Looking for: 2-8mb, 30:1 cont., absolutely unlimited, < £25 / month

hhobba

Hi there.

I come to you fresh with disgust at my ISP - Plus.net.
Now, I used to adore them. Their customer service is excellent, their speed and availability supreme, HOWEVER, in the last few months they have "gone soft" on us. With the introduction of "capping" (*Frustrated just hearing the word*) I become a VERY unhappy customer.

I download more than 100GB per month - equally shared between peak (daytime) and off peak (overnight) times. However, PlusNet have recently introduced a scheme whereby if anyone downloads more than 20GB of Peer to Peer (file sharing) downloads per month in peak times, they will be severely limited to at most 50kb/s.

This, for me, is unacceptable and so I'm here asking to see if anyone has seen a deal where I can get *TRULY* UNLIMITED internet access at a speed of at least 2mb/s, with a contention ratio of 30:1 or better, for less than £25 per month?

UKOnline's would be perfect if it were not for the 50:1 contention ratio which can dramatically reduce speeds.

I live in Ayrshire, Scotland, so I don't think I have access to any LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) services as of yet, and my max speed is 5mbs.

Any help is SOOOO GREATLY appreciated! Cheers!

Lorian

hhobba wrote:

Hi there.

I come to you fresh with disgust at my ISP - Plus.net.
Now, I used to adore them. Their customer service is excellent, their speed and availability supreme, HOWEVER, in the last few months they have "gone soft" on us. With the introduction of "capping" (*Frustrated just hearing the word*) I become a VERY unhappy customer.

I download more than 100GB per month - equally shared between peak (daytime) and off peak (overnight) times. However, PlusNet have recently introduced a scheme whereby if anyone downloads more than 20GB of Peer to Peer (file sharing) downloads per month in peak times, they will be severely limited to at most 50kb/s.

This, for me, is unacceptable and so I'm here asking to see if anyone has seen a deal where I can get *TRULY* UNLIMITED internet access at a speed of at least 2mb/s, with a contention ratio of 30:1 or better, for less than £25 per month?

UKOnline's would be perfect if it were not for the 50:1 contention ratio which can dramatically reduce speeds.

I live in Ayrshire, Scotland, so I don't think I have access to any LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) services as of yet, and my max speed is 5mbs.

Any help is SOOOO GREATLY appreciated! Cheers!

I don't think you'll find this from a IPstream provider. Since BT started CBC charging people with your bandwidth requirements have become problematic for the ISP's.

hhobba

There's plenty of ISPs with my requirements but with a 50:1 contention. I'm hoping there has got to be one with a 30:1. I wonder if a 50:1 is so bad... ?

Rex_Mundi

If you are using a BT phone to access your ADSL, you will always have a 50:1 contention rate. This is nothing to do with the ISP, it is the BT contention rate they set for ADSL on their exchanges.

My ISP Zen have a zero contention rate on their own network. However, I have to go through the BT contention of 50:1 before I get on the Zen network. Luckily for me, this causes me no problems (never had even a few minutes slow down). If you are on a busy exchange though, it could affect your speeds.

hhobba

Rex_Mundi wrote:

If you are using a BT phone to access your ADSL, you will always have a 50:1 contention rate. This is nothing to do with the ISP, it is the BT contention rate they set for ADSL on their exchanges.

My ISP Zen have a zero contention rate on their own network. However, I have to go through the BT contention of 50:1 before I get on the Zen network. Luckily for me, this causes me no problems (never had even a few minutes slow down). If you are on a busy exchange though, it could affect your speeds.

Does this mean that although PlusNet advertise a contention ratio of 30:1, in reality I would be just as well being with a provider who offer 50:1? This would solve my problems. Could you please elaborate on this (feel free to use as much jargon as you like by the way - no need to dumb it down)?

Cheers.

Rex_Mundi

hhobba wrote:

Does this mean that although PlusNet advertise a contention ratio of 30:1, in reality I would be just as well being with a provider who offer 50:1? This would solve my problems. Could you please elaborate on this (feel free to use as much jargon as you like by the way - no need to dumb it down)?

Cheers.

What it means is that although Plusnet advertise a 30:1 contention ratio. Unless you have a BT business standard phone line (contention 20:1), then the whole time you have been on BTs possible contention of up to 50:1 (this is their standard maximum contention rate on BT consumer phone lines).

When your signal gets to your BT exchange. All the ADSL signals from that exchange go into the DSLM. This takes the signal onto the BT network, and onto your ISPs 'fat pipe'. The BT contention rate for consumer telephone lines on the DSLM is up to 50:1. Once your signal reaches your ISP network, they can offer lower contention, but this will not help you if you are on a busy BT exchange. Your line on the BT network can be shared by up to 49 other users on ADSL. If you are all downloading at the same time, you all may notice slower speeds. There is nothing your ISP can do about this.

If you have been getting good speeds so far, it would seem that your exchange is not giving you a problem.

There is a speedtest that can test your ADSL on the BT network. This cuts out your ISP, and can tell you if there is any contention issues on the BT part of your connection.

Here's how to use the test..................

Go to your modem or router. Log out of your broadband (make sure you remember your login details). Reconnect to broadband using these details....

Username: speedtest@speedtest_domain
Password: (leave blank)

When you connect to this network. Open your browser (your homepage or any normal web pages wont load) and go to the page http://speedtester.bt.com/ (copy this address in the address bar) You will be prompted for your phone number. Enter this and click Go. This test will show you how your broadband is performing on the BT network before it gets to your ISP. You can do this test only once every 30 minutes.

Once you have finished the test. You need to go back to your modem/router and enter your login details for your normal ISP.

If you are having speed problems, this is a good test to try. If the BT speedtest is fast, and an online speedtest (say at https://www.adslguide.org) is slow. Then chances are that the speed issues lie with your ISP. If the BT test is slow. This would point to contention issues on the BT network. There is nothing your ISP can do for this.

hhobba

Thanks a lot, Rex! The speed test reported 1.7 Mb/s which apparantely is good. Now I just have to decide whether to stick with PlusNet and stop downloading massive amounts during peak times, or switch and pay extra.

Well, I think until LLU comes my way, I'll stick with PlusNet to be honest.

Thanks for all your help!

Rex_Mundi

hhobba wrote:

Thanks a lot, Rex! The speed test reported 1.7 Mb/s which apparantely is good. Now I just have to decide whether to stick with PlusNet and stop downloading massive amounts during peak times, or switch and pay extra.

Well, I think until LLU comes my way, I'll stick with PlusNet to be honest.

Thanks for all your help!

Plusnet gave me quite a bit of amusement for a while. I read the message boards at adslguide regularly, and was watching the Plusnet board daily when the doodaa hit the fan. I saw the whole saga develop from the start over there.

I think there were a few Zen people watching that one develop. There are very rarely any problems to talk about on the Zen board (the main subjects were always Zen coffee mugs and baked beans). I seem to remember Plusnet providing a few good jokes for the Zen board (Zen is one of the last truly unlimited/top quality suppliers).