Product Refresh

[#1]

By now I'm sure a few of you have seen the new products, this thread is for your questions about them so we can try and keep everything together.
Cheers.
*Edit*
Mand has now posted a summary of the product refresh which should answer most questions on this. You can find the summary here.

[#2]

Just logged on to PlusNet's website this morning to see that they are offering "unlimited" broadband. Which looks tempting. I'm currently on Premier Option 3, which is costing me £30/month. I find that this covers my needs most months, only occasionally hitting the 40GB peak limit.
My only concern in switching to Unlimited is the traffic prioritisation, which I am struggling to get my head around. Looking at the two:
Premier Option 3 Expected Speeds
Unlimited Expected Speeds
They don't seem to be hugely different, unless I am missing something.
It seems like a no brainer. Is there anything else I'd lose out on from switching?
[Moderators Note by Daniel (Assos). Merged into existing thread on product refresh.]

[#3]

o.k first questions on the unlimited product(nearly droped me morning cuppa when i saw the new plusnet home page)
1. can i still use max prem with the unlimited product and if so what upstream speed caps are they(i could only see downstream caps)
2.if the package didnt suit my gaming ie lag or other reasons would i beable to do the norm of what plusnet does on regrades and offer to move back to oraginal package if the customer isnt happy with the new package (my package is bbyw option 3).
3.the 2000kbps cap on gaming dosent bother me as i hardly know many games that use more than this and i only have 2500kbps profile any way
so basicaly if the 2 questions are a yes and any upstream caps on unlimited product arent so low as to make having max prem on my line during peak hours useless then you got your self a unlimited guniepig.

[#4]

Will those of us on Market 1 exchanges continue to pay exactly the same price as users on Market 2 and 3 exchanges or will there come a point at which there are discounted prices for those on Market 2 or on Market 3 exchanges?
Is there any news on pricing for users on 21CN exchanges?
At first look this change smacks of going for the mass market rather than appealing to those who value quality and service. We've been seeing significant numbers of people joining, the EOD's frequently highlight the numbers of people enquiring and of new users requiring help with setup so I'm totally mystified as to why there has been such a radical change of direction.
Quite frankly this smacks of massive interference in the running of Plusnet by your new owners and they're panicking having made such a massive cock-up of their own business. This appealing to the masses is just going for maximum growth and I strongly suspect that we will be seeing a degradation in the service. Whereas in the past the expected performance levels on BBYW 1/2/3 were the minimums I bet these become the norms - were the download speed problems we've seen recently the preparation for this rollout? It looks like we are back to the bad market share/money grubbing days running up to the BT takeover.
Edit: Just looked more at the details - I see the lucky sods on Market 2 and 3 get the price cuts now.

[#5]

If you switch you'll tie yourself into an 18 month contract. In addition the traffic management is a fair amount more severe on unlimited. Kitz has a tool on her website that will show you the management on 2 products side by side (with pretty colours!)  - http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/plusnet_shaping2.htm
Also peak time doesn't start until 4pm on Premier and p2p shaping wise there are no restrictions on either product until midday.
Finally, I'm moving this to community support, which is more apt for this type of discussion than general chit chat.
Oh and BTW, welcome to Community!

[#6]

Quote

1. can i still use max prem with the unlimited product and if so what upstream speed caps are they(i could only see downstream caps)

Yep, you can still use Max Premium with the unlimited product, and the upstream rate limits are here.

Quote

2.if the package didnt suit my gaming ie lag or other reasons would i beable to do the norm of what plusnet does on regrades and offer to move back to oraginal package if the customer isnt happy with the new package (my package is bbyw option 3).

We can look into moving you back to your previous package on a case by case basis. Not that you won't be happy with the new product of course

[#7]

What about those customers who signed up on 12 month contracts on the special offers - can we move to the new products or not

[#8]

I have noticed that for Plusnet Value, the price is quoted as £5.99, but that for some exchanges the price increases to £11.99 after 3 months. How do I find out if I am in one of the exchanges where the £5.99 is fixed price?
I recently signed up for the £3 discount for committing to 12 months. My first billing month where this discount applies will be the 21st Feb. Can I still switch to the Value product?

[#9]

I am probably missing something but what are the expected speeds for Plusnet Value

[#10]

Why hasn't the exchange checker been upgraded to show whether an exchange is Market 1, 2 or 3?

[#11]

Quote from: maranello

I have noticed that for Plusnet Value, the price is quoted as £5.99, but that for some exchanges the price increases to £11.99 after 3 months. How do I find out if I am in one of the exchanges where the £5.99 is fixed price?

I can answer that because I just did it.
Put your phone number in here http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php and it will tell you how many LLU providers there are in your exchange

Quote

Market Pricing Under Ofcom regulations introduced in May 2008, telephone exchanges are graded in one of four categories.     * Market 1 - BT Wholesale are the only broadband provider     * Market 2 - Broadband is available from 2 or 3 providers (including BT)     * Market 3 - Broadband is available from 4 or more providers (including BT)     * Hull Area - Exchanges that are served exclusively by Kingston Communications If an exchange is scheduled to offer broadband from 4 or more providers in the future then it’ll be Market 2 if it serves less than 10,000 lines and Market 3 if it serves more than 10,000.

[#12]

Quote from: Oldjim

I am probably missing something but what are the expected speeds for Plusnet Value

They are on this page.

[#13]

found the upstream rates for unlimited in the normal expected speeds page and at 832kbps for everything and all times of day
http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/quality_broadband/speed.shtml#unlimitedspeeds normal place oldjim

[#14]

First impression, this is not an unlimited product as there are rate limits at certain times of day. This is the sort of marketing I detest. Unlimited downloads yes, but unlimited broadband, no.

[#15]

Jim, If you go through http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php the full exchange details page tells you the OFCOM classification at the bottom right.