Are Plusnet abandoning ADSL customers?

[#1]

@corringham 

Thanks for the information. As others have pointed out the Stop Sell on new copper lines has had an impact. A bit of tidying up though. SOTAP is for (digital) phone only. For ADSL2 you need SOADSL and you results indicate this is restricted at the premises.

PN might supply SOADSL but your new neighbours would have to phone PN sales and ask.

Brian

[#2]

Just a quick update. I've spent an hour checking ISPs and broadband availability in the postcode area - the ONLY ISP I have found that can offer a fixed line broadband is BT, who can provide 3-5Mb ADSL2+ for £29.99pm.

4G is faster at 30Mbps for £35pm with EE (same deal is £70.32pm with BT)

I should maybe mention that 50 yards away Gigaclear offer 300Mbps symmetrical for £17pm (18 month term) - I use their 600Mbps deal.

@bmc, there doesn't appear to be any mention of SOADSL in the Openreach documents (only SOTAP).

[#3]

@corringham 

I didn't have much luck on OR either but I did find it in a news article. More importantly it's mentioned in the results you posted.

Brian

[#4]

This discussion is along the same lines as Do PN do SOTAP, (title may be slightly wrong), from lasr week.

The additional bits of info were that apparently OR have not launched SOTAP yet so would allow ISP to choose ADSL via a WLR PSTN line until 28th March 2024.

This does not mean they have to, But as someone pointed out ISPs may think it is better to loose a few customers rather than go to the trouble of taking up a minority and temporary product.

I am due to renew just after the date above so will be watching this space closely.

[#5]

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@Archer wrote:

This discussion is along the same lines as Do PN do SOTAP, (title may be slightly wrong), from lasr week.

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Although the details may differ a bit, it is the same issue really. Products are being withdrawn without much thought or planning going into what happens in cases where the preferred solution (FTTP or SOGEA and Digital Voice) aren't available.

Even SOTAP will go away at the end of 2025, yet there are areas where there are no fixed line alternatives available, and where OR have no plans this side of 2030.

Customers are being kept in the dark - I'm not sure whether that is deliberate, or because ISPs like Plusnet have no idea themselves. 

As someone that is seen as technically proficient by neighbours, I often get asked for advice. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can help choose a product when there is no satisfactory product available from any ISP! 

[#6]

@corringham 

As far as I'm aware, SOTAP is not going anywhere at the end of 2025. It is the digital product developed for those lines which do not have FTTP or FTTC. If either of those are available then SPTAP isn't. All use VOIP.

As previously stated get them to phone PN in the odd chance they canoffer something (although if the computer says no that tends to be that.

Otherwise from what you say it's either BT or Mobile

Brian

[#7]

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@bmc wrote:

As far as I'm aware, SOTAP is not going anywhere at the end of 2025. It is the digital product developed for those lines which do not have FTTP or FTTC. If either of those are available then SPTAP isn't. All use VOIP.

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One of the Openreach documents I read earlier stated that SOTAP would not be available beyond end 2025 - whether that is the current/final word on it I'm not sure. I'll see if I can find that document again...

[#8]

If the maximum ADSL speed is less than 8Mbps and 30Mbps is available from mobile, then taking into consideration that you can no longer get a PSTN phone, then the recommendation is pretty much a no brainer.

Why would anyone, having had these facts explained to them, consider the landline option?

[#9]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

If the maximum ADSL speed is less than 8Mbps and 30Mbps is available from mobile, then taking into consideration that you can no longer get a PSTN phone, then the recommendation is pretty much a no brainer.

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Mobile reception for most networks isn't great here - although to be fair EE is actually good if you can get line-of-sight to the nearest mast, and I used to use it for broadband and VoIP until FTTP arrived. ADSL/VoIP works in a power cut if you have a UPS for your router - the mobile mast only lasts about 40-45 minutes (and from experience you can't even make an emergency call then).

That said, I agree that 4G is the way to go.

[#10]

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@corringham wrote:

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ADSL/VoIP works in a power cut if you have a UPS for your router - the mobile mast only lasts about 40-45 minutes (and from experience you can't even make an emergency call then).

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Wouldn't it be great if we could easily find out how long the backup power stays up on all phone masts?  There is clearly a critical safety issue if phones stop working half an hour or so into a power cut.  My brother worked around the clock for days on end cutting away fallen trees to get the power back on after the 1987 "Great Storm".  Mobiles weren't a thing then, but the landline phone system saved many lives, and the lives of many thousands of livestock.

I remember my mother managing to ring the Royal Navy and get them to air lift pig feed to her farm, as the feed merchant couldn't get through.  Saved the lives of several hundred pigs.  The power cuts then lasted well over a week for some, and the fact that some landline phones were still working was key.

People have short memories, but we only need to look at the news to understand that our weather is getting to be more volatile, and we could easily find ourselves in a similar, or worse, situation than in October 1987.  If we don't have reliable phone communications, that stay up for days, rather than minutes, then the consequences don't bear thinking about.