cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

IWannaBB
Hooked
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎21-08-2017

Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

Hi all,
I hope you can give me some advice. I'm moving out of a city where I've had virgin media for the past decade.
The new area is rural but does have the option of fibre. But this is a temporary move whilst I look for a property to purchase and lota of the villages don't have fibre yet.

Young family so not heavy internet users. However, we do watch all our tv via the internet now.

Is ADSL reliable enough for TV streaming? Will I have problems swapping from fibre to ADSL if I can't get fibre at new address in 6 months time.

Plus, how long does it take for connection? Get keys at weekend and moving the following weekend. BT said 2 weeks plus and tough if that's not good enough.

I appreciate you reading and tia of any comments.
13 REPLIES 13
JonoH
Hero
Posts: 4,346
Thanks: 1,596
Fixes: 157
Registered: ‎29-09-2011

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

Hi @IWannaBB

Welcome to the forums 

 

IWannaBB wrote:
Is ADSL reliable enough for TV streaming? Will I have problems swapping from fibre to ADSL if I can't get fibre at new address in 6 months time.

It depends entirely on where you live, some ADSL connections will be more than fast enough, some will struggle. I'd suggest you run a speed test when you know the address that you're wanting to move in to.

 


Plus, how long does it take for connection? Get keys at weekend and moving the following weekend. BT said 2 weeks plus and tough if that's not good enough.

I think you may only have been given the scenario for working line take overs here, it depends entirely on the state of the line at the new property but I'll break them all down below.

  •  if there's a stopped line we can have the phone up and running in 48 hours and ADSL broadband 4-7 working days after that.
  • If there's a working line to take over its a minimum of 10 working days to take it over.
  • if it requires a new line installing that can depend on a number of factors including engineer availability and if any external construction work that is required.
  • For Fibre the lead time is 5 working days minimum, however this again is subject to engineer availability and this varies hugely across the country.

 

 


 

 Jono H
 Plusnet Community Manager
IWannaBB
Hooked
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎21-08-2017

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

JonoH,

Can I do a speed test before actually moving in?

It's a rental property and I'm not sure it has a line or not. The letting agency haven't been able to answer this yet. Is there anyway of knowing from outside the property? Ie via the net?

Ideally I'd like to be connected before I go back to work (I'm a teacher and won't be able to get time off to wait for an engineer).

Thanks for your help. The thought of not having a service we use pretty much constantly is causing a lot of stress!
JonoH
Hero
Posts: 4,346
Thanks: 1,596
Fixes: 157
Registered: ‎29-09-2011

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?


IWannaBB wrote:
Can I do a speed test before actually moving in?

Yes, simply put the postcode and house number into our checker here


It's a rental property and I'm not sure it has a line or not. The letting agency haven't been able to answer this yet. Is there anyway of knowing from outside the property? Ie via the net?

If you put your postcode and house number into the link above it will tell you if there's a line or not. It will also tell you if Fibre is available. 

 

Thanks for your help. The thought of not having a service we use pretty much constantly is causing a lot of stress!

I'm sorry for any stress caused, we'd just rather you got the correct lead times from the start rather than just quote you the quickest scenario. 

 

 Jono H
 Plusnet Community Manager
IWannaBB
Hooked
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎21-08-2017

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

JonoH, I didn't mean you were adding to any stress!

I used your live chat and I'm a bit confused.

Bt have confirmed there is a line at the address that was disconnected a couple of weeks ago. Bt have said that fibre is available and that the line is ready to go straight away, but to get fibre BB I would have to wait1-3 weeks for an engineer to come and connect it in the exchange.

Using plusnet live chat, I was told that I wouldn't need to wait at all for this connection and I would be ready to go straight away. I did double check this with Damian.

Is this correct?

Thanks for you help
IWannaBB
Hooked
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎21-08-2017

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

One last question,

If the property I end up buying in 6 months doesn't have fibre (half the postcode does according to bt. There are only 12 properties in postcode and the one I'm interested in doesn't have it!), Will I be able to swap to ADSL without penalty.
JonoH
Hero
Posts: 4,346
Thanks: 1,596
Fixes: 157
Registered: ‎29-09-2011

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?


IWannaBB wrote:

Bt have confirmed there is a line at the address that was disconnected a couple of weeks ago. Bt have said that fibre is available and that the line is ready to go straight away, but to get fibre BB I would have to wait1-3 weeks for an engineer to come and connect it in the exchange.

That's standard, Anything between the minimum of 5 working days and 4 weeks is the norm at the moment due to engineer availability.

 


Using plusnet live chat, I was told that I wouldn't need to wait at all for this connection and I would be ready to go straight away. I did double check this with Damian.

Looks like our live chat agent has given you incorrect information, I'll pass some feedback onto his line manager. Also if you sign up online, the date it offers you is unlikely (because of the engineer delays) to be the date it goes live and an actual go live date will be emailed to you after.

 

 Jono H
 Plusnet Community Manager
JonoH
Hero
Posts: 4,346
Thanks: 1,596
Fixes: 157
Registered: ‎29-09-2011

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?


@IWannaBB wrote:
If the property I end up buying in 6 months doesn't have fibre (half the postcode does according to bt. There are only 12 properties in postcode and the one I'm interested in doesn't have it!), Will I be able to swap to ADSL without penalty.

If Fibre isn't available you'll be able to move to ADSL, if Fibre becomes available in the future you'll be able to upgrade. 


 

 Jono H
 Plusnet Community Manager
bmc
Hero
Posts: 3,196
Thanks: 1,000
Fixes: 48
Registered: ‎28-02-2017

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

Try the DSL checker and see what it tells you - you may have to use the post code version.

 

Which Exchange and cabinet will you be connected to (the DSL checker should tell you this).

 

Brian

 

Edit : Add link http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/adslchecker.welcome

corringham
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 1,211
Thanks: 634
Fixes: 16
Registered: ‎25-09-2015

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

Watch out for higher prices if your new place is not in a Plusnet "low cost" area.

IWannaBB
Hooked
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎21-08-2017

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

Oh really? There are 2 prices depending on where you live? That'll be why I was quoted almost £10 a month more. Why is that? It doesn't seem very fair!
corringham
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 1,211
Thanks: 634
Fixes: 16
Registered: ‎25-09-2015

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

Whether it is fair or not depends on your perspective.

People in urban areas where the exchanges are large and llu equipment is installed, and there are multiple ISPs to choose from, tend to see it as fair as the cost per customer to the ISP is less, and the competition drives prices down.

Plusnet no doubt see it as fair as they can be seen to be a low cost provider - the headline advert prices are only for low-cost areas (hence the "from" in the wording).

People in non-low-cost areas tend not to see it as fair as they have to pay extra for an inferior service, and usually have little or no choice of ISP.

Incidentally, John Lewis Broadband resell Plusnet broadband, and they charge the same everywhere.

Plusnet may give you a deal if you ask hard enough - when I moved from a low-cost area they kept the price the same until the end of my contract.

Also, check whether you will have an Exchange Only line. I have one, and after a lot of discussion with various bodies, BT Wholesale have finally given me a date for something better than ADSL Max - that date being "never, ever, ever". So if you have an EO line you may never get anything better (unless/until government forces it).

JonoH
Hero
Posts: 4,346
Thanks: 1,596
Fixes: 157
Registered: ‎29-09-2011

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?


@IWannaBB wrote:
That'll be why I was quoted almost £10 a month more. Why is that? It doesn't seem very fair!

Whilst  I can totally see why those in the higher cost areas are disappointed, It's simply because we're charged more in the higher cost areas by our suppliers. 


 

 Jono H
 Plusnet Community Manager
corringham
Seasoned Champion
Posts: 1,211
Thanks: 634
Fixes: 16
Registered: ‎25-09-2015

Re: Moving to rural area. Which service and how long?

I accept costs are higher in Market A areas, however I don't believe they are as much higher as the amount Plusnet charge.

I recently renewed my contract and got a special deal, but the headline cost for line rental and ADSL Max was £18.99 in a low cost area compared to £36.48 in my Market A area. That is quite a large percentage additional charge!

Also, Plusnet is one of the few large ISPs that do charge extra. For example, in my area BT charge £29.99, John Lewis £22.50, and EE £21.00. They all resell the same BT Wholesale product, and presumably their costs are all similar.