Line Switch

[#1]

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@Xanadu_2 wrote:

Three have a home broadband deal at the moment which looks attractive.

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So which are you considering, paying for a Three mobile data contract in addition to your Plusnet one or paying Plusnet Early Termination Charges for cancelling this service?

To be pragmatic, are you currently getting your minimum guaranteed speed (MGS)? If not you should talk to Plusnet and ensure that it is recordrd that if they can't get your line speed up to the MGS within 30 days, you require them to release you from your contract, penalty free.

If you are achieving you MGS then keep reporting it and ask for the fault to be escalated within Openreach. A request by Plusnet for a line switch will fall upon deaf ears, but they can ask for an escalation if you have repeated problems.

You are obviously on a very long line and the only long term solution is to upgrade to Full Fibre. When fixed there's no guarantee that your ADSL connection won't fail again after a short period.

I understand your desire to shop around but have you fully explored the cost implications of casting off your obsolete, pathetically slow even when working at its full potential service, and upgrading now to Full Fibre, shopping around a year later?

[#2]

@Xanadu_2 

While the Plusnet in contract price increases are annoying you will have one with your current contract and two with a new FTTP service,

Even at the slowest speed offered it will be very much better than your ADSL service and much more reliable.

I would phone up and see what can be negotiated with Plusnet as essentially they will get a full fibre upgrade (which Openreach incentivises) and you will get a reliable service.

It's a way (and possibly the only way) of getting your current fault fixed. Note the phone line will go if you do this.

I wouldn't look at a mobile service if FTTP is available.

[#3]

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@Xanadu_2 wrote:

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@markhawkin wrote:

...I assume there is no possibility of any kind of full or part fibre service where you are.

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Yes, there is. I'm in a FTTP area, but my current contract doesn't expire until September 2026. If I switch to fibre mid contract it would possibly mean agreeing to a new 24 month contract with all the unwanted price increases included. I would prefer to shop around for the best deals towards the end of my contract.

Three have a home broadband deal at the moment which looks attractive. It's a home hub with a sim card in the back, but I'm not sure how reliable a mobile signal is when compared to fibre.

It would just be nice to get the 5 to 6 Mbps service that I was getting when my contract started. I really haven't had anything to complain about until now.

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you have a year left on your adsl contract, i would not go with mobile internet, i've tried it and it can be very variable and speed gone in a second. Without properly testing its a gamble.

I'd suggest given your situation to take a new 24 month fttp contract at the lowest speed and look for something in '27 

[#4]

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@jab1 wrote:

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@Xanadu_2 wrote:

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Yes, there is. I'm in a FTTP area, but my current contract doesn't expire until September 2026. If I switch to fibre mid contract it would possibly mean agreeing to a new 24 month contract with all the unwanted price increases included. I would prefer to shop around for the best deals towards the end of my contract.

Three have a home broadband deal at the moment which looks attractive. It's a home hub with a sim card in the back, but I'm not sure how reliable a mobile signal is when compared to fibre.

It would just be nice to get the 5 to 6 Mbps service that I was getting when my contract started. I really haven't had anything to complain about until now.

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If you still have a year to go on your contract, you will still have at least one more price increase to come on that. Bear in mind that you will have to move to either an FTTP or mobile contract before December 2027 anyway - as things stand at the moment, the PSTN/ADSL service will finish at that point.

You could of course try the Three service at any  point, as @mystreet1  has pointed out,it is available on a 'suck it and see' basis, and using it would not affect your current ADSL service.

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SoADSL will continue beyond '27.

[#5]

@krusty But not be offered by Plusnet, unless BTCD change their current attitude.

[#6]

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@jab1 wrote:

@krusty But not be offered by Plusnet, unless BTCD change their current attitude.

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But that is an isp based decision. Conflating the two is bad idea.

But in general if you have adsl or vdsl and you have access to fttp products - even in contract its best to move.

[#7]

@krusty I agree - it is an ISP based decision, which OR will welcome and encourage, as it will save them work and equipment.

I also agree that a switch to FTTP at the earliest opportunity is a good idea -  I switched as soon as it was available to me.

[#8]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

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To be pragmatic, are you currently getting your minimum guaranteed speed (MGS)?

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I'm glad you mentioned that because the MGS goalposts have been moved on a regular basis, recently.

I recall the MGS being around 5.0 Mb when my contract started, then it dropped to 4.0 Mb just after my speed problems started three weeks ago, and now it has dropped yet again to 2.244 Mb.

Surely the speed guarantee that was quoted at the start of my contract is the one that should be valid.

[#9]

@Xanadu_2 Yes, your initial MGS is the correct one as regards 'faults'.

[#10]

Looking at the information supplied, the router is running way below the BTOR test speed, so either there is an issue with the router or there is a new fault on the line.  If one crimp is corroded, then several are likely to be corroded.

Do you have another router available - ideally a Plusnet router?  The minimal stats being reported by your router are far from helpful.  Assessment requires sight of SNRM and error counters please.

If you are not willing to accept a new contract for FTTP then your options are...

1. Do nothing and stick with it
2. Engage with the support and diagnostic process to improve what you have
3. Find some other non-contractual connection service and keep paying until the end of contact or pay ETCs

(2) Seems like the least painful option!

One key point of information to inform the immediate course of action is the SNRM figure - if it is 6dB or below then your line is currently running as fast as it can - there might be a fault if previously you have seen 6mbps.

If it is above 6dB then the DLM is managing the line for stability.  That might be a residual constraint from when there was a fault.  Sometimes when engineers clear faults, they forget to do a DLM reset.

You need to engage with the faults process - see the link below.  A Lift & Shift might well be a solution if there are better free circuits available.

[#11]

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@Townman wrote:

Do you have another router available - ideally a Plusnet router?  The minimal stats being reported by your router are far from helpful.  Assessment requires sight of SNRM and error counters please.

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Sorry, no Plusnet router.

I do have an old D-Link modem which never let me down before I upgraded to something with Wi-Fi capability and I'll be using that to do some testing over the weekend, along with some different cables to recheck the connection speed.

The Cisco Linksys and D-Link modem/routers have next to nothing regarding diagnostic features.