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Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

ScoUK
Grafter
Posts: 71
Registered: ‎04-08-2007

Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

Hi. Looking for some advice from plusnet support.

My parents who are also with plusnet are on ADSL broadband and are syncing at around 4.5Mbit  They are located couple miles oiut of town.

We understand that fibre has recently been made available at their location. However the plusnet package changer suggests fibre will only be able to achieve up to 2mbit/second. 

What we wish to know is. Is it worth the change from ADSL to fibre? Fibre is generally more reliable however there is no point changing to an upgraded package which is slower.


If they were to upgrade to fibre and it was found to be slower, woudl it be possible to revert back to ADSL again at no charge for an "upgrade" Smiley

 

If support wishes to PM me I'm happy to discuss further with more user details.


Thanks.  

9 REPLIES 9
jab1
Legend
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Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

@ScoUK I'm not PN staff - obviously but as they very rarely appear on here, can I make the following suggestion?

Check what the BT checker says for your parents phone number:https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

If you post the results of that search (obscuring any personal information), it would help, or you should be able to interpret it yourself.

I'm not certain on the 'downgrade' question, but the link above should help you decide on a course of action.

How far are your parents from the exchange and their local green cabinet?

John
corringham
Seasoned Champion
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Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

FTTC is not more reliable than ADSL - FTTP is more reliable, but that isn't the same as FTTC. Both ADSL and FTTC use the copper wires from the cabinet, so they share any problems related to the copper cables.

Also, although FTTC can be much faster than ADSL, the frequencies it uses to give that speed are attenuated more quickly with distance than those used by ADSL - so if you are a long way from the cabinet then FTTC is likely to be slower than ADSL.

The broadband checker as already suggested is your best source of likely speeds.

ScoUK
Grafter
Posts: 71
Registered: ‎04-08-2007

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

@jab1 

I know a couple of staff members scan the forums from time to time and can be helpful. If no response within a few days I'll maybe try plusnet help of twitter Smiley  Just reluctant to spend 30 mins on phone for support for a simple query.

I renewed my own personal broadband package the other day with a decent discount so it was worth the time there Smiley


The BT checker suggests the same speeds, but it also says ASDSL woudl max out at 2mbit.. yet it's synced stablaly at 4.5..  I know these are all guestimates based on line length/quality but was looking to get feedback from plusnet regarding doing an 'upgrade' only to find poorer service.   

ScoUK
Grafter
Posts: 71
Registered: ‎04-08-2007

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

@corringham 

That's my understanding too

 

Just weighing up whether it's worth them trying it upgrade to FTTC to see since ADSL says max 2mbit on the checkers but they are getting 4.5Mbit. No way to truely know the speed without trying it, just looking to see what option there is if it was indeed a worse service.

My own line was rated at 55mbut at first yet I'm syncing at 78Mbit  Very happy plusnet customer for around 18 years Cheesy

jab1
Legend
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Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)


@ScoUK wrote:

@jab1 

I know a couple of staff members scan the forums from time to time and can be helpful. If no response within a few days I'll maybe try plusnet help of twitter Smiley  Just reluctant to spend 30 mins on phone for support for a simple query.

I renewed my own personal broadband package the other day with a decent discount so it was worth the time there Smiley


The BT checker suggests the same speeds, but it also says ASDSL woudl max out at 2mbit.. yet it's synced stablaly at 4.5..  I know these are all guestimates based on line length/quality but was looking to get feedback from plusnet regarding doing an 'upgrade' only to find poorer service.   


They do pop in - extremely infrequently these days, but if that is your preferred option, then I'll say no more, except that 1st-line phone support can be hit & miss,

John
ScoUK
Grafter
Posts: 71
Registered: ‎04-08-2007

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)


@jab1 wrote:   

They do pop in - extremely infrequently these days, but if that is your preferred option, then I'll say no more, except that 1st-line phone support can be hit & miss,



Very true! have learnt that over the years. but we all have to start somewhere and it's a non urgent query 👍

BD
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 1,359
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Registered: ‎24-04-2017

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

Hi @ScoUK, thanks for getting in touch.

If you could please drop me the username or address for your parents account over private message then I'll certainly take a closer look into this query for you.

From my experience, these longer lines where FTTC estimates are around the same as ADSL estimates I've found ADSL is the better of the 2 connection methods as unlike fibre where the connection speeds and stability is subject to automated line management (that can certainly be a pain sometimes on these longer lines for FTTC) as opposed to ADSL where there is line management automation however we can adjust more freely the signal strength and error protection to help in keeping a set line performance.

If the ADSL connection is currently syncing above the products estimates then this doesn't mean it would be the same case also on the FTTC product and transferring could very well reduce the speeds within the advised estimates but effectively halve the speeds received from the sounds of it. Another thing to keep in mind is due to the cost implications on installation, engineer requirement and a new router we don't offer a try and buy service meaning also that if 14 days from when the upgrade is arranged has passed before the service goes live, there may not be an option to change the service back without early termination fee's occurring.
I look forwards to hearing from you and as advised I'd be happy to look into this further for you if you could please private message me the details..
 

ScoUK
Grafter
Posts: 71
Registered: ‎04-08-2007

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

Hi @BD 

 

thanks for the informed response! Same guestimate as I thought Smiley

Despite that, I have just sent you a PM with their userID and address just so you can see the exact details. but I suspect your current review of the details will be accurate.


Regards,
Alan 

Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
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Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Fibre Slower than ADSL? (Request advice from plusnet support)

Essentially the staff member here has given you the same answer as received from fellow customers. Both ADSL and VDSL (FTTC) signals (speed) degrade the longer the line.

ADSL is carried all of the way from the exchange to the premises over copper wires. It’s max speed 24mbps will degrade to 2mbps over 4.5km.

With fibre, optical ‘wires’ carry the signal from exchange to the green cabinet and there is no discernible degradation The final leg is VDSL carried over copper wires, it’s max speed of 80mbps can degrade significantly over 1km. VDSL does not go as far as ADSL.

If the green cabinet is a fair distance from the user, VDSL could well be slower than ADSL.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.