End of Free O2 Broadband

xxdiddiexx

When I renewed my O2 mobile phone contract about 2 years ago, as part of the deal I was offered free Broadband access for ever.

Yesterday I got a message form O2 saying that my free access was coming to an end and that I would now be charged £7.50 per month or if I renew for a year I can get the first 3 months free.

Has anyone else had this?

I don't want to pay for o2 broadband, because it it rubbish and the wireless connection is always dropping.

Also I am planning on moving in the next 6 months so I am reluctant to sign a new deal with anyone else.

Can anyone advise me on what I should do please?

Thanks )

macman

Presumably the free broadband was for the life of your current mobile contract and now that has expired? No telecoms is going to offer you free anything 'for life'.
If you are on 02 LLU broadband, it's one of the best services on the market. It is the O2 Access service (non LLU) which is bad. If you have been offered O2 Home broadband at £7.50 (with the £5 mobile discount), then you are on an LLU service.
Why is it rubbish?
Problems with your wireless connection do not have anything to do with 02, it's more likely to be a problem with your router setup or your laptop's wireless set up.
Retest the connection using ethernet.

xxdiddiexx

I have renewed my O2 Contract since I was offered the broadband, and my current contract is not due to expire until Dec 2010.

I have spent many times on the phone to O2 BB customer services and they said there was a lot of noise on the line - whatever that means..

macman

Noise on the line (crackling etc during voice calls) indicates a physical line fault, this can slow down your broadband service and cause dropouts. Test this by using a corded handset plugged into the BT test socket which is located behind the master socket faceplate. This will isolate your own internal wiring as a source of the fault. Then dial 17070, select option 2 (Quiet Line test). Listen for noise on the line.
If there is a problem, then you need to report this to BT or whoever provides your line rental. It's nothing to do with 02.
NB: when reporting it to BT, do not say that you have a problem with your broadband, or they will refer you back to your ISP. Just say you have noise/crackling on the line interfering with voice calls.

xxdiddiexx

Ok Thanks.

macman

PS: I can't believe that 02 tech support didn't tell you to contact your line provider to do a line check?
What speeds are you currently getting?
https://www.speedtest.net
Do you have known good ADSL filters on each active extension (including Sky boxes)? Filters can and do fail.

xxdiddiexx

he did some tweaking at his end, and told me to monitor it, and then said if it continues, then they would move to the next stage..

Download speed of 6.88mbps
Upload 0.54 mbs :huh:

kwikbreaks

xxdiddiexx wrote: »

Download speed of 6.88mbps
Upload 0.54 mbs :huh:

Why the :huh: ?
It isn't brilliant but it isn't dire either and may well be all that your line can support - especially as you say it is noisy.

xxdiddiexx

?? cuz I have no idea what the numbers mean

I was on sky before, and had lightening speed. I definitely noticed the difference.

macman

Assuming you are on the Home tariff, 6.88Mbps is very good, the max you could get is about 7Mbps on a theoretical 8Mbps service. But your upload is poor, it should be around 1Mbps.
So I'm at a loss to understand why you think the service is rubbish?
If you post your router stats then someone would be able to look at them and advise further.
The disconnections could be due to noise on the line or wireless connection problems. As mentioned earlier, you need to eliminate the wireless side by making an ethernet connection. If the dropouts continue it's probably the line, if they stop it's a wireless issue, which is not an O2 problem. First thing to try would be changing the wireless channel.

xxdiddiexx

I said it was rubbish because the wireless connection keeps dropping, and I never had this problem when I was with sky.