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ISP (router choice) for low speed fibre??

northy

Casual Member
Hi - wonder if you can provide some guidance

i am just coming to the end of a Plusnet contract and going thru and renewal merry-go-round i do every 18mths for a new ISP.

We have fibre to the Cabinet - but thats about 1mile away - so we get around 15-18mb in reality.

The main issues with regard performance really are (i) the length and paucity of the line - none of which is in the hands of the ISP (ie its openreach) (ii) that i live in a old farm house with thick walls...so Router penetration and ability to work well with my TP plugs is critical (iii) given the lowish attainable speeds then consistency is paramout ie it only takes a small drop off and multi streaming iplayer to several machines is impossible.

So - i have these key choices:

1. Remain on plusnet for 12 mths @ £23 per mth

2. Move to BT via an affilaite that is about £22.66 per mth - im not sure i can get their recent offers as it *seems* these dont apply to their Essentials fibre packages. Is their Hub the best?

3. Move to Vodafone - they are £21 per mth, but also have a min synch they Guarantee of 25mb/sec that i dont think we will ever get that! So that would in reality my 15% off = £17.85.

4. Move to TT for £20 per mth, with affilate Uswitch offer.

So - considerations:

a) i was going to go Voda - as it will be cheapest (esp as i dont think i will ever reach their synch speeds - i cant seem to check my plusnet synch speed on the router?)....but i only hear horror stories. But does the ISP really matter if the MAIN factor i think we have is the length of the crap copper line to our place...so i should simply go for the cheapest? However - i also hear bad things about their Router?
b) I would prob go for BT IF i can get the Affiliate offer (the BT order site seems to be broken) as their Hub supposed to be very good?
c) Is the TT hub given to their standard "Unlimited Fibre Broadband" package and is it really any better than the others?

Essentially - looking for advice on who gives the best reliable service for the relatively low speeds we can get... really appreciate any insights!
 
A) You're right that Vodafone only has a limited impact on line performance, but they do have a fair bit of control over network capacity and seem to be over-subscribing their network. Hence the bad speeds and congestion, but this will vary between areas so yours might be ok. There's always a risk.

B) Can't really speak to that, likely a problem they need to fix at their end. The offers tend to get updated every week so even if you miss one then it'll probably be back again soon enough. Just remember that BT's post-contract prices are horrifically expensive. Also try with a different website browser as I've found that some ISPs are really rubbish at supporting certain browsers.

C) I believe so as it shows up on the order page for those too. But you can ask them directly just to make sure.
 
As you seem to understand the network is supplied by OR so the like for like speeds should be the same, the ISP cannot make the physical line faster or slower. The only difference would be the core network, if they experience congestion then you might not reach the speeds promised.

I have too seen poor things from Vodafone of late, I personally would not choose them.

As you'll see I am with TalkTalk, service has been fine. I do worry about when dealing with their customers support teams, but not had too. The Wifi Hub is far superior than their previous router, been impressed with the Wifi Coverage and speeds.

Saying that though, the router does seem to need the odd reboot and has also rebooted on it's own. It's not also not very configurable, but that may not be a requirement for you?

I luckily get G.Fast and live in a large town, no congestion worries here.

You mentioned you are using power line plugs, have you seen if you get faster speeds at the router than you do using your power lines?
 
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Thanks for the feedback. My router says i have 20.5meg downstream...but plugged into it via a LAN on ookla i get about 18mbps and through powerlines about 15mbps - but seems latency can be all over the shop from 19ms to 1500ms sometimes...as said i know the copper line is terrible
 
Thanks for the feedback. My router says i have 20.5meg downstream...but plugged into it via a LAN on ookla i get about 18mbps and through powerlines about 15mbps - but seems latency can be all over the shop from 19ms to 1500ms sometimes...as said i know the copper line is terrible

When I used to run power line adaptors, the latency was caused by them. If you do a constant ping to your router rather than anything on the web you'll likely see that.


Sounds like you are getting the download speeds expected.
 
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Vodafone are a little shambolic, and there are customers that suffer from congestion but it's not the norm. The BIG problems with Vodafone are it's customer services and it's supplied router.
The customer services seem to have a script that suggests they believe all problems are WiFi related, and the cure to life the universe and everything is not 42, but to split the SSIDs.
If you suspect that you are going to have potential problems and then sign up to Vodafone, you'll probably need to be put on suicide watch should you ever
 
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