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Plusnet Pro Usage?

rosswaa
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: ‎16-10-2010

Plusnet Pro Usage?

i currently have plusnet pro as the house i live in are heavy gamers, but the download limit of 20gb seems abit small compared to the plusnet extra which has 60gb
now as heavy gamers and quite heavy downloaders there is no option which combines both the lower pings with bigge download useage
shouldnt plusnet pro users get the higher downloads as they pay quite alot mor already?
or at least be a option to add more useage instead of having to pay loads in usage charges
8 REPLIES 8
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

Recognised gaming traffic is prioritised on both the Pro and Extra products. Since all traffic on Pro is 'line speed' unidentified games (or use of non-standard ports) is not restricted. On Extra it might well be. If this is unlikely to concern you Extra could meet your needs.
Most non-interactive traffic on Extra has reduced expected speeds through peak hours (8AM to midnight). The comparison tool here gives a pictorial comparison of the products.
You could give Extra a try, and switch back to Pro if it doesn't suit you. Switching needs to occur on billing dates.
David
AWB70
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,197
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Registered: ‎28-08-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

Quote
now as heavy gamers and quite heavy downloaders there is no option which combines both the lower pings with bigge download useage

That appears to be the holy grail at PN at the moment  Grin It is a bit starnge that the speeds need to be off set against usage  Undecided the cynic in me thinks that it may be a way of selling less usage for more money. Hypothetically speaking it really does depend on traffic management on whether you get your moneys worth, for instance if you are losing usage for speed on a similar priced product then you only get what you paid for as long as the speeds are maintained.
Me personally I am on pro because I never get anywhere near my usage limit so I'm taking a chance on getting unrestricted speeds 24/7 whatever they may be.
There are pros and cons to the pro package so if downloads is a concern to you not going pro may be the safest bet unless you can do as I do schedule large downloads to after hours.
There needs to be clear distinction of what you want from pro before signing up.
Pro will..
Give unrestricted speeds on non standard ports, essentially if a new game comes you will get top wack speed even if PN have not yet found out it's gaming traffic it will then eventually list this traffic as gaming and prioritise it then benefiting extra subscribers.
Looking on the comparison so does extra but only after the ports for games have been identified. It's a bit of a you can't have your cake and eat it approach.  Grin If downloading large files is your thing and you want to do it in what PN class as peak times then pro is not for you.
Gaming doesn't use much bandwidth or usage which is why it's recommended for gaming I guess.
zubel
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,793
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎08-06-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

http://community.plus.net/blog/2008/02/28/how-uk-isps-are-charged-for-broadband-the-cost-of-ipstream... explains partly why Pro costs more but gives less bandwidth.
There is a "Pro Unlimited" product.  It comprises the base Pro product, and additional usage up to a total of £99 in any one month.
In my opinion, if you want a product that gives you no rate limits, and prioritised over everyone else, then I think £99 is a fair price to pay.
B.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
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Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

Andrews and Arnold offer a truly uncontended service. They don't offer a totally unlimited service, instead you buy units. Daytime (Mon to Friday 9am to 6pm) usage on 21CN is 2GB per unit and evening/weekend is 100GB per unit. You then build your own tariff which reflects the actual cost to them.
The maximums on their calculator are 200GB daytime and 500GB evening/weekend which is as close as you can get to totally unlimited.
On BT 21CN the cost of such a package would be £326.95 per month, on 20CN the cost would be £641.95 per month.
Quote from: Barry
In my opinion, if you want a product that gives you no rate limits, and prioritised over everyone else, then I think £99 is a fair price to pay.

I disagree - it's an absolute bargain!

On a more realistic level, for 20GB daytime and 100GB evening/weekend A&A charge £44.95 on 21CN, £77.95 on 20CN, £44.07 on the Be network and £54.98 on FTTC.

Edit: As a bonus, with A&A the service is how Plusnet used to be.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

This seems like the perfect point for me to remind everyone that usage on our packages is free during the off-peak hours of between Midnight and 8AM. So you can always schedule your downloads for when you've done gaming for the evening.
Adam
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
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Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

A&A have something similar - from 2am to 6am it's 1000GB/unit (a unit costs £3).
When you look at the price for A&A's totally uncontended service and compare it with Pro, 20GB for the price PN charge is good value.
When it comes to extra usage, A&A charge £3/GB on 20CN for extra daytime usage.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

£3/GB, still 5GB for £5 with us.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Plusnet Pro Usage?

Exactly, Plusnet is cheaper (you have to pay extra somehow for the better support you get from A&A).
Mind you they charge £3/50GB for evening and weekend usage on 20CN (£3/100GB on 21CN); but then they are predominantly a business provider.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)