Switch with capped line

agrinnall

After a lengthy period of even slower than usual broadband BT have now capped the speed on my long line to give DSL connection rates of 0.58 Mbps download and 0.29 Mbps upload. This seems to have stabilised the connection and given me a download speed of around 0.4 - 0.45 Mbps, which is about what it was previously.

For cost reasons, and because I have had just about enough of BT's customer service, I am considering a switch to another provider (Plusnet looking the most likely at the moment). Will there be any issue retaining the cap on the line during the switch? I don't want to have to go through the whole rigmarole again if the new provider decides to remove the cap.

Browntoa

BT are Plusnet although it is an autonomous unit . Ring Plusnet up and explain what you are after , their customer service is 2nd to none

agrinnall

Yes, I knew they are owned by BT, and I assumed that they are completely at arms length. You are of course right that it's Plusnet who can tell me for sure, so I'll give them a call.

kwikbreaks

Your profile won't be changed with this sort of move....

Profiles are set by port in the equipment at the exchange. There is BT owned kit plus maybe some other operators units. Obviously both BT and Plusnet will be using the same equipment so there is no physical change just a keyboard exercise to alter the routing to your new ISP.

agrinnall

I spoke to Plusnet and while they said that the switch could happen with the cap in place they didn't fill me with confidence that it would happen right first time. So kwikbreak's explanation has helped more.

kwikbreaks

There's plenty people can do for themselves.

A good start point - http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/socket.htm

In essence it boils down to ensuring you don't let the ring wire in extension wiring introduce electrical noise onto the ADSL signal. If that is all optimised then you are pretty much stuck because Openreach won't do a great deal unless voice isn't working properly or there is a fault on the line.

macman

If you switch from BT to Plusnet then there is no physical work to be done on the exchange side, because both run on the same BTW network. So nothing should change.
In effect, your move is simply a billing alteration.

kwikbreaks

macman - do you ever actually read threads before commenting? You have simply repeated what I said in post #4.

agrinnall

My switch was initiated on Tuesday, although I'm now waiting for my MAC from BT before it can go any further. £10 a month less than I'm paying now, £70 cashback from Quidco, and unlimited downloads rather than the 10GB on my current deal (although at my slow speed it's rare for me to approach that in a month, and I don't think I've ever actually gone over).

And I already have an ADSL master socket so for me the ring wire isn't an issue - being almost 10km from the exchange with a copper and aluminium line is, but I think replacing that is a bit more than a DIY job!

kwikbreaks

At 10Km you're lucky to get ADSL at all. It's no wonder you are worried about being put back on a default profile but that won't happen.

macman

kwikbreaks wrote: »

macman - do you ever actually read threads before commenting? You have simply repeated what I said in post #4.

Yes I do. I was simply confirming your comments in a less technical fashion. Not everyone is familiar with ports and profiles.