WiFi From Cabinet in Street

DavidAC

I have been having slow broadband issues with NowBroadband for years, hardly ever getting anywhere near the 36Mbs I should get. Having looked at switching, Onestream is the only one I found that has a guaranteed minimum of more than12Mbs. After doing a postcode check with them and not switching, they called me. They said they (presume Openreach) will put WiFi in the cabinet in the street and guarantee 48Mbs at no additional cost to me. They will put it in writing once I switch to them, but could (or would) not put it in writing before.

Anyone had this done? I dont want to switch only to find out I get the same slow speed, and Onestream don't seem to have the best reputation.

TadleyBaggie

WiFi always comes from the router in your home. 

oldernonethewiser

DavidAC said:

I have been having slow broadband issues with NowBroadband for years, hardly ever getting anywhere near the 36Mbs I should get. Having looked at switching, Onestream is the only one I found that has a guaranteed minimum of more than12Mbs. After doing a postcode check with them and not switching, they called me. They said they (presume Openreach) will put WiFi in the cabinet in the street and guarantee 48Mbs at no additional cost to me. They will put it in writing once I switch to them, but could (or would) not put it in writing before.

Anyone had this done? I dont want to switch only to find out I get the same slow speed, and Onestream don't seem to have the best reputation.

That doesn't make sense.  Wifi, as TadleyBaggie wrote, is something that is set up in your home not out in the street.

Have Now Broadband ever investigated the reason for the less than ideal speeds?

iniltous

As stated , WiFi is what your router broadcasts , broadband is what you buy from Now and are considering buying from Onestream….they both use the same Openreach FTTC ( fibre to the cabinet ) infrastructure, so the chances are the speed delivered will be pretty much the same .

It’s possible your line isn’t working as well as it could …enter your postcode here and post the results.

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

DavidAC

I know about WiFi, I use it. I was very suspicious of what was suggested. I was told they would upgrade the line. I questioned how it would be done and was told they would put WiFi in the cabinet in the street to my home. It did not seem plausible to me. How many routes could they fit in a cabinet for people that want it. They did not ask how far I was from the cabinet. Security? I asked for it in writing, in an email. They said they would send me an email once I had switched, which of course would be too late if they did not do it. If it is a scam, very bad of Onestream.

DavidAC

Going on MSE Compare Broadband.
Vodafone Fibre 2, 67Mb. Get deal goes to site, enter my postcode and house number. Fastest deal on offer Fibre 1 guaranteed minimum 12Mbs. Enter a postcode near buy I get 63.7Mbs guarantee.

TalkTalk Fibre 65, 67Mb. Get deal goes to site, enter my postcode and house number. Fastest deal on offer 13.6Mbs to 15.2Mbs, guaranteed minimum 12.3Mbs. This is about what I get from NOW Broadband on their 36Mbs plan. Just tried entering my next door neighbour house number and it comes back with over 50Mbs. Why? Our houses are attached, built at the same time in 2006.

oldernonethewiser

What did Now guarantee you when you signed up?

Something very odd about that Onestream offer and not something I would be going near.

It is possible the phone lines are routed differently in two properties.

matelodave

Its quite possible to have an ADSL direct connection to the exchange which can be and often is slower than Fibre to the Cabinet as the distances and equipment are different.

If a neighbour decided to go for a FTTC connection when it became available the his external cabling may have been rerouted via the cabinet whereas the adjoining property may still have a direct connection if an increase in speed or cost wasn't considered important (or may not have even  been available).

In our local village there are people who live within yards of each other who have chosen for various reasons to either remain on the existing direct connection, go for FTTC where or when it became available and some who have opted for FTTP again where its available to them.

Not everything is available to each of the premises even though they are only a short distance from each other.

My mate has just moved from a direct to FTTP with a consequent jump in speeds from just over 10 to around 500 - he wasn't able to ever get FTTC whereas his friend who lives in the next street can only get around 50mbit/s from an FTTC connection because FTTP isn't yet available to him and may not be for another year or so.

I live in a place which is miles from anywhere and five years we got upgraded to fibre from a very long 5km FTTC connection running at 2mbit/s to FTTP with speeds of up to 900mbit/s if I want it (100 is fast enough for me)

iniltous

The OP supposedly was predicted 36Mb , so cannot be ADSL2 , and must be FTTC/VDSL ….what the ‘new’ potential provider ( being generous ) is offering ( although using ridiculous language, WiFi from the cabinet ) is also FTTC , so offering a greater minimum speed guarantee is nonsense, the speed provided will be near enough the same as what their current supplier providers , after all it the exact same Openreach equipment and ‘line’ .
The OP was asked to provide the BTw information for their address , but they haven’t provided it , therefore further speculation is  a little pointless, until what BTw show the line as capable of , failing that the OP could show the Now router connection statistics 

DavidAC

Featured Products	Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)		Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)		Downstream Handback Threshold(Mbps)	WBC FTTC Availability Date	WBC SOGEA Availability Date
	High	Low	High	Low
VDSL Range A (Clean)	80	74	20	19	67	Unavailable	Available
VDSL Range B (Impacted)	80	72.3	20	19	65.2	Unavailable	Available
G.fast Range A (Clean)	--	--	--	--	--	Unavailable	--
G.fast Range B (Impacted)	--	--	--	--	--	Unavailable	--

Featured Products	Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)	Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Downstream Range (Mbps)	Availability Date	FTTP Install Process
FTTP on Demand	330	50	--	Available	--

ADSL Products	Downstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Downstream Range(Mbps)	Availability Date
WBC ADSL 2+	Up to 12	--	7 to 17	Available
WBC ADSL2+ Annex M	Up to 12	Up to 1	7 to 17	Available
ADSL Max	Up to 6.5	--	5.5 to 8	Available
WBC Fixed Rate	2	--	--	Available
Fixed Rate	2	--	--	Available

SOADSL Products	Downstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Upstream Line Rate (Mbps)	Downstream Range(Mbps)	WBC SOADSL Availability Date
WBC SOADSL 2+	Up to 12.0	--	7.0 to 17.0	Available
SOADSL Max	Up to 6.5	--	5.5 to 8.0	Available
SOADSL Fixed Rate	Up to 2	--	--	Available

Other Offerings	Availability Date
VDSL Multicast	Available

Exchange Product Restrictions	Status
FTTP Priority Exchange	N
WLR Withdrawal	Y
SOADSL Restriction	N

DavidAC

I started the application with NOW Broadband for my address saying I was moving there, it returned minimum 12Mbs for both 36Mbs and 67Mbs fibre packages. Most providers show the same. BT are showing Your Stay Fast Guarantee 60Mb for their Fibre 2. Plusnet show 61Mb minimum guaranteed speed. It says I can leave in the first 14 days if I don't get it, but I don't really want to switch unless I have some confidence I will get that speed. My 36Mbs NOW package costs about the same with free anytime calls. 36Mbs is fast enough for me, if only I got it. Speed check today 16Mbs connected by Ethernet to router, that is the speed I get most of the time.