BT Infinity Move

pdarc

Hi All:

After being with Virgin Media for a few years I am considering a move to BT for Phone and Broadband.

Before I switch I am concerned about the speed I will get. I checked my post code and apparently I can get up to 64Mb broadband on Infinity in my area. The "up to" bit is a concern as a long time ago when I was with BT I got a slow ADSL service due to the distance I was from the Exchange. Now that they have a new technology in place this probably is no longer the case as they use fiber to the cabinet but I am still concerned as I don't want to be paying Infinity prices for slow internet.

My question is... do consumers have protection in the form of a right to cancel more than 10 days of days after a service has gone live? I say 10 days because BT say that they have a 10 day staballisation period that the service will fluctuate as it establishes the fastest stable connection and therefore you really need to test from day 11 onwards.

Aladdinsane

We signed up for Infinity 2 with a promise of upto 73 meg download and 20 meg up, waited the 10 days then did speed tests using various sites, we have never achieved above 40meg. After numerous calls to the help desk an engineer arrived from Openreach. He did all the tests and found nothing wrong, he phoned a friend in the industry who said this was a common problem. He then phoned BT Wholesale who laughed! when he told him of the problem, the wholesale guy said the contract they have with BT retail is 12meg minimum for domestic and a higher figure for business premises. So as long as you get 12meg min then there is nothing they will do. We are less than 50metres away from the fibre box so in theory we should get at least 60meg as a friend of mine does half a mile away. Ongoing dispute.

jinkster

Go to Plusnet, never had an issue with them. UK call centre. Top service.

pdarc

jinkster wrote: »

Go to Plusnet, never had an issue with them. UK call centre. Top service.

Hi - I had a look...

I have never used Plusnet but prices seem reasonable and reviews are generally good.
But I still have almost the same concerns...

Please correct me if I am wrong but Plusnet control the service to the Telephone Exchange, while BT still manages the Exchange to Cabinet to Premises?
(I am less sure about the Exchange to Cabinet segment but still the final bit is BT)

So still limited by the weakest link which is the copper wire which goes from my house to the Cabinet and the equipment from cabinet to exchange.

The speed estimates are based on BT numbers according to their site. The same 10 day stabilisation period applies and I can't see a cancellation policy which allows a proper test and right to cancel if the speed is slow after the 10 days.

Please don't get me wrong, Plusnet probably are better (I like the UK call centre approach) but I suspect BT Wholesale are imposing terms of contract with them which doesn't allow for much flexibility. i.e. if you pass the 12Mb pass hurdle set by BT, I doubt PlusNet can do anything to help in that situation any different to BT.

Is it just me or is this industry getting away with too much. The regulator should allow consumers to have 30 days from installation to cancel. Costs should be reasonable... If the speed is less than x of what is advertised than that cancellation should be for free, if not then costs should be proportional to the time on service.
Would this not put the right pressure back up the supply chain to get this sorted!

Gordon_Hose

BT FTTC still depends on the distance from the cabinet.

Don't compare their ADSL to their Infinity. Pointless.

Plusnet (or any operator, apart from Virgin) will use BT Fibre Wholesale, so exactly the same thing pretty much.

It's fibre to your street cabinet then the existing copper to your home.

If you're not happy with 40meg down you need your head testing.

pdarc

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

If you're not happy with 40meg down you need your head testing.

I would be more than pleased with 40. But not at the 12mb pass rate if I have to pay more for less.

Right I need to hunt down someone on my street with Infinity and get their info...

Gordon_Hose

How far is your cabinet?

pdarc

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

How far is your cabinet?

Well we have a few green boxes around, I live in North West London, densely populated residential area so it can't be that far.

My exchange is: LWNOR http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/LWNOR

The exchange is really far from me but I am guessing it is not an issue as the fiber from exchange to cabinet can handle longer distances?

Gordon_Hose

If you don't think the cabinet is that far away then I wouldn't worry about "slow" speeds. Like you say, it's a densely populated area, so it's unlikely that you'll have to suffer "slow" 12Mb speeds!

What I'd give to have 12Mb...