FTTP Trial Ending

[#1]

I have been on the FTTP trial for some years (36Mb/s + Hub 1). I have been perfectly happy with the the existing setup.

I mainly use Vonage VOIP for voice (that costs around £11/month, free calls to UK landlines).

I rarely use my mobile, so I have an ASDA PAYG SIM. It only gets used for 2 factor authentication SMS and the occasional short voice connection when I am away from the house.

Yesterday I received a phone call from Plusnet to tell me the FTTP trial has ended and I have to transition to a 24month contract.

The broadband monthly cost looks about the same as I am paying now. I am told the speed will double to 72Mb/s. I assume I would need to replace the Hub1 with a Hub2 - although that was not mentioned.

I currently have fixed IP. Again that was not mentioned.

The Hub2 has a digital voice socket but Plusnet do not support this. As far as I can tell there are still no plans to offer digital voice in the future.

I was offered the option of switching to EE which does offer digital voice for a similar price. Hopefully I would be able to keep my existing phone number?

If I had digital voice, I could ditch Vonage and save around £11/month. Instead I could change my mobile ASDA PAYG SIM to a contract that includes free voice calls. The broadband digital voice would then only be used as a backup.

Right now I can see little advantage to staying with Plusnet.

[#2]

@briank 

Do your price comparison carefully, especially if you want unlimited digital phone calls

Another way to save money is to move your VoIP service to A & A and make your outgoing calls using your mobile.as suggested.

If leaving Plusnet then consider Zen. They have no mid contract price rises and their digital phone service is £6 for 17 hours per month to landlines and mobiles.

[#3]

@briank 

As @Baldrick1 consider Zen if you think your VOIP use will be more than minimal. Another advantage of Zen is that their router allows you to simply plug in your existing landline phone as the router (Fritz!box 7530AX) has a built in ATA and DECT base station) meaning no need to buy and configure a separate ATA which will also need power. The ATA within the Fritz!box can also be used for other VOIP providers but that would require configuration.

[#4]

There are always options in life.  Plusnet not offering VoIP services (along with the phone port on the Hub Two being non-functional) leaves you in no different situation than you already are - Broadband from Plusnet and voice services from elsewhere.

The fixed IP address is attached to the account so that should remain upon changing the contractual package.  The Hub One will be more than adequate for the slower FTTP services, so a switch to a Hub Two is not essential.

As for moving away or staying, do you use Plusnet's email services?  It is no longer possible to retain the use of Plusnet's email facilities after closing the broadband service.

By the sound of things, for the same price, you'll get double the speed, retain you static IP address, potentially retain use of email, but be committed for 24 months.  That still leaves you with options on changing your VoIP provider - I am certain that there are better deals out there.

EDIT: The others type faster than me!

[#5]

@briank 

All good things must come to an end.

Nothing wil change unless you want it to. I believe the Hub1 will continue to work so you'll not notice anything different apart from the increased speed and the 24 month contract. A Hub2 would be available for £6.99 P&P so is probably worth - even as a backup up.

Do you use PN email - that goes if you move.

As advised, if you're moving then look at other ISP's and check costs carefully.

You could phone PlusNet Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632 to see if shorter contracts are available.

Brian

[#6]

Plusnet does have good customer support and the community forum is really helpful when you have technical issues, so I will probably stay, despite the lack of a digital voice offering.

I have only experienced one serious outage in all the years I have been on the Plusnet FTTP trial.

That was down to some local network fault in Milton Keynes that also affected many non Plusnet customers.

From my recent investigations, alternative broadband suppliers have tempting reduced prices for new customers but after a year or so, the difference looks minimal. Many also have dubious customer service reviews.

[#7]

So I moved from FTTP Trial to Full Fibre 74 (24 month contract)  yesterday (Mar 4th).

Today received an email:-

Your broadband product change is now complete

Good news, your broadband is ready to use!

DOH - NO IT ISN'T !!!

I am still getting the original FTTP Trial speed (36Mb/s + 10Mb/s).

If I try to login to get an answer, all I get is:-

Sorry, our site's a bit busy right now.

Please try again later when things have calmed down a little,

or chat to us on Twitter @Plusnethelp.

Not a good start.

[#8]

@briank 

Have you tried rebooting the ONT ?

If not, try switching off the power to it for say 30 seconds, then back on.

.

[#9]

@briank  have you done a quick ONT switch off then on again?

[#10]

@briank Hi there, Our member centre has been encountering issues most of the day and our back-end teams are aware of the situation and working to fix this, apologies you were unable to login. 

I've taken a quick look into your account and could see the new agreed contract and can confirm the account change has happened.

Taking a look into your provisioned speeds showed that you are indeed still on the trial speeds, i have submitted a modify order to Openreach for you to get your speeds changed. Typically this modify order is picked up automatically by our system when your account's broadband product has changed, apologies this didn't happen this time round. 

The order i've submitted typically takes a working day or two to take effect as it is one of the simpler order's we place. 

I'm out of office until Saturday after today so i will keep a note of your account and double check it when i get in office to make sure the order has gone through with no hitches. 

Once again, sorry we've let you down in this instance. 

All the best 

[#11]

First I tried resetting the hub. Not surprisingly, that had no effect.

There is a small hole on the RHS of the ONT marked 'reset'.

I tried poking a paper clip in the hole for several seconds. That didn't seem to have any effect.

So then I pulled the power plug from the bottom of the ONT for a few seconds. The ONT then definitely reset.

It took a while for everything to come back up.

A subsequent speed test indicates 36Mb/s + 10Mb/s but at least things are working and I am able to connect.

My legacy webspace is still working and my static IP is the same.

I will check again in a couple of days.