Trials and after

[#1]

I cant find an answer to this. Our cab goes live 31st Dec and you can get the new services from BT then. If you go on the trial how long is it and what happens at the end do you keep the new product or revert back.
My point is if BT can supply it from Dec do I move to BT if I cant get it from Plusnet for months or have a trail then revert back. I would prefer to stay with Plusnet as I have been a customer for many years

[#2]

First the 31st date is often just a holding date when they don't have a real date yet, so don't get your hopes up. The only time you will be sure it is available is if it appears on the BT line checker.
I'm not sure how long the trial is likely to continue for but at some point BT are going to end it and make the service generally available. At the moment PN are happy to add anyone who asks and has FTTC enabled and will supply a suitable router. Even if the trial does end before you get enabled, they are still likely to offer the service proper so I see no reason to look elsewhere at the moment. Note: If BT can offer it so can PlusNet.
I suspect those already on the trial will just keep the service as-is with their current packages. Given that PN's products are mainly data related with more management the lower your monthly fee, they may well just keep people on their existing packages but also offer additional higher data usage packages at a higher cost.

[#3]

My cabinet was down for March 2011 but now says 31st December......Cabinet put in about a week ago but now under the
snow...............So likewise will add my name to the list.......

[#4]

It looks hopeful as BT is everywhere laying cables never seen so many BT men out

[#5]

Quote from: Peter

First the 31st date is often just a holding date when they don't have a real date yet, so don't get your hopes up. The only time you will be sure it is available is if it appears on the BT line checker.

It seems like *every* date is a holding date, doesn't mean anything, and can change regularly. The changes mean that waiting for fibre is something akin to water boarding here. Does BT go in for rendition too?
Our exchange was originally down for 21CN for last March, then got removed from the list.
Then it got put onto the FTTC list for September 2010, and then dates have swapped amongst (in no particular order)  October 2010, December 2010, and March 2011 depending which list you happened to look at, but the most recent changes have brought the dates forward again, rather than push them back.
The local cabinets have been installed for well over a month now (including ours) and judging by the Surrey CC roadworks schedules, had power installed in mid-October.
The most recent update to the latest OpenReach rollout document (dated 12th November) updated the exchange from "31st September" to "accepting CP orders now". Unfortunately my DSL checker results keep telling me that my cabinet will get FTTC by 31st March 2011 or ADSL2+ by 31st May.
Is it normal to see that kind of delay between the cabinet installation and line availability?

[#6]

Yes.
It's not just the cabinet being ready, it's also the fibre connection to the exchange and the exchange equipment being installed and tested. There is also the fibre links from the exchange to the main backbone. There is also the need to train the BT engineers in the region.
They all need to be in place and tested before they can allow anyone to put orders through. Often priorities change or problems are encountered resulting in dates changing - and this can vary cabinet to cabinet. Before I was activated my dates were all over the place and also missing most of the time (I was also set to 31st Dec 2010 at one point).

[#7]

For example, my new fttc cabinet was installed in March, but the wholesale checker didn't show it being available until June 30th.
Tom.

[#8]

Quote from: Peter

It's not just the cabinet being ready, it's also the fibre connection to the exchange and the exchange equipment being installed and tested. There is also the fibre links from the exchange to the main backbone. There is also the need to train the BT engineers in the region. They all need to be in place and tested before they can allow anyone to put orders through. Often priorities change or problems are encountered resulting in dates changing - and this can vary cabinet to cabinet. Before I was activated my dates were all over the place and also missing most of the time (I was also set to 31st Dec 2010 at one point).

As if to prove the point, the DSL checker is today reporting new dates: FTTC available from 31st December (instead of 31st March), and ADSL2+ from 31st January (instead of 31st May).
But more significantly, I've found a local phone number that is reporting FTTC as available *now*, which suggests that the exchange is set up, backhaul is in place and engineers who are raring to go.
This patience thing is tough to handle 

[#9]

At the moment anyone that applies to go on the trial and can get FTTC will keep the FTTC service at the end of the trial and have the choice of staying on their existing product and paying what they pay now or move to whatever fibre product we offer. We've not set an exact end date for the trial yet but when we do we'll post an update here and on the blog to let people know.
Generally if the date is showing as the last day of the month it's just a holding date, the actual dates usually appear 1-2 weeks before the cab is enabled (note both the cab and exchange need to be done to be able to get FTTC, sometimes it can be several months between the 1st cab and the last cab being ready at an exchange).

[#10]

Quote from: WWWombat

... the DSL checker is today reporting new dates: FTTC available from 31st December (instead of 31st March)...

And less than a week later, BT seem to have pushed the date back 6 months, and are now reporting a date of June 2011. Thats a less-than-impressive turnaround...  (as there's no smilie for despair)
I would be looking forward to ADSL2+ instead - except the checker has downgraded the speed estimates too - and where they once predicted 15MB, its now listed as "9Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 6.5Mbps and 14.5Mbps."
I guess that means I'm not going to make it onto the trial in time....

[#11]

As far as ADSL2+ goes the Kitz calculator says sync around 14Mbps and an IP Profile of 12Mbps. So actual speeds may be about 11Mbps. Hopefully the BT checker is being conservative.

[#12]

I expect they are indeed being conservative. We see on the forum more people coming on and saying "But you said I would get X speed when I signed up....", and I guess there will be heaps more on support calls. It wouldn't surprise me to find that ADSL2+ (as an "up to 24" or "up to 20" product) is more likely to generate disappointment than delight, simply because they've set bad expectations from the start...
If only they'd realise we get frustrated with bad expectations over the dates as well as the speeds