Now Broadband + Talk contract renewal - Openreach provider is a must

easysaver

Hi. Apologies if this has already been covered but I've had a quick look through the recent threads and I can't find anything that matches my circumstances.

I've got just under a month remaining on my first 12 month contract on Now Full Fibre 100 Broadband + Talk (it's FTTP, and I've no interest in TV packages). Current cost is £28 but the renewal (also 12 months) is £42. I called retentions but the cheapest offer was Full Fibre 300 at £35 (lower speeds more expensive).

I need to stick with an Openreach provider because I don't want my drive dug up. I think that restricts me to Sky, Now, Plusnet and BT. Any others? I also want to keep the digital landline plugged into the router, preferably keeping my existing number. Plusnet don't offer a landline.

If I can't switch as a new customer to Now or Sky then that leaves me with BT who offer 74Mbps for £26.99 (speed is good enough).

Is there any way to switch as a new customer to Now or Sky? Is it possible for me to cancel and my partner to take out a new contract (same surname)? Has anyone gone through this process successfully?

TadleyBaggie

Having new fibre installed doesn't necessarily mean they will need to dig up drive/garden. I had a non-Openreach fibre installation done earlier in the year and they were able to push the fibre through the existing ducting to my house without issues in a few minutes. I was surprised as my house was built in the 80's and I'd assumed the infrastructure wouldn't be available. 

Rodders53

Broadband & TV Deals

Use that to find the providers for your address.

Vodafone is likely to be one of the cheapest.  Or Talk Talk.  But that may depend on your Exchange and equipment ISPs have installed there.

Do you need a landline phone?  Mobile package deals and WiFi calling may be cheaper than an inclusive landline calls one?

As I Understand It:  Few full fibre providers should need to dig up driveways if there's an existing BT Openreach underground duct, or even if via overhead wire.

easysaver

TadleyBaggie said:

Having new fibre installed doesn't necessarily mean they will need to dig up drive/garden. I had a non-Openreach fibre installation done earlier in the year and they were able to push the fibre through the existing ducting to my house without issues in a few minutes. I was surprised as my house was built in the 80's and I'd assumed the infrastructure wouldn't be available. 

I have three connection points at the edge of my property. Openreach and Virgin are beside each other, and my fibre runs through the Openreach duct under the drive. I would hope that Virgin could run their fibre through the Openreach duct but what I don't want is to sign up to Virgin and then find they need to dig up the drive.

There is also a CityFibre point some distance away (about 8m) at the side of the house. To run the fibre to the house would require digging to put in a new duct, something I want to avoid at all costs.

I think the CityFibre route would be used by all the poviders apart from Now, Sky, Plusnet and BT.

easysaver

Rodders53 said:

Broadband & TV Deals

Use that to find the providers for your address.

Vodafone is likely to be one of the cheapest.  Or Talk Talk.  But that may depend on your Exchange and equipment ISPs have installed there.

Do you need a landline phone?  Mobile package deals and WiFi calling may be cheaper than an inclusive landline calls one?

As I Understand It:  Few full fibre providers should need to dig up driveways if there's an existing BT Openreach underground duct, or even if via overhead wire.

Yes, Vodafone is one of the cheapest but not TalkTalk. Rise and 4th Utility (not heard of either) are cheaper than Vodafone.

I don't need a landline but my partner does for incoming calls from elderly relatives (it's not a "need" but a resistance to change, a battle I won't win for the time being!).

I can't see how they can avoid digging up the drive, if the provider uses CityFibre, because the Openreach duct is so far away (less digging to my house than to the Openreach duct). I guess most providers use CityFibre because it's cheaper than Openreach.

dnpark38

Rodders53
My BT Openreach at present has two full fibre networks in its trunking and up the post. Two more more networks have indicated an interest in using the BT Openreach trunking/poles. 
Does this mean if for example one signs up with a particular provider the provider could choose to use an alternative to ones present Open Reach fibre?

mac.d

EE are another option. I was with BT and they couldn't match what I wanted but were able to give a better price for their EE branded service.

Are Sky definitely Open Reach only? I was considering them but when I asked this question the customer service agent couldn't answer it. Zen had a decent offer (for them) when I was looking but they said it was using City fibre and if I wanted to take the Open Reach based service it was dearer.

easysaver

mac.d said:

EE are another option. I was with BT and they couldn't match what I wanted but were able to give a better price for their EE branded service.

Are Sky definitely Open Reach only? I was considering them but when I asked this question the customer service agent couldn't answer it. Zen had a decent offer (for them) when I was looking but they said it was using City fibre and if I wanted to take the Open Reach based service it was dearer.

The cheapest EE product is the same speed and price as BT, to be expected.

For future reference - https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/fttp-providers
Vodafone is listed but may also use CityFibre, and a quick search on Sky comes up with a Sky forum post saying they have recently started using CityFibre as well.

I'd guess that where a provider can use either Openreach or CityFibre then surely it's most cost effective to use an existing fibre line rather than install a brand new one. But I guess that depends on their contractual agreements with the suppliers. It's the uncertainty that's the killer for me.

iniltous

If City Fibre are available (that’s a network not an ISP ) and have not used Openreach infrastructure in your area , then they may excavate the final leg from their footway ‘Toby box’ to your house wall ….when City Fibre utilises Openreach they don’t need to provide their own Toby Bix as they are using Openreach duct ….unfortunately you won’t know for sure until you call and order or a neighbour has been through the process , FYI , on another forum a contributor was moving BT to Sky , they assumed like you that it would be no more than a change or router ( no other work needed ) , however Sky use City Fibre and ~Openreach and in their case it was on City Fibre (even though they told Sky to use the existing Openreach network) , when the digging’ crew turned up they canned with Sky and returned to BT .
The biggest choice if ISP are on Openreach , but TBH , I’d not be driven just by price , there are many posts on here where customers signed up to the cheapest available ISP and regretted it , with hidden costs , blatant sharp practise (like charging for the router when you leave and only refunding the cost once they confirm it’s back with them ) .

FWIW , I recently renewed with BT , £25.99 for broadband, but that’s FTTC , I’ve seen others on FTTP offered cheaper or that price but for 150Mb or faster  ,  they still try to get you onto EE , I believe that was a little cheaper .
BT and EE offer telephony not every one does . ..it normally adds £2 to £3 to the price , VF can be cheap , but like Sky you need to confirm what network they will use , as they also use City Fibre , and if both Openreach and CF are available they prioritise City Fibre , with the potential excavation that comes with that .

You can subvert the system and get a partner to sign up as a new customer, most ISP don’t care , but with Sky you need to check if it will be on Openreach as it may not be ….

dnpark38

mac.d said:

 Zen had a decent offer (for them) when I was looking but they said it was using City fibre and if I wanted to take the Open Reach based service it was dearer.

I'm with ZEN on BT/Open Reach and they are expensive compared to the adverts which abound on Facebook.

Ectophile

I recently switched from Now to Vodafone.  So they definitely use Openreach fibre.  VoIP phone is included at no cost (unless you want a calls package), and they ported across my landline number.