Upgrade?

[#1]

I  currently have "Unlimited Business Broadband with 7 - 16Mb estimated download speed"  I'm currently struggling to reach 4Mb.  Video chat becomes almoost unuseable at times.  Virgin have just dug trenches all down our street and installed fibre points by every house.   I have been with PlusNet for a very long time.  I have found Plusnet to be a great firm to deal with.  I have earned a great many Referral Points that reduce my monthly bill for phone and broadband to about £9.00 

If I don't log in to the Plusnet site and search my address, I am offered Ultimate Full Fibre for about £23.

If I call the helpdesk, I am told that I can get Full Fibre

If I log in and click "Upgrade", the only package I am offered is the one I am already on - and which is failing to deliver.  I have had a "ticket" out, waiting for a response for about a month now (though I cannot now navigate the Byzantine website to find it).

Do I simply jump ship and go for Virgin?  I know there's no sign of any BT fibre down our road (though it is close).  I know it's going to cost me - but I accept that I'll need to pay for any reliable service.

[#2]

What does https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL say -  using your phone number? Obscure your number in the reply.

[#3]

It says (in red): 

We are sorry but the checker is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later.

[#4]

When you click the link - or later ? I've just tried it with no problem.

[#5]

Ah!  Another try produces results!

The top few lines are shown below (if you can translate them!)  The whole thing is attached as a .pdf file

Featured Products Downstream Line Rate(Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream HandbackThreshold(Mbps) WBC FTTC Availability Date WBC SOGEA Availability Date Left in JumperHigh Low High Low        VDSL Range A (Clean)VDSL Range B (Impacted)

80	74.1	20	19	69.8	Available	Available	--
80	73.9	20	19	67.4	Available	Available	--

Featured Products Downstream Line Rate(Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream Range (Mbps) Availability Date FTTP Install ProcessFTTP on Demand

330

50

--

Available

--

ADSL Products Downstream Line Rate (Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream Range(Mbps) ADSL Availability Date Left in JumperWBC ADSL 2+WBC ADSL2+ Annex MADSL MaxWBC Fixed RateFixed Rate

Up to 15	--	8.5 to 19.5	Available	--
Up to 15	Up to 1	8.5 to 19.5	Available	--
Up to 8	--	7 to 8	Available	--
2	--	--	Available	--
2	--	--	Available	--

[#6]

From the PDF - much easier to read and more useful - you can get FTTC, so I personally would ring in and get Plusnet to check. I may be wrong, but it could be the fact you are on a Business account that is confusing the PN systems - they are temperamental and (IMO) badly configured.

[#7]

@woodchipchris Well the PDF clearly shows that FTTP is not available to you.

(FTTP On Demand which is shown is a separate and extremely expensive, hard to get product)

Did you use your phone number or your address to check for what is available? If you used the phone number option, could you please try again on the page linked above but select the "Address checker" towards the bottom of the page.

This will see if there is a database error in Openreach's system and might explain why Plusnet's checker says FTTP is available but the link says not.

And finally the Plusnet Member Centre upgrade options is having an issue which Plusnet are looking into as it isn't showing upgrade options for lots of us currently (including myself)

[#8]

@SpendLessTime I think you must be looking at a different PDF - it clearly shows FTTC as available to me. 😕

[#9]

Also currently Plusnet do not do FTTP for Business accounts so even if it is available, it will only be a residential account so would be a new account without voice calls or emails. (Plusnet FTTP has no voice service and upgrading terminates your voice losing the phone number too)

[#10]

@jab1 I never mentioned FTTC it says FTTP

[#11]

@jab1 I was just looking at the OP's comment about "FULL Fibre" which is FTTP and left the FTTC to you

[#12]

@SpendLessTime Apologies - I just went on the Availability Checker - FTTP is definitely not available to the OP, but FTTC is.

[#13]

Hmmm..  While this conversation is going on, a man from Virgin has turned up.  Free fibre ("Up to 1Gb") for 6 months plus a £200 Amazon voucher.  This so that they can test their new installation.  I just need to turn off my existing router.  Presumably, the phone line won't be affected at that stage.

I'm very tempted...

[#14]

@woodchipchris Understandable - but did he tell you the cost after the 6 months?

[#15]

No.  And a browse of their standard offerings suggest that (after the first customer-grabbing) 18 months may look fairly prohibitive.  I shall be sure that I find out before they dig a trench through my lawn what I will be looking at in 2 years' time (6 months free trial and 18 months introductory offer)

However, as suggested in the thread above:  BT's FTTP is not (actually cannot) be available down this road because they have no fibre laid!  The copper that was put down some 50 years ago is getting steadily worse and the cabinet is quite a distance from the house.

BT are not (as far as I can determine) planning to install any fibre here - but, within the next 2 years, I suspect that they will have to do something!