My Fibre experience

[#1]

I decided that it was time I embraced new technology, and having replaced my ten year old desktop with a new laptop, bought a tablet device and upgraded to a smartphone, the limiting factor was now my 2.3Mb home broadband connection. I thought it would be worth documenting my experience in a thread in the feedback section of the forum, to document the positives and negatives for Plusnet staff, and pass on the benefit of my experience to customers.
I was initially considering switching to BT. Pricewise there was very little difference, and although I wasn't certain what setup costs would apply from switching to BT the monthly cost was similar to PN . I would have had to switch my phone service as well, and as I have six months left on my line rental saver there would be a further loss. The main advantages of BT would have been BT Sport (not personally a significant incentive) and the BT Home Hub 5 (instead of the PN supplied router which has been much criticised). There is also a current introductory offer of reduced subscription for six months.
As an existing PN customer, going through the Product Change route in the Member Centre would have resulted in subscription of £15.99 per month for Essentials Fibre, 40Mb/s with a 40GB limit, an increase of £10 over my current subscription. There were no concessions or offers available via this route.
By phoning the Customer Options team, I was able to get a reduced subscription, by comparing PN with BT including the introductory offer. I got to speak to a pleasant lady on the phone, who went through all the salient conditions and answered all my questions, and booked an engineer appointment in two weeks time. So far so good.
I've been with PN for quite a few years and have been happy with the service. Any problems have been few and dealt with efficiently. I wasn't really looking to change provider, but at the same time I felt that I should get something for my loyalty rather than any discounts going to new customers. I recommend to anyone considering a similar product change as mine should use the Customer Options Team route rather than the Member Centre.
I intend to continue adding to this thread to document the progress, i.e. engineer visit, settling in period and connection performance. So far the process has been trouble free and straightforward, which based on personal experience to date with PN is what I would expect. Watch this space for more feedback.
Postscript - forgot to include this question in my original post
What is the difference between the new fibre router that I have had to order and my current TG 582n?

[#2]

Hi maranello,
Thanks for taking the time to post about your experience so far.
I can confirm that the FTTC order is progressing and showing as committed for an engineer to attend on 29/05/2014 between 1PM and 6PM.
Your current router will be designed for an ADSL connection whereas the new router is designed for an FTTC connection. They look very similar and are the same make and model, however, one is for ADSL and one is for FTTC.

[#3]

Update on progress. It is a week since I placed the order, and a week until the engineer is due.
Order status currently shows that the router has not been ordered as yet - I hope it arrives before next Thursday.
Will the new router have a USB port, and will it be possible to plug in a printer and to configure it as a network printer?
Also, will my ADSL connection be disabled sometime on the day of the engineer visit, and if so will I get prior notification?

[#4]

I can't answer your router question because I use an Asus  dual band fibre router.
Re installation day, engineers vary in their customer interaction. When I upgraded to fibre 18 months ago the engineer phoned me from the cab to warn me of the disconnection & to give me an ETA at my home. This is the preferred system. However, I'm sure that other customers will report alternative experiences. Either way, you will be truly amazed at the transition.

[#5]

Hi maranello,
The router is designed to arrive a couple days prior to the installation date. As we've got the bank holiday coming up I've just manually gone in and queued the router to be dispatched to you. This should go out in tomorrow's post.
I can confirm that the router does have a USB port and you should be able to plug a printer in.
We aren't made aware of the time that your current connection will be turned off but it will be when the engineer is at the cab and they'd be visiting your property shortly after so you shouldn't encounter much downtime.

[#6]

Thank you Linn.
One further question - is my appointment for 29/05/14 PM confirmed with BT Openreach?

[#7]

Yep, that's showing as confirmed

[#8]

Quote from: maranello

One further question - is my appointment for 29/05/14 PM confirmed with BT Openreach?

Hi Maranello,
Did you ask that question just to be sure or because you had not otherwise received affirmation that your provisional date had been confirmed?

[#9]

Kevin, I did confirm this appointment on 16/05/2014 in Reply #1 so I think the customer was just double-checking to be sure.

[#10]

I asked the question because I wasn't certain that the engineer appointment had been confirmed with BT Openreach. I received an email on the day I signed up for fibre (15/05), see below

Quote

Dear Mr XXXX, Account username: yyyyyyyyyy Your fibre broadband installation appointment Here's the date you've chosen for an engineer to install your new Plusnet Fibre service: 29/05/2014 PM What happens next? We'll arrange for an engineer to visit your property on the above date. However, if your preferred date isn't available we'll call you within a week to make alternative arrangements. You may be charged if you miss your appointment. If you can't make the scheduled time, please call us on 0800 432 0200 or 0345 1400 200 at least two working days before the appointment and we'll rebook it for a more convenient time. Kind regards, Plusnet Customer Support http://www.plus.net/ Email ref: E0089

Nothing further received, so with less than a week to the appt I thought it would be worth double checking 

[#11]

Its always helpfull to have Tea & bikkies at the ready for the engineer 

[#12]

I'm up and running with fibre, so an update is in order.
The first indication that something was happening was when I checked my usage - it had been reset to zero even though my usual billing date is the 21st of the month. In the help centre I found a flurry of service notices associated with the product change, although nothing was due to happen before 1pm at the earliest. I was concerned that the existing connection wouldn't workk, but all seemed fine,
There was a phone call to my home number just before 12 from the engineer - he was ahead of schedule and asked if it would be OK to come earlier than planned. Fortunately SWMBO was at home to take the call, and by the time I got home he had done something to my faceplate and disappeared off to the local green cabinet. He returned a few minutes later with a new faceplate and modem, which he installed and tested without any fuss. I would have offered him tea and hobnobs if only he had wiped his feet before coming inside! He was a contractor not an Openreach engineer, but I don't expect that would have made any difference. He left having done the job without any fuss, incident or problem.
After grabbing some lunch I set up the new fibre version TG582n following the included instructions, which were clear and straightforward. A speedtest reported ~17Mbps downlead, not the 40Mbps estimated, but a later test gave ~35Mbps. The most recent was only 10Mbps, but this latest test was wireless. I have so far not worked out how to get the sync rate and noise margin data through the router interface.
So far the whole process of changing from ADSL to fibre has been problem free and took less time than expected. This is what I expected although from reading some of the posts/threads on here not necesarily the case.
I'll be monitoring speeds over the next week or so to see how it settles down, but I have to say that on my ageing desktop the increase connection speed has not had any noticable impact on performance. The tablet on the other hand is much snappier.

[#13]

Thanks for providing insight into how your Fibre upgrade journey went.
Just to address a couple of things you've mentioned; we change your broadband product from the previous ADSL to FTTC product, this will reset your usage as it's a product change and any product change will reset your usage.
Your speed profile has updated, so hopefully you should be starting to see an improvement on the speeds you were seeing previously.

[#14]

Quote

I would have offered him tea and hobnobs if only he had wiped his feet before coming inside! He was a contractor not an Openreach engineer, but I don't expect that would have made any difference.

Glad that your migration to fibre was as smooth as mine.
Locally here in Dorset/ Hants the BTOR engineers always wear special indoor over boots.

[#15]

Quote from: maranello

I have so far not worked out how to get the sync rate and noise margin data through the router interface.

The synch rate and noise margin data is in the BTOR modem - which they have locked down so that you cannot obtain direct data on how well - or how badly - their infrastructure is performing.