Just HOW bad is 1Mbps BB? And 4G options.

Bendy_House

Ha-ha, quite possibly Cisco!

I did ask PlusNet (mil is keen to go with them as a friend recommended them, and I'm not one to argue...) what the best approach is, and they say to just start a contract as normal - with ADSL - and then they'll upgrade it when they can.

For all she needs in the short-term - emails, light surfing and BBO - 1-2 Mbps could well work ok. If it doesn't, then she'll have to pop back here for her games of Bridge

She can leave streaming - the iPlayers - until she's fibred.

Fidden

Cisco001 said:

Bendy_House said:

Many thanks everyone.

Just found out that the 'village' will be upgraded to fibre in around 4 months time, so she can start with ADSL and then upgrade as needed.

We were able to reassure her, tho', that there were other options out there should this have not been the case - she cannae dae w'oot BBO...

I personally would use 4G until they fully upgrade.
Arguing with CS from broadband company about min term, cancellation charge, non-performance, delays, etc will cause headache.

This exactly.  Most contracts are 18-24 months on ADSL, so soldier on with 4G until fibre is available.

Bendy_House

Thanks again.

I've had it confirmed with PlusNet that it's fine to start an ADSL contract, and they'll simply upgrade it to fibre as and when it's requested.

She might even find that ADSL will do what she needs!

pramsay13

We spent a year in Africa and the internet we had was 1 Mbps.
It was fine for most internet things apart from streaming. 
It was okay for downloading from iPlayer or Netflix but just needed us to organise in advance (usually the night before and just let it download overnight.)

TimSynths

pramsay13 said:

We spent a year in Africa and the internet we had was 1 Mbps.
It was fine for most internet things apart from streaming. 
It was okay for downloading from iPlayer or Netflix but just needed us to organise in advance (usually the night before and just let it download overnight.)

I just got back yesterday. 54kbps to 1.1mbps if we were lucky. Went the last four days with no internet access at all. Made online banking near impossible.

OP- Three Broadband is approx £23 pm inc the router- I would defo investigate.

4G & 5G Home Broadband | Three

HaroldWren5

Bendy_House said:

Many thanks everyone.

Just found out that the 'village' will be upgraded to fibre in around 4 months time, so she can start with ADSL and then upgrade as needed.

We were able to reassure her, tho', that there were other options out there should this have not been the case - she cannae dae w'oot BBO...

I concur with Cisco. Do not renew your existing FTTC contract. You want MAXIMUM negotiating power to upgrade or change provider to get FTTP (Full Fibre) when it's delivered in 4 months time. 

Go with 4G Mobile broadband on a rolling 30 day contract with a mobile provider until then. Or just stay out of contract on the existing line. When Fibre is delivered in 4 months time to the area, then price compare providers at that point. 

matelodave

As Harold says, I would go with 4G until you are confident that you can actually get FTTP.

Ours took around 12 months longer then the planned rollout due to problems with ducts and poles and TBH I wouldn't really trust what PlusNet says, even if they wrote it down in a contract.

Fidden

Plusnet is, after all, BT.  Trust no one, especially those who have been proven to go back on their word in the past!

prowla

HaroldWren5 said:

Bendy_House said:

Many thanks everyone.

Just found out that the 'village' will be upgraded to fibre in around 4 months time, so she can start with ADSL and then upgrade as needed.

We were able to reassure her, tho', that there were other options out there should this have not been the case - she cannae dae w'oot BBO...

I concur with Cisco. Do not renew your existing FTTC contract. You want MAXIMUM negotiating power to upgrade or change provider to get FTTP (Full Fibre) when it's delivered in 4 months time. 

Go with 4G Mobile broadband on a rolling 30 day contract with a mobile provider until then. Or just stay out of contract on the existing line. When Fibre is delivered in 4 months time to the area, then price compare providers at that point. 

Did they say it was going to be FFTP and is currently FTTC?

I'd be pretty sure that the existing connection is not FTTC, or it'd be more than 1Mbps; it's more likely to be POTS.

POTS = Plain Old Telephone System (wires from the Exchange).

FTTC = Fibre To The Cabinet (and a wire from there to the house).

FTTP = Fibre To The Premises (the connection to your house is fibre).

Bendy_House

Ha-ha! Thank you all.

I know that is sound advice, and will gently encourage it. I was surprised that PlusNet's basic service - up to 10Mbps, landline and calls - is just over £30, whereas I'm currently paying £24.50 pm for 35Mbps fibre and the above from TalkTalk.

It isn't as simple as the above, tho'... She's barely managed a single game of BBO without a dropout, and I'm darned if I can find out why. She's connected via TP-Link powerlines AND WiFi, and both appear to be fine, but still...

The 'problem' is, a BBO friend of hers has PlusNet, sings its praises, so I'm loath to suggest another provider, because if it goes wrong, it'll be my fault :-)