Upto 38Mb/76Mb

Kraftwerk

Hi
I'm looking in getting fibre broadband in the next few weeks and will most probably go with 'Plusnet', but I've noticed that they have two speeds to choose from:

Upto 38Mb

or

Upto 76Mb

I would want the faster ofcoarse, but what I want to know (if it's possible) is how will I know if I can get anywhere near 38Mb, because if I can't get near 38, then paying extra for 76Mb is a waste of money.

Or doesn't it work like that?

Thanks

LazyTyper

Go to https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html and put in your phone number. That will give a good indication of the speed you can expect.

rusty_f

If you start the order process with Plus Net you should get a speed estimate provided as part of the process. Failing that, Google the 'BT Wholesale ADSL checker' and provide your details - they'll give you a speed estimate for FTTC (if your line supports it).

onomatopoeia99

FTTC often runs at near the "up to" speed, unlike ADSL, so there is a good chance you will get all of the 80Mbps service if the checker indicates it. The question then becomes do you need it?

I'm on a 40Mbps connection as it's cheaper than 80, and I rarely run it at capacity. Even when I do, for example downloading an operating system DVD ISO image, I don't find myself thinking "Oh, I need more speed!!!!"

forgotmyname

How far are you from your local cabinet? My back garden joins onto the neighbour on the road behind and the box is on the opposite side of the road to them.

I get 73mb, The guy that installed it said its even higher on his test box but capped down by Plusnet.

Even though its fast you always want faster.

Upto 3 minutes to download 1 gig depending on the server, so slow.

JenniferK

I get 76Mb with Origin Broadband. I switched from Plusnet two months ago due to diabolical service. When on Plusnet's upto 76Mb service they capped it at 48Mb so now have 58% speed increase. So beware Plusnet may not give you the full potential speed for your line.

Kraftwerk

JenniferK wrote: »

I get 76Mb with Origin Broadband. I switched from Plusnet two months ago due to diabolical service. When on Plusnet's upto 76Mb service they capped it at 48Mb so now have 58% speed increase. So beware Plusnet may not give you the full potential speed for your line.

Thanks for all the helpful replies.
@JenniferK: That's what I was thinking - if I pay for the upto 78Mb connection, will I be getting it, and as you say, sometimes you don't.

I live about 2 miles from the local box (not sure what you actually call it), which is quite far, which is why I get about 6Mb connection at the moment, which is fine, but as I want to start streaming 4K videos, I need fibre.

Kraftwerk

It looks like I have to get 'line rental' with the fibre provider - is this the case?

I'm with the Post Office for phone and line rental and with Sky for broadband and as the Post Office don't do fibre I will have to try another company.

Kraftwerk

LazyTyper wrote: »

Go to https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html and put in your phone number. That will give a good indication of the speed you can expect.

Thanks for this.
I've just checked and it says:

FTTC Range A (Clean):
Downstream
High
78.9
Low
59.7

Upstream
High
20
Low
18.6

FTTC Range B (impacted)
Downstream
High
70.4
Low
46.2

Upstream
High
20
Low
13.7

I might go for Upto 38.

Kraftwerk

JenniferK wrote: »

I get 76Mb with Origin Broadband. I switched from Plusnet two months ago due to diabolical service. When on Plusnet's upto 76Mb service they capped it at 48Mb so now have 58% speed increase. So beware Plusnet may not give you the full potential speed for your line.

Just checked Origin Broadband (never heard of them before) and their prices and customer ratings are very high.

There is a slight worry in it being a fairly new company, but I think I will be going with Origin.

Just remembered, I have a 12 month contract with Sky broadband , so will have to wait about 6 months before it ends, which is pain.

Looking forward to joining Origin, from what I've read they are a great company.

Thankyou JenniferK

spannerzone

Something to note that with Plusnet's up to 38mbps service they severely restrict the upload speed to 1.9mbps (Fibre upload speed is usually up to 18mbps) This only makes a difference to those that upload (eg videos to Youtube, or work a lot from home connecting to an office)

I think the upload is incredibly stingy compared to virutally every other ISP that doesn't appear to do this restriction on uploads.

However, I should mention I'm with Plusnet on their upto 76mbps service and I get about 75mbps and am very happy with the service provided (except the crappy modem they supply, I ditched it and use a TP Link W9980 instead)