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Should i move?

killiedel
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Should i move?

Hi, i am currently paying about £39 p/m for broadband and phone through Plusnet.
I am on a PAYG package and usually pay for about 8gig, and pay for the phone with the free evening and w/end calls.
SKY broadband has just been enabled in my exchange, and i am seriously considering moving - been with plusnet for at least 6 years.
I can only connect at 1.7m/b due to my distance from the exchange - but sky Max offers upto 16m/b fro £10, with unlimited downloads.
Is the upto 16m/b ADSL*2? would i get 3.4m/b if i moved to them?
Overall i think i would save about £20 a month by moving, if i selected MAX, and the full phone package (free calls all the time - would not need to moan Angry at the wife for using the phone before 6pm :D.
Is it time to move?
9 REPLIES 9
Peter_Vaughan
Grafter
Posts: 14,469
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Should i move?

Sounds like you are a similar distance from the exchange as I am - about 6KM.
ADSL2 will not give you much of an improvement - possibly another 500Kbs at most, certainly nothing like 3.4Mbs - as the further away you are the less of an advantage ADSL2 is - it still suffers the same issues as ADSL1, it just has slightly better hardware to cope with the conditions. Around our sort of distance ADSL2 has little impact.
Note: if Sky does not have LLU in your exchange you will be provisioned on IPStream Max, just like you are now with exactly the same speeds and no ADSL2 capability.
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Should i move?

If you get 1.7Mb now it's totally implausible that Sky could deliver 16Mb.
Use the broadband speed checker at www.kitz.co.uk and delve into the ADSL2+ bit if that's what Sky provide.
(For what it's worth I'm up at the 8Mb limit on ADSL and estimates would give me maybe 20Mb on ADSL2+)
killiedel
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Should i move?

Sky do have there own equipment in the exchange - LLU. It says it offers up to 16m/b but i dont know if this is adsl*2. how would i know?
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Should i move?

Go to kitz and enter your details, it tells you the providers as well.
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Should i move?

Up to 16Mbps implies it is ADSL2+.
The graph here gives an indication of maximum speeds using the ADSL1 and ADSL2+ technology. As Peter V said the benefits of ADSL2+ are small at line lengths aroung 6km from the exchange.
David
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Should i move?

Looking at that graph, almost no difference at all!
So, moving to Sky your broadband will be no faster in practice, but maybe unlimited?
It may even be slower at peak times - that happens a lot on "unlimited" services.
Sounds like you may save money though.
And whether the service/support (if you need it) is adequate - who knows?
zubel
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,793
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎08-06-2007

Re: Should i move?

From http://mysky.sky.com/portal/site/skycom/skyproducts/broadband/terms :
Quote
FAIR USAGE POLICY
If you subscribe to a Product that does not have a Usage Cap, our Fair Use Policy (“FUP”) will apply to you and anybody that you allow to use Sky Broadband.
Why have a Fair Use Policy?
Sky is committed to ensuring that our systems and network (“Sky Network”) and Sky Broadband are fast, reliable and great value for all our customers. Our FUP is designed to help us keep that promise to you. Am I going to be affected by the Fair Use Policy?
Sky relies on our users being fair and considerate of others in their broadband usage. If one person is excessive in their use, this may result in a temporary loss of service quality and speed for other users.
How can I manage my Sky Broadband usage?
There are a number of ways to manage your Sky Broadband usage, however the most effective is to keep your use of file sharing software (including peer-to-peer) and uploading and downloading of very large files reasonable. You should also only the e-mail accounts for e-mail purposes and not, for example, for as a storage facility.
How will I know if my usage is excessive?
We think to impose an actual figure on what we consider to be "excessive" use is not necessarily helpful and may penalise users unfairly. What is deemed excessive will be determined by a number of factors including (but not limited to) the length of time which your excessive usage continues for, as well as the type of activity you use your Sky Broadband for. If, in our reasonable opinion, you have breached this FUP we may contact you to let you know that your usage is excessive and is affecting the Sky Network. If after we have contacted you initially your usage continues to be excessive, we will contact you again to ask you to reduce your usage. If after a reasonable period of time your usage still remains excessive then we may do one or more of the following things by notice in writing: (a) impose a monthly usage cap on your use of Sky Broadband which you must not exceed; (b) group you together with other users in the same excessive usage category as you; (c) charge you fair and reasonable costs for your excessive usage (and any reasonable administration costs); (d) suspend your use of Sky Broadband; (e) suspend some or all of your Email Tools; (f) end your Contract in accordance with Condition 11 of your Contract;

(Italics my emphasis)
Another not-very-unlimited  Unlimited offer.
B.
dvorak
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 29,473
Thanks: 6,623
Fixes: 1,482
Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Should i move?

Also the support side of things isn't great. My Dad has the free sky service, which is fine for his needs (2GB limit).
Just after Christmas it started playing up, he called sky (foreign call centre on an 0870 no) who said everything with the line was fine.
i went up in Feb and had a look and it was disconnecting every 5 mins, i could time it down to the second looking in the router connection status.
Having given all this information he called again, sky said it was hardware.
Fortunately he had a spare router to dis-prove this.
After another 3 weeks of too-ing and fro-ing finally got to speak to someone who knew what they were doing and was sorted out earlier this month.
My broadband went down earlier this month, had a nice landline number to call fault was diagnosed within 10 mins and fixed within 12 hours.
My connection is more important to me than my Dad's, but i'd rather pay for extra Plus than go through the nightmare my dad had.
Obviously this is only one example, but might help..
Customer / Moderator
If it helped click the thumb
If it fixed it click 'This fixed my problem'
Midnight_Caller
Rising Star
Posts: 4,167
Thanks: 15
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎15-04-2007

Re: Should i move?

Hi killiedel
As a SKY user I can say that technical support is Rubbish.
And as for the conekshon it suks.  Cry  Cry
Don't Don't Go With SKY
As soon as my contract is up I am OFF.
Fan goodness I kept NTL Cable Modem on.