IDNet’s website tells me that I can get FTTC 20/80, which I am not getting at the moment.
So they look best offer. Then there is the equipment.
At the moment I have
(You can tell I understand the techie bit, can’t you?)
Their offer is either a Billion 8800NLr2, a TP-Link Archer VR 600 or an ASUS AC3200 + Comtrend modem.
The only thing I understand apart from the price, doubling from to the next, in this order) is that the latter one offers 2 1300 Mps 5Ghz when the middle one offers 1 and the first one has to be satisfied with a 600 Mps @ 2.4 GHz
What difference will they make to me?
Is there one whose signal carries further than the other?
HELP!
All routers I’ve had with 5 GHz also had 2.4 GHz. Not sure if very old devices are okay with 5 GHz.
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