CPW/TT to offer FREE broadband (merged)

Steve_xx

Rich_Johnston wrote:

INSIDE SCOOP, I have a few questions:

1) You initially said TalkTalk 3 International gave free calls to South Africa, but the website says not... could you clarify?

2) I currently call South Africa (a lot) and use a 2p a minute line with aother telecom company. The TTI rate is over 5p. If I choose this offer (and I am eligible for the unbundling deal) can I still use this line, even if I'm not paying BT rental anymore?

3) I hear some stories about TT restricting P2P activity. As a UKNova user, this concerns me. Is this the case? Expecially considering the BBC's move into this area...

1. South Africa is not included in the bundled countries.
2. You could still route calls via 18866/1899/1815 via their 02/08 access numbers. You could also dial South Africa using say 0844 access, though that would be chargeable at TalkTalk prevailing rates.
3. I understand that there is some restriction on peer to peer activity. Though I don't know what the restrictions truly are.

nickmack

mikemoate wrote:

So does this mean that whilst waiting for your exchange to be enabled by TT they will put you on to one of their other packages? If so what will be the cost, the line speed and useage allowance?

If your exchange isn't unbundled then TT have to use BT's equipment. Therefore to cover this they charge an extra £10/month.
The line speed will depend on your distance from the exchange and whether it has been been MAXed by BT (For up to 8Mb). The useage allowance should be the same 40Gb as with their LLU service.

nickmack

Rich_Johnston wrote:

3) I hear some stories about TT restricting P2P activity. As a UKNova user, this concerns me. Is this the case? Expecially considering the BBC's move into this area...

I would be amazed if TT didn't use some kind of traffic shaping. P2P ports could be restricted, throttled or blocked completely.

mikemoate

nickmack wrote:

If your exchange isn't unbundled then TT have to use BT's equipment. Therefore to cover this they charge an extra £10/month.
The line speed will depend on your distance from the exchange and whether it has been been MAXed by BT (For up to 8Mb). The useage allowance should be the same 40Gb as with their LLU service.

Thanks for this nickmack however I'm still not quite with it. On one of the TT pages I linked to it says this.

What is the process for connecting my free broadband?
You check availability online. This tells you immediately whether free broadband is available in your area and on your phone line.
You order online and receive an order number and a confirmation email.
We post you a personalised welcome pack. This confirms your phone number and the calling features you’ve ordered, and gives you go-live dates for your landline and your broadband connection.
As the date approaches we send you your new modem and installation CD.
As near as possible to the date we gave you, you will either:
Be connected to Talk3 Landline and free TalkTalk Broadband all at once.
Be connected to our Talk3 Landline plan right away, with free broadband following as soon as technically possible.
How long will I have to wait?
Although our engineers are working night and day, there’ll be some customers we can’t connect immediately, and for a few people it could be several weeks. Whatever happens, we promise to connect you as soon as possible
Why can’t you connect me immediately?
Because it’s such a great offer we have to deal with a huge demand for free broadband.There are also some major technical issues to consider, since it depends on us installing new equipment in your telephone exchange. Unfortunately we can’t do this everywhere immediately.
When does my contract start?
Your 18-month contract begins on the day we connect your landline to TalkTalk. If you’re already with TalkTalk it starts on the day you switch to our Talk3 calling plan for free broadband. Read full terms and conditions I don’t want to wait any more When you join we give you an estimated go-live date for your broadband. If there’s a serious delay and you’re still not connected a long time after this date, please contact Customer Services. If you decide to cancel before we’ve had a chance to connect you, there may be a cancellation charge.

It doesn't actually say anything about providing alternative connectivity in the mean time. Could you point me in the direction of anything on the site which clarifies this? Cheers

nickmack

Broadband Availability

Scroll down to the last question 'What if free broadband is not available?'

mikemoate

nickmack wrote:

Broadband Availability

Scroll down to the last question 'What if free broadband is not available?'

Thanks for that Nickmack however that paragraph appears to refer to those areas in which TT don't intend to roll out LLU. It still doesn't say what happens in the meantime if you are attached to an exchange that is going to be unbundled. Unless we take it by default that during the waiting period you will be on the £10 scheme. Do we?

What if free broadband is not available?
Technical issues mean we can’t make free broadband available everywhere. If your area isn’t covered we can still offer you high-speed broadband for the great price of £10 per month. More on £10 broadband
We'd love to offer everyone free broadband, but in some places it's impossible. However, where it's not available we can still offer broadband for the great price of £10 per month with the Talk3 International calling plan.

Why isn't free broadband available everywhere?
Our amazing offer depends on a new process called local loop unbundling, where we take control from BT by leasing their lines and even their exchanges. We can't do this everywhere, though we can for 70% of the UK, including 90% of existing TalkTalk customers.
Only £10 for broadband - still a great deal
We'll still give you the fastest broadband technically possible (up to 8 Meg, depending on your exchange) for only £10 per month

nickmack

As TalkTalk haven't published any schedule and I know from an insider at CPW that basically they are basing it on demand, it's not obvious which exchanges will be enabled and when.

If you pay the £10 extra for non-LLU exchanges and if it becomes enabled, you switch over to Opel Telecoms equipment and get your package reduced by £10 month. Otherwise, you carry on paying the extra until such a time that they unbundle your exchange.

TalkTalk won't provide you with Broadband at £20.99 for a 'waiting period' if you're not on an LLU exchange.

Lawnmower_Man

Thank you to Me1000uk and others who clarified my misunderstanding between speed and download limit.

I should have worked that one out - I will blame tiredness.

Cheers

Lawnmower Man.

tomstickland

I just received this email from Rpoints

Talk Talk is the home phone company from The Carphone Warehouse that has shaken
up the telecoms market by delivering big savings versus BT and offering free
calls between TalkTalk customers.

This week, they've had a similar impact on the internet access market by
announcing their "Free broadband forever" offer. By switching to TalkTalk and
opting for the Talk 3 International package you get:

* Unlimited UK Landline calls
* Unlimited International calls to 28 countries
* up to 8MB Broadband FREE
* Earn 2 Nectar points per £1 spent on your TalkTalk bill
* £20.99 per month including line rental (Talk 3 international £9.99/month, line
rental £11/month)
* Guaranteed that your bills will be cheaper than BT
* Inclusive calls between all TalkTalk customers
* FREE Modem
* Easy installation

There's no need to change your phone number and you'll no longer pay line rental
to BT.

And if that wasn't enough, you can now earn yourself 2000 points just for using
the Rpoints link to visit TalkTalk and take up this offer!

Note that you can only take this package if your local telephone exchange
supports it (around 70% of the population can get it). If not, you can still
make big savings AND earn 1000 points by switching to a TalkTalk voice package

inside_scoop

nickmack wrote:

As TalkTalk haven't published any schedule and I know from an insider at CPW that basically they are basing it on demand, it's not obvious which exchanges will be enabled and when.

If you pay the £10 extra for non-LLU exchanges and if it becomes enabled, you switch over to Opel Telecoms equipment and get your package reduced by £10 month. Otherwise, you carry on paying the extra until such a time that they unbundle your exchange.

TalkTalk won't provide you with Broadband at £20.99 for a 'waiting period' if you're not on an LLU exchange.

i can clarify this for you.

There is a schedule for unbundling exchanges, If your local exchange is going to be unbundled at some time in the future, irrespective of when, then you will qualify for free BB straight away. You will be provisioned using BTs kit and BB will cost you nothing - TT will bear the cost of this. However, it will be only 2Mb speed. Once your local exchange is unbundled then you will be moved over to the TT kit and your speed will increase to the maximum possible up to 8Mb. There may be a small (hours not days) interruption to your service when this switch happens