Understanding fastest possible connection...

Iwonder2

Hi there,
I tried to purchase BT Fibre 2 for my new flat I'm moving into next week. The process was fine until I arrived at the last stage of checkout and it failed.
I called BT and they said this is because they can only promise a typical download speed of 14-16Mhb & Upload of 6Mb.
They therefore cautioned that buying a 60Mb type deal with a different provider may not lead to faster speeds even if they allow the purchase.
I understand the flat is limited to fibre to the cabinet then copper.
Would the logical thing be to therefore get a lower deal...I was thinking EE 36Mb (though conscious they are hiking prices from March) or perhaps trying for the Vodafone 64Mb since it is cheaper anyway and seeing what speed I get in reality? 
I'm not convinced by vodafone's customer service ratings. The current owner had talktalk, which I've also noticed has bad customer service reviews.
Keen to hear some opinions on the speed issue/provider

[Deleted User]

There's no point in buying a product that significantly exceeds the ability of your line, unless it makes financial sense. 

Iwonder2

Deleted_User said:

There's no point in buying a product that significantly exceeds the ability of your line, unless it makes financial sense. 

Yeah unfortunately the lower deals are actually more expensive due to offers.
I was wondering what the disparity can be sometimes between the prediction of the provider vs the reality of the connection strength when in situ? 
I imagine they only predict a certain number conservatively as to avoid complaints...

Iwonder2

I called EE. They have visibility of their own connections + BT.
For anyone with a peculiar situation like this - I was told EE can actually see the line can supply up to 80Mbs however the BT line have no spaces left in this particular cabinet as they've exceed their customer allowance and it is therefore a limitation on the BT side rather than the actual capacity of the address location....

moneysavinghero

EE are owned by BT and have the same pricing policy - so you will be subject to the same annual Inflation + 3.9% price increase whether you are with EE or BT

Iwonder2

moneysavinghero said:

EE are owned by BT and have the same pricing policy - so you will be subject to the same annual Inflation + 3.9% price increase whether you are with EE or BT

Yep I realise this - I just did not realise that they sometimes can offer different connection strengths to the same location as per their cabinet availabililty.
Based on my new findings think I'm gonna go for the vodafone cashback deal and hope their customer service isn't too appalling! 

iniltous

Iwonder2 said:

I called EE. They have visibility of their own connections + BT.
For anyone with a peculiar situation like this - I was told EE can actually see the line can supply up to 80Mbs however the BT line have no spaces left in this particular cabinet as they've exceed their customer allowance and it is therefore a limitation on the BT side rather than the actual capacity of the address location....

This is absolute BS, Openreach provide the FTTC equipment and all ‘ports’ are available to all providers , all ports are identical and capable of delivering 80Mb if the line connected can support that speed , if a line is capable of more than 40 or 55 but that’s the speed the customer has purchased then the port is restricted to delivering 40 or 55.
 If a particular line length means that ( for example) 40 is the maximum download it can support , arguably purchasing 55 or 80 is pointless as 40 is the best the line can do.....FTTC speeds are dependent on the length and quality of the line.
Check your address at 
https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/

this will give an estimate of what the line to your property will deliver.
If there are no ports spare in the cabinet then no provider can magic one out if thin air, the cab will show ‘waiting list’ and as that suggests, the provider ( and therefore the consumer) have to wait until a port becomes spare by someone leaving the service , or by Openreach increasing capacity at that cabinet

Iwonder2

iniltous said:

Iwonder2 said:

I called EE. They have visibility of their own connections + BT.
For anyone with a peculiar situation like this - I was told EE can actually see the line can supply up to 80Mbs however the BT line have no spaces left in this particular cabinet as they've exceed their customer allowance and it is therefore a limitation on the BT side rather than the actual capacity of the address location....

This is absolute BS, Openreach provide the FTTC equipment and all ‘ports’ are available to all providers , all ports are identical and capable of delivering 80Mb if the line connected can support that speed , if a line is capable of more than 40 or 55 but that’s the speed the customer has purchased then the port is restricted to delivering 40 or 55.
 If a particular line length means that ( for example) 40 is the maximum download it can support , arguably purchasing 55 or 80 is pointless as 40 is the best the line can do.....FTTC speeds are dependent on the length and quality of the line.
Check your address at 
https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/

this will give an estimate of what the line to your property will deliver.
If there are no ports spare in the cabinet then no provider can magic one out if thin air, the cab will show ‘waiting list’ and as that suggests, the provider ( and therefore the consumer) have to wait until a port becomes spare by someone leaving the service , or by Openreach increasing capacity at that cabinet

Interesting...so they're each just making up stories for the fun of it.
What do you take from the report from the checker? (if the attached img has worked)

onomatopoeia99

The image suggests that your line has the potential to support the full 80Mbps on FTTC and always better than 60Mbps.

EE told you a load of nonsense about ports as iniltous explained.  The people in call centres of the big ISPs seem to just make stuff up, assuming the public won't have a clue.

iniltous

As it’s Openreach , not ‘BT’ that supply and fit the connection, and given there are Covid restrictions on what Openreach installers will and won’t do, it’s possible that BT have arbitrarily decided not to offer installation ( even though it’s OR that install) or OR may not be installing so BT are effectively passing that info on, if EE ( which is part of BT Group ) can offer installation then why can’t BT ?.
 If OR will enter the property if necessary, to install it,  BT or EE will provide the same speed , if you purchase the 80Mb product from either the wholesale checker suggests you could get that speed, but the checker shows a range, if the actual speed is in the range then they have provided what the said they would.
Before you order with any company I would get them to confirm that OR will indeed visit and install the copper pair line from the cab to your home ( if a home visit is needed ) as it’s not unheard of for them to sign you up and only after the failed install tell you OR are not going to enter your property, however as there has been service in the property previously, OR may not be even need to be inside and all work required is external...although the EE rep was talking nonsense , it is strange that they will accept your order but BT won’t, it’s not a capacity issue at the cab that is stopping BT.

Neil49

Could be worth getting a quote from Plusnet who are owned by, you've guessed it, BT.