How do BT offer speeds of 50mbps ? yet Plusnet 'Fibre' we get max 20mbps

[#1]

I had to, very recently, reluctantly sign up for another 24 month contract with PN, just to avoid continuing to pay £50pcm for an currently 'inferiour' broadband service, certainly not worth £50.

I live in a very rural area, not isolated at all but rural all the same. I have been a Plusnet customer for well over 5 years, actually I think nearer 8 years. I also had my mobile contract with PN and ofc had to find an alternative provider before PN mobile ceased to be.

When I signed up to our current PN contract, FIBRE (FTTC with no phone)  I was optimistic that our speeds might improve, at least. little. We were no longer using our landline anyway so that part seemed very sensible, and felt like we were moving in the right direction. Sadly our service seems to have not improved at all, we are well past the first 10 days but still experiencing cut outs and slow speeds. 

I had been very tempted to move to Gigaclear, as they have been activating the cables in our area that they laid last year, and many of our neighbours including my Dad who is also local to me, are enjoying speeds well over 150mbps with Gigaclear. I have ordered a Gigaclear contract, just incase, as I was aware the appointment dates they were offering were 3 months away. My Gigaclear installation date is now early April which I can still cancel up to 14 days after installation if required, but id rather cancel before the installation date. I have informed Gigalear of my intention to cancel and why, previously they advised me not to cancel yet and offered the first mont free if charge. I am waiting to hear from them again soon as I have just emailed them again. I do understand Gigaclear are a different fish altogether, but it is BT that I am confused about, they are offering speeds of up to 50mbps to my address, I can only presume that it is a general estimate for homes nearer the cabinet with a close to my postcode ? 

I am keen to find the fastest speed because my Son has returned home to live with me, previously he was living in a city, he got used to very fast download speeds. 

Can anyone tell me why BT can offer speeds of 50-70mbps from the same cabinet ? but the best speed PN could offer was a max of 30mbps and in reality it is 15-20 max. 

Any advice will be gratefully received. I am aware I'm no longer in a 'can shop around' position as I'm in a 24mth contract with 23 months remaining, and I would rather stay with PN if I can, I do think I could be getting nearer 30mbps with some tweaks here and there ? but if the cut outs don't improve I will have to take it up with Ofcom, but for now I will give PN plenty of time to try and resolve the issue. I have texted a 'HELP' fault today to the 0800 number for residential broadband faults, and will request the call back in the AM. 

[#2]

@lornato I think I follow what you are saying, but without some facts and figures to work from it is a little difficult to give advice.

If you want help, following the below may allow fellow forum members to advise:

For Community members to be able to help, information from these sites, as screenshots, posted as pictures within the topic, not as attachments:-

BT Broadband Availability Checker (obscuring your phone number), where a landline phone is no longer supplied or known use the address version BT Broadband Address Availability (obscuring your address)

BTW Performance Tester - Over a wired (Ethernet) connection if at all possible, please report the 'ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTICS'. This test is recommended to be performed with only one device connected.

Sight of the broadband connection status from your Hub (with the 'Username' obscured) would also be of help.

For the Hub One -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Troubleshooting > Helpdesk

For the Hub Two -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information

Where the phone line is still active, it may also be a good idea to report the results of a Quiet Line Test - dial 17070 option 2 from a (preferably corded) phone. After the confirmation of your phone number, there should be total silence apart from the regular 'Quiet Line Test' announcement. Any other noise - report a PHONE fault first.

If you are unsure about any of the above, please just ask - I am happy to help.

[#3]

As an ex-Plusnet customer and a current Gigaclear customer, I would suggest you go with Gigaclear as soon as you can. The difference between an asymmetric FTTC connection and a much faster symmetric FTTP  connection with lower latency is stark. Gigaclear also only impose a price rise once in an 18 month contract, and it has (so far) been less than the Plusnet percentage increase.

However, since you are in a long Plusnet contract, you should check the minimum guaranteed speed in your joining letter or contract - if you are below that then you can get the fault investigated and (hopefully) fixed. If you are getting more than the guaranteed minimum and the line test doesn't show a clear fault you may find it difficult to get anything done.

[#4]

Hi,

Cannot explain why BT can offer faster speed than PN. 

However, a neighbour who is with another provider Fibre only, no phone line was getting terrible slow speed. When he reported it and OR engineer arrived, looked at the issue, when away for 15 minutes then came back, speed had improved 25Mb up to 50M.

Cause, the telephone line was still connected in the cab, removed the jumper, all well. The broadband signal was going all the way back to the exchange.

If you plug in a phone and can hear static, more likely the same issue.

[#5]

A number of things come to mind here.

1. Without the detail of your current line stats, it is not possible to advise on the speed you are getting from Plusnet, which you indicate are similar to that from the other provider - when you change providers, the connection to the cabinet remains UNCHANGED and it is that which governs the speed.
2. The figures reported by BT / speed checker would be those on a perfect line - the reality of what you might get from BT Retail would probably be no different ... unless someone investigated the performance of your line
3. The 14 days right to cancel under the distance selling regulations is from SIGN UP date, not provisioning date - this is not a test and run option - if the service is installed you will have to pay ETCs (early termination charges_ if you leave early, other than in specific circumstances
4. It is unrealistic to compare PN / BT / Other ISP speeds with Gigaclear in your location as they use entirely different technologies

In the first instance here you should raise a (slow) speed fault report and give Plusnet the opportunity to see if there is an issue which should be fixed.

[#6]

"How do BT offer speeds of 50mbps ?"

I think the key word here is OFFER.

On the real copper service available to your house, unless there is a specific fault, the Openreach infrastructure both Plusnet and BT (and anyone else without their own physical netork) will not deliver a better service than you get from Plusnet.

It would be well worth giving Gigaclear a go.

By the time their contract completes there is a reasonable chance that Openreach will have fibred your area and if Gigaclear's service hasn't met your needs, then a return to any Openreach delivered full fibre service may be possible.