Any possibility of a product comparable to Business Option 3, for consumers?

[#1]

I understand that there are costs associated with providing broadband usage, which is why Plusnet impose a 60GB daytime limit on their consumer package.
It seems, however, that they offer unlimited usage on their Business Option 3 package. I probably wouldn't ever use a massive in a month, but with applications and various activities becoming more bandwidth hungry (gaming, streaming etc.) I do typically exceed 60GB now - and £1 per GB works out very costly.
I'd happily pay a set fee for, say, and extra 30GB of data (or even a higher fee to double the allowance) - however paying £60 for 60GB (on top of my subscription) seems costly when compared to an unlimited usage connection at £25 if I buy it in the name of my business instead...

Alternatively, how about allowing us to switch to the business package?
Cheers,

[#2]

Hi faulknerm88,
What you have to remember is that business packages traffic management is a lot more restricted in the evenings than a residential package, so I really don't think it would suit your needs.  You could always ring our customer options team and see if they can come up with something for you.
Jojo

[#3]

Hi Jojo,
Thanks for the quick reply.
Perhaps you're right, if it's that heavily managed in the evening it may not work for me - do you have a link where I can see when/what restrictions are imposed?
Would raising a ticket enable the CS team to help me? As I struggle to be able to call during normal opening times, due to work commitments.
If it was possible to pay a flat fee for xGB additional usage each month, that would suit me. Obviously it's at my risk if I pay a fixed fee and then don't use all of the bandwidth, but I'd expect it to still work out more cost effective than £1 per GB.
Cheers,
Marc

[#4]

http://usergroup.plus.net/prodcomp1.php is the best place to go to compare products.
http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/download_speeds.shtml is the official page from which the comparison is derived.
Would you be happy with download sites restricted to 32KBps from 7pm to 10pm?

[#5]

@Jelv your first link throws me this error....XML error: Empty document at line 2

[#6]

Same, although thanks for the 2nd link, this seems to work for me.
Doesn't mention a 32KBps restriction for downloading between 7pm and 10pm though - the figure given in the table is 256?
Either way, that shouldn't be an issue, as I'm used to scheduling my downloads if I have anything large I want - this would simply give me a larger window of opportunity during which to schedule them.
Browsing and streaming seem to be unaffected according to that table? That suits me! Perhaps this could be the right option after all...

[#7]

Quote from: faulknerm88

Doesn't mention a 32KBps restriction for downloading between 7pm and 10pm though - the figure given in the table is 256?

Same thing! The table is in bits per second. I gave bytes per second (note the b/B difference) which will be more meaningful to you as this is how browsers report speeds and what you would use to calculate the time to download a file (e.g. 10MB file would take around 6 minutes).

[#8]

D'oh!
My bad, apologies, just totally misread it.
Still wouldn't really matter to me, as I'd simply schedule downloads outside of that 5 hour window

[#9]

No problem. You wouldn't believe the number of times we've had people complaining because they are getting speeds 8 times slower than the figure in the table!

[#10]

I think you need to add VAT to the Business prices, whereas it's already included for Residential. Additionally I think Business accounts are subject to a 12 or 24 month contract (different pricing).

[#11]

Entering into a contract, and vat exclusive pricing aren't an issue - even adding VAT onto the quoted prices it comes to less than it would cost to add on additional data at £1/GB on the homer package.
My one concern is what would happen to my telephone service - would I have to switch this to the business package also? As the business telephone packages really wouldn't be suitable for our usage (lots of off-peak landlines, which we currently get free).
Anybody know whether I could keep my current telephone package?
Cheers,

[#12]

Based on what the Business Products page says (link) I think Broadband can be purchased independently of the Phone service, but that is something you would have to confirm with Business Sales (09:00 - 17:30 Monday to Friday, 09:00 - 16:00 Saturday).

[#13]

Quote from: faulknerm88

I'd happily pay a set fee for, say, and extra 30GB of data (or even a higher fee to double the allowance) - however paying £60 for 60GB (on top of my subscription) seems costly when compared to an unlimited usage connection at £25 if I buy it in the name of my business instead...

*I think* I have read the PN have allowed some users to subscribe / pay for the extra fibre broadband package (120 GB) on a normal ADSL line.
If 120 GB is sufficient it might be cheaper than Business Broadband and would not slow down during the evening hours.
Richard

[#14]

Thanks for the feedback.
I've raised a ticket, to see exactly which options really are possible, and what the comparable costs will be - then I can make an informed decision as to what is best for me.

120GB would be absolutely fine, so if they'll allow me to do that then it would be perfect.

Cheers,

[#15]

Very fast, albeit disappointing, response to my ticket.
Feedback is that it's not possible to upgrade to the 120GB fibre usage limit whilst maintaining my ADSL connection, nor is it possible for me to switch to the Business Option 3 whilst maintaining my residential telephone package. I'd need to switch to the business telephone package, which does not meet my calling plan requirements.
Sadly, this means that for me Plusnet no longer seems to meet my needs, so I may need to look for an alternative supplier.