topic Renewal Confusion in My Account/Billing

Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:06:47 GMT

My existing part fibre contract ends January 2027 and I have looked at the renewal option which is less than I pay now which is made with a special discount, has the need for a special discount been dropped and you now just show the actual end price?

If I accept the renewal offer now would it start immediately or when my existing contract ends and will my existing referrals still apply?

Also can I change to full fibre at any point during my contract?

Re: Renewal Confusion

jab1 — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:27:12 GMT

@Richchad i don't quite understand your first paragraph, so won't comment.

If you accept the new contract, IIRC, if you do it online it starts almost immediately, if you do it by phone, it starts on your next billing date. If I've got that wrong, hopefully someone will correct me. Your existing referrals will still apply.

You can change to FTTP at any point - although it will result in a new contract.

Re: Renewal Confusion

markhawkin — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:30:09 GMT

It may well be that the "special discount" isn't identified in the offer price, although on my bill I see a list price for the fibre service and a "discount" which brings it down to the price I pay.

After the minimum term I would expect the discount to go away and I would be paying the service charge (no discount) unless I recontracted.

As far as I know referals still apply (so would reduce the contracted price) but I no longer have any so can't tell.

Generally Plusnet will allow a full fibre upgrade (with Plusnet) when available without any early termination charge for the old contract. You start a new contract at that point.

Re: Renewal Confusion

Baldrick1 — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 13:24:01 GMT

@Richchad

'Special Offers', 'Discounts' etc. are simply marketing rems to attract your attention. All that you should look at is the bottom line price and decide if it's acceptable. Have you given up your landline phone? If not the offer might be less the phone element.

If Full Fibre is available, now is a good time to upgrade, rather than at the end of a contract.

Re: Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 13:37:20 GMT

@Baldrick1 Yes I have given up my landline phone and use voip now.

The only thing stopping me going to full fibre is the existing BT cable entry is in my hall and a BT cable running under new solid flooring to the router in my study a few metres away, it has been suggested using TP-link via mains sockets, which I already use to connect to some remote cameras and have heard this may clash with a second set of mains adapters?

The other option is to use my existing Deco WiFi mesh and run everything from a mesh unit in the hall but not sure if this would be worse than and direct ethernet connection.

Re: Renewal Confusion

Baldrick1 — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:01:07 GMT

@Richchad

As time goes on FTTC is going to become more expensive due to higher maintenance cost and with obsolescence, become less reliable. Sooner or later you will need to bite this bullet.

Just because your current copper cable is terminated in the Hall doesn't mean that the fibre has to take the same path. The fibre can be routed to another room with an external wall, where the ONT can be installed near a power outlet. If this is inconvenient for your study and you wish to locate the Hub there, you can install a CAT5e or better Ethernet cable between the ONT and your study.

Re: Renewal Confusion

HPsauce — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:12:23 GMT

@Richchad Depending on the type and quality of your BT cable under the floor that could potentially be repurposed as Ethernet, especially if it's a fairly short run, it just needs terminating correctly. I have BT internal extension cabling running a significant distance by a tortuous route through my house to provide an Ethernet connection to a TV that is about as far from the router as it could be.

If it's "normal" 4-wire modern cable with "striped" cores (not the very old solid colour type) it will definitely work fine at 100mbps.

If it's got 8 cores (less likely) it will probably work at Gigabit speeds over a few metres.

100mbps may not be what you want/need in the long run but could be a useful temporary fix. See: HOW TO WIRE 4 WIRE ETHERNET - YouTube

And: CONVERTING HOME TELEPHONE WIRING TO ETHERNET

Re: Renewal Confusion

bmc — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:30:32 GMT

@Richchad

Is the cable under the floor "buried" in the solid floor or is it in a duct? What's between the Master Socket and your study?

Are you served by an overhead feed or an underground one?

As per your other thread what does the Checker say about the Full Fibre install?

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Brian

Re: Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:55:49 GMT

@bmc the cable is located under recently laid wood flooring, so would have to be lifted which I am reluctant to do.

The cable under the floor between master socket and my study is BT 8 core telephone cable about 10m long.

The feed is underground, in a duct according to the checker and it is onestage and no problems noted in notes below.

Re: Renewal Confusion

bmc — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:15:11 GMT

@Richchad

Thanks for the information. Sorry, but a couple more questions.

Is there a power source in the hallway beside or near the Master Socket? Is you study at the front of the house or the back? If front, is it on the other side of the hallway to the MS?

With the current cable run to the study is the cable loose or is is awkward? I'm thinking it might be possible to use it to pull through an ethernet cable.

Brian

Re: Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:28:10 GMT

@bmc no worries about more questions, glad to have help.

Yes there is a power socket close to the master socket, my study is at the back of the house so on opposite side to where master socket is located at front of the house.

Unfortunately the existing telephone cable isn't loose, it was laid under flooring and crosses a couple of doorways without any thresholds so all one level, definitely couldn't pull another cable through.

As suggested what about converting the telephone cable to an ethernet cable as it has 8 cores and is only about a 10 metre run or is that not a great idea as I have read mixed views on it about limiting speeds?

Re: Renewal Confusion

markhawkin — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:40:12 GMT

Is the study able to be reached by an easy outside fibre run (round the house) ?

I have a bit of an outside fibre run which enabled the fibre to enter the house just where I wanted it.

There were no questions about doing this as it was neat and easy.

Re: Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:45:45 GMT

@markhawkin unfortunately my study is on the back of the house and an external cable run would be about 50 metres, so not possible.

Re: Renewal Confusion

mystreet1 — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:51:17 GMT

50 meters for external cat 5e is doable.

https://ebay.io/m/sXDOX6

Re: Renewal Confusion

markhawkin — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:55:07 GMT

A bit tricky then.

I take it you have a reasonable length of phone cable from the master socket to the Plusnet hub at present and your Deco connected to the hub.

If the Deco mesh gives reasonable coverage from a router in your study then you stand a reasonable chance that it will still be OK if you shift the mesh around so that the unit conected to the Plusnet router is moved to the location of the new fibre connection.

Any powerline or mesh connection may be limiting to a full fibre connection. You may not get full speed (even on a 145Mb/s connection).

Personally I like having a fibre connection and the ONT "out of the way" and if you have a utilities or meter cupboard that would be my first choice location for the fibre entry if it is on an outside wall and the rest of the arrangements can be made to work.

There are various solutions each with advantages and disadvantages

Re: Renewal Confusion

bmc — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 17:37:42 GMT

@Richchad

Final couple of questions (for now anyway!!!).

Does the copper cable come out of the ground before entering your house or is there a duct under the wall direct to the MS?

Is there a suitable room at the front at the from - especially is it's in front of your study?

Having full fibre installed is an oportunity to rethink your house setup, especially if the ONT goes in a front room. Although it costs money you could, for example, take an ethernet cable outside, round the side of the house and back in at your study. This method can also be used to take an ethernet cable upstairs.

Brian

Edit : Just noticed an external cable has already been mentioned. Ethernet can be run for up to about 100 meters so distance isn't a problem.

Re: Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:03:45 GMT

@bmc There is plastic capping on external wall from ground to location of master socket.

My study is at the back of the house and across the hallway is the master socket on the front wall, no rooms between or adjacent.

I have looked at running an ethernet cable around the house but a few obstacles such as a conservatory make it a very long run.

I will have to give it some more thought as I have to be sure whatever method I choose will work as once committed to full fibre there will be no going back.

Re: Renewal Confusion

Baldrick1 — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:21:14 GMT

@Richchad

As long as you use CAT5e or better Ethernet cable then as been stated you can use up to 100m without problems. We also have fairly recently installed solid oak flooring, which is SWMBO’s pride and joy. There’s no way that I would dare even suggesting lifting boards!

To connect my Router in the Hall to the ONT the cable is routed back outside, along a side wall, up a duct into the loft, across the loft, down through the ceiling into a built in wardrobe, down through the wardrobe floor to exit in the kitchen behind a tall cupboard then along under the kitchen units, through a wall into the Hall. I estimate 20-30m. No cable is visible internally. Not the shortest route but that’s not important in the average property, you just need to seek out possible routes.

It was a right pain to install, but only has to be done once.

Re: Renewal Confusion

HPsauce — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:34:41 GMT

@Richchad Does your study actually need Gigabit speeds, and what FTTP service speed are you ordering? You could for example put the router in a convenient position near the entry point (I would) then connect to your study and other locations by the best practical means for each, including:

Homeplugs (ethernet over mains) which IIRC you already use to some extent. I have four on my network, the furthest being almost 50 metres from the house in a garden building.

Ethernet, including new runs and/or repurposing the 10-metre BT cable (may achieve Gigabit, definitely will do 100mbps)

WiFi, either direct from router and/or (better) from local access points connected via Ethernet/Homeplugs.

And remember the router doesn't have to be the "core" of your network, it's the connection to the outside world and can/does provide WiFi but switches and access points can be used very effectively and are not expensive.

This is a great opportunity to rethink your whole network. 😊

Re: Renewal Confusion

Richchad — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 10:35:05 GMT

@HPsauce Yes you maybe right that I don't need Gigabit speeds as I was going to the cheapest full fibre 74 which would be faster than my existing part fibre which is adequate for my use.

I suppose the cleanest way would be to reuse my existing BT cable.

I would prefer to keep the router in my study as I have my Deco WiFi, Hive & PC connected there.

I assume the Openreach engineer will just fit the ONT next to master socket in the hall and I would have to do the BT cable plug conversions to connect to my router?

I wonder if the engineer would do that for me for a few quid?

I wouldn't like to be without broadband for very long as we rely so much on it now.