Is it time to quit Plusnet ?

[#1]

I have been with Plusnet for years. I'm in a rural setting so normally get about 10mbps. Recently our landline was down for about a week.

Now that Openreach have fixed the landline I'm down to about 7mbps. Plusnet have tested an reported no problem. I have switched the router on and off twice.

So is it time to quit Plusnet? 

[#2]

I'm assuming you are on an ADSL connection? If there is no Full Fibre option in your area, whoever you go with will only get what the BT infrastructure will give, which is what you are getting now.

Can you post the result of https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL - after obscuring your phone number. Please make sure the narrative at the foot is included.

[#3]

Some (many?) rural areas are being deprioritized by Openreach - my area is also still ADSL only, and the guaranteed download speed has been progressively reduced over the past couple of years. They have no plans to make any network improvements here.

If I wanted to go back to Plusnet ADSL (and I don't!) my guaranteed speed would be 2.5Mbps. A decade ago it was 7.5Mbps. Lowering the guaranteed speed allows them to find no fault in lines that would previously have been considered faulty.

Your best bet may be an altnet if available, or 4G (I moved to a 4G with directional antenna until altnet FTTP arrived).

[#4]

@Biz55 try putting your address in to the Ofcom Broadband Availability Checker to see if you have alternatives to Openreach

[#5]

It's not only rural areas that OR can't be bothered with.

We live in central York - an Gigabyte city according to the council. Our FFTC conncetion has normally been arounf 10-11mpbs. When we had an issue last year, the OR engineer explained that although we're 800m from the cabinet, then line takes a roundabout route to actually get to our house, so is about 1.5k. Ergo that's about as fast as we can expect to get. OR has no plans to change any local kit before 2025.🤔

interestingly, a week or so ago, our speed dropped to about 1/2 what we normally get. the nice PN support person did a remote reset on our line, since which we've reached the dizzy speeds of 14.5mbps more-or-less constantly.😀

meanwhile, CIty FIbre have spent the last nine months ferreting about in our neighbourhood. So NOW, the even numbers in our street can get Full Fibre. Sadly, we're on the odd side 🤔☹️. But PN are happy to upgrade us - same price, but tied in for 2 years, same speed, but no phoneline. which doesn't strike me as much of an upgrade.

[#6]

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@Biz55 wrote:

Now that Openreach have fixed the landline I'm down to about 7mbps.

@Biz55 

Try applying to have your connection upgraded to the  Broadband USO - your right to a 10 Mbps connection 

"The USO gives everyone living or working in a fixed location the right to request a broadband connection that connects at 10 Mbps or more in the download direction and 1 Mbps or more in the upload direction."

[#7]

@Anonymous, you have the right to request a 10Mbps connection. That is quite different to getting one.

I haven't seen statistics for the last year, but as of 2022 there were very few successful USO requests. They can refuse if there is a likelyhood (i.e. any chance at all) of any other broadband deployment with 24 months, if the cost is more than £3400 the customer is expected to pay the balance - and then they have 12 months to complete the build.

A 4G wireless solution is the usual solution - except the monthly price tends to be more than you could get elsewhere. And with the geographic coverage of 4G almost complete, 4G is likely to be the only solution remote customers will be offered. It doesn't need to be fast - just 10Mps sometimes.