discriminatory pricing

[#1]

Cheers spraxyt, looks like my exchange is going to switch over to Market 3.... not that it makes a difference to me, I'm on a grandfathered product 

[#2]

Quote from: itsme

Fairness! So as you seem to get a reasonable speed do you believe that you should pay more than say me that only get 1750?

Possibly. I generally get around 6 on an up to 8 promise.. Some people are only offered an "up to 2mb" deal. They definitely should pay less. but I've actually discovered neighbours paying much MORE for 2mb connection when the famous company was actually offering a much cheaper 8Mb deal but failed to communicate that. Distance from exchange governs actual speed though. Are you a long way from the exchange? Or just on an up to 2Mb deal.
I feel that it would be fair to pay according to actual speed but that would need a lot of work and done in such a way that where, say, BT is the only supplier then they don't suffer.

[#3]

2 meg and up to 8 are different products my friend.
Your comparing ADSL, to ADSL MAX and ADSL2 services, which isnt a fair comparison.

Quote

I feel that it would be fair to pay according to actual speed but that would need a lot of work and done in such a way that where, say, BT is the only supplier then they don't suffer

Problem is, speed and connection is only small fry in terms of cost. Bandwidth is what costs money
So reall you should be paying for a package which allows you to transfer more data... Which you are, Value, Extra etc.
If you do an exchange search on samknows.com - i believe it still gives you the "ADSL RAG" results, which will tell you what standard ADSL service you would be eligble for.
Its worth noting its not an "up to 2mb" its, a "2mb if you can get it, 1mb if not, if thats not possible 512K, and if your on the limit of adsl, 256K is possible"

[#4]

Matt Well aware of that. I have done Samknows but believe it or not that site has, in the past, got the details of my exchange wrong!
I'm on Broadband Plus which gives me 40Gb total and 10Gb in peak time for £14.99. It was reduced to £11.99 for a while.
Value would, just about, meet my needs but I occasionally exceed 10Mb. The jump from value to the next level is too too big. from 10 to 60.
Something at about 20 would suit me since I'm neither a gamer nor a serial downloader of music and films. That band of usage isn't available,
Totally agree that use of bandwidth should be the major issue on price. You are quite right that there are people who can get little more than 512k on speed. Those likely live in Mkt1 areas and are far from the exchange. 10 or so years ago that speed would have been great but no longer. Would those people now be so dedicated that they would still download lots of music and films - or be gamers? Doubt it. They could even have problems making the winning bid on ebay! Those people are most unlikely to be major users of bandwidth.
I think we are partially in agreement and that a pricing system which takes account of both speed and use of bandwidth would be the fairest. How? Well I  think that would require some intelligent and fair analysis and some seriously clever use of stats and accounting models.
Fact remains that I pay £15 a month for about 6Mbps speed (fine for me)  and a limit of 40Gb with only 10Gb in peak time. Someone just 7 miles away can get up to 20Mbps speed AND up to 60Gb anytime usage of bandwidth for £3 less. That cannot be fair.. And to those who suggest I move ? "Up yours". I spent a few years working in London during the week and was seriously happy to fly home at weekends.

[#5]

unfortunately its like alot of things, hospitals, schools.. etc. its just a PostCode lottery, i agree, ive been told by numerous bt engineers to "move closer" to relieve past problems.
i wasnt saying SK was perfectly reliable, just didnt think it was fair you comparing an ADSL max product, to a standard ADSL product.
bewick, like a lot of things, different products may cost less in different areas - Fair or not, thats just how it is
Unfortunately you'll have to take abit of a sneer at  Thatch, when it was either Privatise BT, or lay lots n lots of fibre.... 
theres veyr little that can be done, just hope the 21CN bandwagon picks up some pace and finally gets to you

[#6]

A PS Matt. My sister is with BT on a Mkt2 exchange. Her speed is terrible yet she pays even more than me. She like me, and many of my age (I'm retired) are never likely to want 60Gb a month, or even 40. Speed is another matter. Perhaps you never experienced dial-up but fact is that dial-up was fine at the time since we mostly just did emails and browsing. The world has changed and we "silver surfers" actually now want more (and hey I'm only partially grey even now).
I COULD get up to 20Mbps speeds here by switching to Talktalk at a much cheaper  price than a BT telephone line + Plusnet.
Fact is though that my neighbours on TT rarely get the mainly consistent speeds I get with PN and actually (even with their up to "2Ombps" deal.) their routers report better speeds than mine but they actually get much less actual speed.
My flying home? Well I was divorced and flying home meant dealing with a week's mail, washing my clothes etc. It was still a relief to get home. As I told my co-workers in London I had a far better quality of life here than in London. Maybe that is the price?
I totally agree that privatisation has produced a nightmare. It doesn't need to be like that. A total standardisation of the "offers" to make them understandable and comparable  is called for. Not just for internet offers but telephones, gas, electricity , and much else.
I'm supposedly clever on IQ but have difficulty comparing offers. Takes HOURS to compare this offer with that. And I DO analyse which is why I'm still with PN.

[#7]

Quote from: bewick

Quote from: itsme Fairness! So as you seem to get a reasonable speed do you believe that you should pay more than say me that only get 1750? Possibly. I generally get around 6 on an up to 8 promise.. Some people are only offered an "up to 2mb" deal. They definitely should pay less. but I've actually discovered neighbours paying much MORE for 2mb connection when the famous company was actually offering a much cheaper 8Mb deal but failed to communicate that. Distance from exchange governs actual speed though. Are you a long way from the exchange? Or just on an up to 2Mb deal. I feel that it would be fair to pay according to actual speed but that would need a lot of work and done in such a way that where, say, BT is the only supplier then they don't suffer.

I'm on up to 20mbps, in fact was one of the first PN customers to be on the ADSL2+ trial and I live in a medium size town close to the main BT research facility.

[#8]

Quote from: itsme

Quote from: bewick Quote from: itsme Fairness! So as you seem to get a reasonable speed do you believe that you should pay more than say me that only get 1750? Struggling to understand what you are saying. Are you saying that your deal is "up to 20Mbps" but you are actually only getting 1750kbps? Can't be right. Did you actually CHECK what speed your line could support before you signed up? If what you say is true then you have a serious problem and PN should sort it. I CHECKED my line just 2 days ago.  PN offers said "up to 20Mb" line checks said rather less. You CAN check your likely speed via Orange, O2, Talktalk, and many others including BT. Suggest you avoid TT because they will call you very soon after the check. The others don't.

[#9]

Believe me. Been there, done that. You earlier said that you were on "up to 20Mbps" but you now say that you only get 1750kbps (1.75Mbps).
I seriously suspect that you went for the advertising hype (ALL ISPs do it) without checking the actuallity for your own line.

[#10]

Unlike others I'm fully aware how the system work and where I live and the route of the cabling and I don't expect much higher speeds. In fact I stopped PN upgrading me a few years ago from a fixed 2mbps to DSLmax. The only reason 18 months ago I asked to go on the ADSL2+ trial was for the increase in upstream speed, but I was hoping for an increase in downstream speed to 3500kbps, which I can hold for a few weeks until I suffer from a few days of REIN that place me on a banded profile.