Torn between two packages!!

[#1]

I'm currently thinking of changing my package from broadband premier to either option 3 or gaming pro.
Theres a few things I'd like to clear up before getting into the technicalities.
It is imperative that.
1. I keep my 0845 sip number.
2. I keep my free co.UK address.
3. I keep my fax2email number.
Then out of curiosity I have signed for my fiver off deal for another 12 months so would that still apply?
I have just bought a ps3 so in theory the gamers pro package should be right up my street as on-line gaming is predominantly what I do, as this is often late at night generally I rarely get anywhere near my usage.
My biggest fear  here though is that as my voip phone has become more of a part of life rather than a folly and the PS3 demos and clips are quite large that the 10 gig isn't going to do 
If that was the case and I had to move to your way 3 what would I lose between premiere and option 3 if anything?
It just seems that giving 10 gig usage away its not much incentive from faster p2p speeds from gamer pro if I don't do a lot of p2p anyway.
Unless theres something else I'm missing?
All input appreciated.

[#2]

Hi there,
You'd be able to keep the sip number, .co.uk domain and fax2email number with no difficulty.
As to your other questions, with the pro as with other account types you can add extra usage should you need to though as you've said most of your usage is outside of peak time I think you should be fine. VoIP doesn't use a great deal of bandwidth.
The only difference between the BBYW accounts and Premier is the peak hours - on Premier they're 4pm to midnight and on BBYW they are 8am - midnight.
Hope that helps,

[#3]

Thanks orbrey that's good news on the phone numbers as I would have had a load of printing done again.
As for the difference between bbyw and prem then I guess that would add some to my usage as my voip phone would get most use before 4pm to benefit from the 240mins and it would add a bit of surfing that my daughter does in the afternoon but as you say that doesn't use a lot of bandwidth anyway.
I'm sorta swaying towards the gamer pro 
I don't suppose I have much to lose really as Gpro is monthly contract and I could switch to bbyw3 if I regularly go over my usage right?
Now for the free stuff  if I swap do I still get my pearly diver for six months and will I be eligable for the free ps3 game ?
Or is that just new customers?
Can I also mention a couple of ironic facts about this package that you probably already know?
As a gaming package to be used with pc's and gaming consoles the download speeds are better compared to your other products but reducing the usage sorta makes you do the downloading out of hours which generally give better speeds anyway.
Switching off interleaving and reducing ping times is what gamers are after as faster downloads don't usuall affect gaming (unless your about to start a match and you realise an updates just come out  ;D) but ironically switching interleaving off will slightly reduce your download speeds to increase your ping, the lord giveth and the lord taketh away 
Anyway just thought I'd mention that as I'm trying to coax my gaming friends over to PN to benefit from the referals  but these seem to be the two biggest stumbling blocks.
Help me to help them

[#4]

Quote

ironically switching interleaving off will slightly reduce your download speeds to increase your ping

I'm not too sure about that. Interleaving basically shuffles packets about and essentially adds parity packets so that missing bits don't cause so many issues. It means a slower ping because there's some extra processing to do before the packets get to their inended destination, but as far as I know it doesn't alter the connection speed in any way whether on or off.

Quote

I don't suppose I have much to lose really as Gpro is monthly contract and I could switch to bbyw3 if I regularly go over my usage right?

Yep, no worries on that at all.

Quote

Now for the free stuff  Roll Eyes if I swap do I still get my pearly diver for six months and will I be eligable for the free ps3 game ? Or is that just new customers?

Unfortunately the new game is for new customers only, and I'm not too sure what you mean by pearly diver so can't advise on that one.
Hope that helps,

[#5]

Hi there,
I don't currently have access to my keyfob so I can't look up the account details, but if you do not have any outstanding deferred contracts, you'll be entitled to the £5 discount if you sign up to an annual contract.

[#6]

I think you'll find pearly diver = fiver

[#7]

Yeah sorry  I already signed for 12 months to renew my contract so was wondering if I still get my £5 discount when I change my package?
I have no out standings so I guess that should be OK?
On the subject of interleaving I'm no techie by any stretch of the imagination but the consensus of opinion from ppl I talk to of varying knowledge they seem to think this mainly applies to p2p stuff, if for example packets were lost through p2p apps then it would auto slow your down loads??
But I'll leave that debate to you lads.
I think I'm gonna try the Gpro as it happens I don't see what I have to lose that can't be got back for same monthly fee.

[#8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleaving
Increases latency due to the processing overhead, means your data is less susceptable to errors, as per the article.  That's probably it   (afaik, and I'm not expert )

[#9]

Yeah that sounds about right m8, so I guess when the interleaving is knocked off to increase ping that may cause dropped packets which would cause the p2p app to reduce your speeds, I have seen a feature in a p2p app where it logs ppl who drop packets maybe it drops them down the queue?

Quote

afaik, and I'm not expert

Ditto 
I also came across this debate which as you can see highlights the usage on pro.
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/3197-plusnet-launches-broadband-your-way-pro-targeting-online-gam...
I dunno maybe pro will eventually get the 20 gig? That would appear to be the gaming package folk are willing to pay for in the gaming community.

[#10]

I know m8 I get that, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that the gaming package would be far more tempting with the 20gig limit at that price, in fact that would be down right awesome.
Like posted in the link in an ideal world the speeds that are available on the pro package should be the norm for any isp supplying a £20 up wards package these days and not as an extra at the cost of you usage limits 
All my comments are constructive BTW  I have 2 years with PN if not more with absolutely no problems, decent speeds and excellent customer service, never before have I had an isp where I can talk to someone who actually works there and will do something about it in the morning. 
My strategy is to test this months usage, everyones off for Christmas and my connections gets its most use so if  I can stay within limits this month chances are I'm always going to be OK.
Like the post from a PN member in the link they accept that this isn't going to suit every gamer but in my case it probably will, its the other 70 or so members in my clan that I'm aiming at who do a lot more downloading than me.
Just think of the referrals

[#11]

Hi there,
Ultimately, because of the way that the traffic is prioritsed on our network, a 20GB packages for the same price isn't a viable solution as it would end up costing us more than we were charging.
Let us know how your testing goes

[#12]

Probably why that package is so tempting 
Will do with the testing
and finally thanks for all the help.

[#13]

Well got to the end of my busiest month and I only used 12 gig all in peak and off so I guess that I may benefit slightly from the package.