Which fibre ISPs do not throttle or data manage?
Discussion
My current fibre supplier is taking the piss with pricing. I've been with them for about 8 years and they've recently announced they're hiking their prices by £2.50 a month. This has caused me to look at what I'm paying overall as I now have the opportunity to leave the contract early as a result.
What's annoying is that my brother has been offered (and has taken) the same package I'm on for £33.49 a month all-in. The ISP will only offer me £48.99/mo (down from the current £51.49/mo) despite the fact I've been with them for years, never missed a payment etc. I can't, on principle, pay £190/yr more for the same thing and the ISP have stated that they can't offer me anything better so I'm going to exit the contract.
I've looked at Plusnet but need to be sure they don't throttle or restrict in any way (I don't think they do) but are there any others I should be looking at? My usage is high so I'll be looking at the 80mb down/20mb up unlimited options. Any recommendations would be gratefully received!
What's annoying is that my brother has been offered (and has taken) the same package I'm on for £33.49 a month all-in. The ISP will only offer me £48.99/mo (down from the current £51.49/mo) despite the fact I've been with them for years, never missed a payment etc. I can't, on principle, pay £190/yr more for the same thing and the ISP have stated that they can't offer me anything better so I'm going to exit the contract.
I've looked at Plusnet but need to be sure they don't throttle or restrict in any way (I don't think they do) but are there any others I should be looking at? My usage is high so I'll be looking at the 80mb down/20mb up unlimited options. Any recommendations would be gratefully received!
Plusnet don't throttle but you'll hear a lot of people claim they do as your traffic runs through a traffic prioritisation system which is often incorrectly assumed to be the same thing:
https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/about-traffic-...
I can't say I've ever noticed it. I average 5-700GB a month.
Zen are probably the best unlimited option, but Plusnet are probably the next best if you want to save a few pounds. They give me a static IP as well.
https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/about-traffic-...
I can't say I've ever noticed it. I average 5-700GB a month.
Zen are probably the best unlimited option, but Plusnet are probably the next best if you want to save a few pounds. They give me a static IP as well.
We've just moved from Plusnet BB to their fibre package. They rang me as our previous 18 month contract had ended and they wanted to sign us up for another one so they offered the Fibre for less than our previous 8mb deal.
I specifically asked about monthly download limitations, capping, traffic shaping, fair use policy and all the other weasel worded ways that ISPs have used in their small print. Every response was "our unlimited BB packages really are unlimited, do what you like". Given the amount of hammering Mrs B2HBM has been giving it since it's been changed, I think it's fair to say they were right and it's not throttled.
I specifically asked about monthly download limitations, capping, traffic shaping, fair use policy and all the other weasel worded ways that ISPs have used in their small print. Every response was "our unlimited BB packages really are unlimited, do what you like". Given the amount of hammering Mrs B2HBM has been giving it since it's been changed, I think it's fair to say they were right and it's not throttled.
b2hbm said:
We've just moved from Plusnet BB to their fibre package. They rang me as our previous 18 month contract had ended and they wanted to sign us up for another one so they offered the Fibre for less than our previous 8mb deal.
I specifically asked about monthly download limitations, capping, traffic shaping, fair use policy and all the other weasel worded ways that ISPs have used in their small print. Every response was "our unlimited BB packages really are unlimited, do what you like". Given the amount of hammering Mrs B2HBM has been giving it since it's been changed, I think it's fair to say they were right and it's not throttled.
Excellent, this sounds like it might be the perfect solution.I specifically asked about monthly download limitations, capping, traffic shaping, fair use policy and all the other weasel worded ways that ISPs have used in their small print. Every response was "our unlimited BB packages really are unlimited, do what you like". Given the amount of hammering Mrs B2HBM has been giving it since it's been changed, I think it's fair to say they were right and it's not throttled.
It looks like A&A cap at 1Tb with throttling and are pricey to boot. Plusnet's top fibre package is £30 including phone line and totally unlimited it seems.
Thanks for the info wiggy but I think it's definitely going to be Plusnet for me. Their customer service seems to be well-rated (which can be invaluable when things go wrong) and they definitely don't throttle or restrict. I can even continue to use my BT Smarthub with a couple of minor tweaks. Their forum seems to be very good as well with plenty of knowledgeable people and staff posting there.
I had a thought last night that I ought to check with BT that I can move the landline as well (and that they wouldn't try and sting me on that as there isn't, technically, a price increase on the line rental). Turns out I can - I'll be getting the move to Plusnet for both line and fibre underway tonight.
Can't complain - I've just saved nearly £290/year!
I had a thought last night that I ought to check with BT that I can move the landline as well (and that they wouldn't try and sting me on that as there isn't, technically, a price increase on the line rental). Turns out I can - I'll be getting the move to Plusnet for both line and fibre underway tonight.
Can't complain - I've just saved nearly £290/year!
I know you;re pretty much set on Plus Net, but we've been with Sky for about 5 years now, and never noticed any throttling - downloads frequently use the full 40Mbps, no matter where they are being downloaded from. A few sites are blocked but it takes around 7s to get round those.
No idea what the customer service is like though, as I haven't had to use it. Most reliable internet connection I've had from anyone (watch it go down when I get home tonight).
No idea what the customer service is like though, as I haven't had to use it. Most reliable internet connection I've had from anyone (watch it go down when I get home tonight).
Funk said:
Thanks for the info wiggy but I think it's definitely going to be Plusnet for me. Their customer service seems to be well-rated (which can be invaluable when things go wrong) and they definitely don't throttle or restrict. I can even continue to use my BT Smarthub with a couple of minor tweaks. Their forum seems to be very good as well with plenty of knowledgeable people and staff posting there.
I had a thought last night that I ought to check with BT that I can move the landline as well (and that they wouldn't try and sting me on that as there isn't, technically, a price increase on the line rental). Turns out I can - I'll be getting the move to Plusnet for both line and fibre underway tonight.
Can't complain - I've just saved nearly £290/year!
Fair enough. Another thing I mentioned in my thread - I asked them to cancel BT Sport Lite as I know that is only free with BT Infinity. Bloke said that would be done automatically. I then got an email saying I'd be charged for it from March. Called them yesterday and the woman I spoke to said they can't now cancel it as I have a "pending transaction" on my account, so need to call on the day I move to cancel. I can foresee hassle...I had a thought last night that I ought to check with BT that I can move the landline as well (and that they wouldn't try and sting me on that as there isn't, technically, a price increase on the line rental). Turns out I can - I'll be getting the move to Plusnet for both line and fibre underway tonight.
Can't complain - I've just saved nearly £290/year!
sjg said:
Happy enough with Plusnet although they do traffic management.
I looked into this very carefully and they say they don't restrict your traffic compared to other users (ie. drop you from 76mb to 35mb etc). What they do do is effectively QoS on your internal traffic - if you have someone on VOIP or online gaming (which are ping/time-sensitive) it will prioritise that traffic on the line.Anecdotal feedback from other high-traffic users on the forum seems to suggest that they've never encountered any reduction in line speed.
https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/about-traffic-...
Plusnet said:
Traffic prioritisation helps prioritise different types of broadband traffic to your house. It’s used to create the best possible service when you or your family are trying to do more online than your line can physically support at the time. Your service remains unlimited and we don’t limit your line speed, usage or downloads because of prioritisation.
For example, if one person in your house is on Skype and someone else is downloading a file, bandwidth priority would be given to the person using Skype as this is the most time sensitive application. Likewise, if you were streaming a film or gaming online, priority would be given to you, rather than to file sharing or music downloads. So rather than all of these activities buffering or struggling to complete, your Skype call should run smoothly and the file download will just take a little longer to finish.
By prioritising time sensitive traffic we’re providing the best possible service and experience we can, particularly if you’ve got a relatively slow broadband speed. To find out more about things that can affect your broadband speed, take a look at our speed guide.
I guess if I run into issues I'll have to live with it for a year and then move away to somewhere else. I also live on my own so any traffic will all be mine anyway; looking at it it may even be a sensible thing to have as long as it doesn't wrongly-identify the traffic.For example, if one person in your house is on Skype and someone else is downloading a file, bandwidth priority would be given to the person using Skype as this is the most time sensitive application. Likewise, if you were streaming a film or gaming online, priority would be given to you, rather than to file sharing or music downloads. So rather than all of these activities buffering or struggling to complete, your Skype call should run smoothly and the file download will just take a little longer to finish.
By prioritising time sensitive traffic we’re providing the best possible service and experience we can, particularly if you’ve got a relatively slow broadband speed. To find out more about things that can affect your broadband speed, take a look at our speed guide.
The ~£300 saving should soften any blow though and I'd move away from BT out of principle at this point.
sjg said:
You won't get "unlimited" without it for any kind of sensible price.
FWIW, BT's service is genuinely unlimited with no traffic management (which was one of the reasons I went with them in the first place and why I'm being diligent about understanding what other ISPs might do before I sign up).Edited by Funk on Thursday 23 February 12:48
With Plusnet you can pay to upgrade the priority of your traffic, see the Pro and Business offerings here: https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/about-traffic-...
I tried the Pro option when I first switched to Plusnet fibre, turned it off after a couple of months as it seemed to make no difference to our performance, which has always been excellent. I'd consider us heavy users as well, around 1Tb of usage per month.
I tried the Pro option when I first switched to Plusnet fibre, turned it off after a couple of months as it seemed to make no difference to our performance, which has always been excellent. I'd consider us heavy users as well, around 1Tb of usage per month.
Just to add, we have been with BT fibre for the last few years and have been very impressed with it.
I am a heavy user at 300-400gb a month, every month, mostly streaming occasional torrents & fair gaming usage and never had any issues.
I signed up with Plusnet, found out about their prioritisation b
ks, cancelled & re-signed with BT. I dont want anyone to fiddle with whatever it is I am doing online!! :
edit: BT renewal were adamant the best they could offer me was a £29/month for their mid package. After 3 weeks & being signed to plusnet they dropped that down to £20/odd.
I am a heavy user at 300-400gb a month, every month, mostly streaming occasional torrents & fair gaming usage and never had any issues.
I signed up with Plusnet, found out about their prioritisation b
ks, cancelled & re-signed with BT. I dont want anyone to fiddle with whatever it is I am doing online!! :edit: BT renewal were adamant the best they could offer me was a £29/month for their mid package. After 3 weeks & being signed to plusnet they dropped that down to £20/odd.
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