Moving BB from BT to The Post Office/Plusnet

husk

Hi all,

My contract for Option 3 is at an end and I would like to move to another BT Wholesale provider to save some money.

Discounting Primus, my cheapest option is Post Office, followed by Plusnet.

I am on a Market 1 exchange (no LLU) and therefore TalkTalk will not be involved with my service from The Post Office.

The exchange was upgraded to ADSL2 in Feb, and I now get 12 Mbps (up from 7 Mbps). Max line capability is 19 Mbps.

My question is: can I expect to receive exactly the same service if I switch?

PO and Plusnet are only predicting 8-10 Mbps on my line. Why is this?

Is ADSL2 the only option on my line or will they put me on a slower ADSL service?

Many thanks for reading.

Xplozion

Speeds should be comparable, however it depends on the ISP's back haul networks and any congestion at your telephone exchange. Only way to find out for sure is to switch and see how it compares, or ask any neighbours you are friendly with if they use one of the providers and how the service is.

On the other hand, if you call BT they will most likely give you a decent discount. The number to call is 0800 328 6738.

husk

Thanks Xplozion, I did give them a call to request a mac code but wasn't offered a discount.

I was told that the Post Office didn't restrict speeds by their tech help but I'm reading through this fairly aggressive fair use policy.

Has anyone experienced throttling when regularly streaming or downloading?

Xplozion

The Post Office Fair Use Policy isn't the most lenient, especially as the Premium broadband package which is advertised as unlimited actually slows down when you exceed 100 GB in a month.

Plusnet's equivalent traffic management policy is better in my opinion, fairer and last time I checked, unlimited means unlimited with them.

blisteringblue

Plusnet are actually a subsidiary of BT anyway. I always think ISPs under estimate speeds these days with all the negative press.

I moved from Sky to Plusnet a couple of years ago and service has been great.

[Deleted User]

Renewed with BT for another 12 months today. Being in the countryside there is only BT at the local exchange.


Anyway unlimited ADSL broadband for 12 months is now costing us £6.65 per month.


Good enough for me and have always had brilliant customer service from them

husk

[Edit] jeepjunkie, I have been offered the same after sending a follow up email to retentions. Plusnet still comes out a lot cheaper with quidco cashback (£70 valid for 2 more days, not sure what happens after).

Thanks for the replies all, good information.

kwikbreaks

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Renewed with BT for another 12 months today. Being in the countryside there is only BT at the local exchange.

If you are using BT as your ISP then any number of other ISPs will be able to offer exactly the same BT Wholesale + Openreach resold services. Often BT pricing is higher than others offering the same base service.

thehaggler

kwikbreaks wrote: »

If you are using BT as your ISP then any number of other ISPs will be able to offer exactly the same BT Wholesale + Openreach resold services. Often BT pricing is higher than others offering the same base service.

Thats not true at all, Plusnet has traffic management. Some companies have bad packet loss when trying to stream or do online gaming! I have BT personally because not many companies offer a customer service guarantee scheme. Plus i get lots of benefits BT Sports, BT Cloud, Smart talk app Net protect plus and free caller display which i use frequently! At the end of my contracts i always seem to get a good deal too! I always get my MAC code then phone back 2 or 3 times and they eventually just crack and give you a deal. I think the people you speak to lose money if they don't keep you - don't know if it's true but read that before!