Inconsistent broadband speed availability

DJ123

Hi
I'm possibly looking to change broadband suppliers. Over the past few weeks I've been to a few well-known websites including BT and Plusnet. They ask me for my postcode, and then they tell you the various packages that they can offer you. Sometimes I'm offered a wide range of packages going from slow (3.5-6mb) to relatively fast (60-70mb sort of speed). Then other times I check, I am only offered slow (3.5-6mb). It seems to me that when one ISP offers me lots of packages on a given day then they all do. Alternatively if it's a day when I'm only offered a slow line, that's all I will be offered from any ISP on that day. This is not scientific! It's just what I remember happening and I could easily be mistaken here. Does anyone know what's going on here, and how I can be sure what is truly available in my area?
Thanks all
Andrew

steveE2

Probably your cabinet/connection is at full or near full capacity, the days you are seeing 60-70mb a space has become available only to be taken by someone else and the only available capacity then is the lower 3.5-6mb

hareng

Seen it happen loads of times, depends who you ask and who maybe paying them to list such an ISP.
If i go to Sky, EE, Talk Talk etc the last 12 years, i can only get up to 38meg FTTC1 but have attained 55meg for last 11 years else where and now running 500meg at less cost than BT FTTC2.
Moneysupermarket only Virgin, TT and Vodaphone show.
Uswitch only Virgin, Plusnet, TT and Now show.
GoCompare only shows BT additional to Uswitch and so on, make of it what you will.

Now stick in https://cityfibre.com/availability and 12 show up, there are more and thats only using their network excluding Virgins own network and (BT network on FTTC most use ie TT, Sky, Plusnet). Safe to say if you can get say Plusnet you can get everyone that uses FTTC platform, its all done remotely mine comes from Hull 200 mile away.

DJ123

Very useful info - cheers for that. When you start digging below the surface, broadband can get quite a bit more complicated than it first appears!

iniltous

City Fibre isn’t available everywhere, if you sometimes only get ADSL speeds offers for a particular address , it’s more than likely ( as already stated ) that the fibre cabinet is near or at full capacity, and if the cabinet has no spare ports , only ADSL is shown.

Rather than use the individual ISP checkers, in the first instance use the wholesale checker 

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

This is the basis for what the ISP can offer ( on Openreach ) , there can occasionally be times when a single ISP doesn’t offer FTTC , even though it shows as available on the DSL checker, and other ISP do offer FTTC, that’s because the individual ISP has its own ‘capacity’ issues , nothing to do with Openreach