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Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

SouthLondonDSL
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Registered: ‎14-02-2017

Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

I have fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband with TalkTalk; my contract is coming up for renewal so I'm comparing quotes.

 

Plusnet is the only provider that cannot give me fibre - only standard ADSL. When I called, they said something about TalkTalk having done something on the line but I honestly could not understand much of what the operator was saying (incredibly strong accent); they also could not explain why BT, Vodafone, Sky and EE can, instead, give me a fiber connection.

 

Any ideas? Alternatively, is there any way to contact Plusnet in writing? 

 

I understand fibre may be unavailable when the cabinet is full but, the thing is, I already have fibre.

 

I am interested in Plusnet because it seems a good price and it seems to let you use your own equipment without too much fuss. Vodafone doesn't; Sky didn't, now does, but requires some settings (DHCP option 61) which don't play nicely with all equipment; BT and EE are more expensive. I wouldn't really consider smaller operators.

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MisterW
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

they also could not explain why BT, Vodafone, Sky and EE can, instead, give me a fiber connection.

Whilst some of those suppliers (and TalkTalk) have their own equipment I thought they all used the same BT equipment (maybe not Vodafone) for Fibre to the cabinet. In any case BT and EE definitely do, so if they can supply then I don't understand why PlusNet can't. What does the dslchecker https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/ say is available (blank out any personal info before posting it) ?. It possibly won't recognise your current phone number if it was initially provided by Talktalk so you may need to use the postcode. Ah! maybe that's what's causing the problem, I'm sure one of the PlusNet help team will be around shortly to try and resolve the issue...

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.

SouthLondonDSL
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

The dslchecker site doesn't recognise my phone number; if I give my address, it tells me that:

 

FTTP is not available.

This PCP has a waiters list for FTTC VDSL and SOGEA VDSL services. You may place an order which will be dealt with in turn.

 

but shouldn't this mean that Plusnet cannot connect a new user who is not on fibre at the moment, not me? I mean, wouldn't Plusnet "take over my slot in the cabinet" (or whatever the correct technical term is)?

 

idonno
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

I wouldn't be surprised if you find it to do with Local Loop Unbundling - do Talktalk do your phoneline?. For instance, I can go to a raft of other ISP's and get fibre but I cannot go to Talktalk as they don't offer any service from my exchange whatsoever. Not that it stops them posting flyers through my postbox offering it.

 

But I'd have thought if BT can, Plusnet should be able to do the same. Maybe someone like @Gandalf will be able to help. Seems a knowledge box 🙂

 

As to using your own equipment, think you'll find that has more to do with Ofcom coming down on ISP's that don't allow you to do so. Here - read on down the page a little bit

 

 

Ever helpful. Grin Sure, I’d love to help you out. Now which way did you come in?
MisterW
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

but shouldn't this mean that Plusnet cannot connect a new user who is not on fibre at the moment, not me? I mean, wouldn't Plusnet "take over my slot in the cabinet" (or whatever the correct technical term is)?

You would think so, wouldn't you but this is BT we're talking about hereRoll_eyes I'm not sure it works that way, the BT dslchecker system (which is basically what suppliers use) doesn't know you are already on Fibre with TalkTalk and so the computer see's that the Cabinet has a waiting list and says ' can't provide FTTC at present'.

What I still don't understand is how BT and EE can say they can provide Fibre? or are they really just putting you on the waiting list? Hopefully one of the PN staff will explain...

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.

SouthLondonDSL
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

Interesting link, thanks.

I have double checked and it seems Vodafone now lets you use your own gear.

 

A couple of years ago I left Vodafone because it didn't let me use my own modem/router. Their thingy could not be set as modem only, so plugging mine into theirs would have caused double NAT, if I remember correctly. I had to escalate a complaint because their contract stated that I couldn't use equipment that would damage the network, it never stated that I couldn't use my own. Their interpretation was that any non-Vodafone equipment could damage the network! In the end they let me cancel my contract without penalties. I then files a complaint with Ofcom about this, but Ofcom said they have no power to force an operator to change its terms or the wording of the terms.

Marksfish
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?


@SouthLondonDSL wrote:

 

 

I am interested in Plusnet because it seems a good price and it seems to let you use your own equipment without too much fuss. Vodafone doesn't;

Vodafone do, as I was using my own router with them after they gave me the details. However, the service was pretty shocking and I wouldn't recommend going there.

Mark

SouthLondonDSL
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

Did you use your own modem router? Or plug your router into their modem? Can their thingy be set up as a modem only (no double NAT)? May I ask what you mean by shocking service? Lower speeds than other providers or worse customer support?

Marksfish
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

I used my trusty old Technicolor router that has followed me around since I was with SSE. Vodafone were quite happy to give out the connection details over a live chat. Always found their customer service to be very good and efficient, but the throughput was terrible. Recorded Thinkbroadband multi thread tests of as low as 0.2 meg in the evenings on a 56 meg sync. I had over a week of sub 10 meg speeds throughout the day and finally exercised my guarantee to leave within the 30 days. I am still seeing posts about VF possibly being the worst isp out there on TBB, so maybe not much has changed in the last 4 months despite their glitzy ad campaign. This wasn't on their LLU product though, so that may be different.

SouthLondonDSL
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

I must say I have never really understood how much of these issues are down to the line (distance to the cabinet, how crowded the cabinet is, etc) and how much to the single provider. In my previous property I witnessed no material difference among BT, Vodafone and TalkTalk, for example.

Marksfish
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

I moved from BT and was getting a steady 52 throughput, to VF where it was flaky at the least, to PN where it is about 50 again. Same line, same distance to cabinet, same equipment in exchange, just different backhaul and congestion.

Gandalf
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

Hi @SouthLondonDSL

Apologies for the delayed staff response and you're unable to get fibre with us.

The issue would be that there is no more capacity for fibre at the cabinet.

Even though you've got fibre with TalkTalk, we'd need capacity to be showing as available as during the process of placing a fibre order, our suppliers ordering system will check for capacity and won't allow us to go any further if there is none. Sad

I suspect this is because it's likely another port would be allocated to you as opposed to taking over the existing port.

I'd suggest keeping an eye on DSL Checker and once FTTC is showing as available, you should be able to place an order with us to takeover your line and provide fibre.

Hope this helps.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
SouthLondonDSL
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

Thank you for the explanation. So, let's see if I got this right: if I leave TalkTalk for Plusnet, the slot I currently have with TalkTalk would not move with me to Plusnet. But is this a Plusnet thing, ie will the same happen if I move to another provider? I ask because other providers are showing they can give me fibre; can there be a situation where one provider has capacity at the cabinet and another one doesn't?

Gandalf
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Re: Why is Plusnet the only provider that cannot give me fibre broadband?

As far as I'm aware it's the same for any provider who uses the Openreach network. It's possible that when the other provider takes your order that they may experience difficulties in actually placing the order with suppliers. Though it's difficult for us to advise definitively. 

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet