Wayleave agreement/Gigaclear
Discussion
Afternoon all. I've had a request from Gigaclear to lay a cable to my house for fibre broadband. As I live in the countryside I currently get 4.5Mb, which is enough for my needs, and given where I live I think is pretty good.
Gigaclear do packages of 50/100/200Mb, they claim potentially up to 1000. What I didn't realise 'til today is that this is totally separate from the phone network and is only via them, it's not like cable whereby you access via BT/TalkTalk/Virgin etc.
Inevitably there's a cost implication, above packages are £41/46/54 and there's an install of £130 to get it connected up. All a lot more than current deals for basic packages, which include a landline.
So has anyone experience of them or any advice/wisdom to impart?
Cheers
Gigaclear do packages of 50/100/200Mb, they claim potentially up to 1000. What I didn't realise 'til today is that this is totally separate from the phone network and is only via them, it's not like cable whereby you access via BT/TalkTalk/Virgin etc.
Inevitably there's a cost implication, above packages are £41/46/54 and there's an install of £130 to get it connected up. All a lot more than current deals for basic packages, which include a landline.
So has anyone experience of them or any advice/wisdom to impart?
Cheers
Herbs said:
Sounds reasonable to me.
IoT (Internet of Things) is really starting to take off now and you are only going to start consuming more and more bandwidth so seems like a no brainer.
Would bite your hand off for those speeds in the country
Thanks for the reply. I'd agree, the ability to future proof does make sense, and I have no idea when our local BT cabinet will be upgraded, my concern is experience of if they're as good as their word etc. Likewise when I signed up to BT in my old house primarily so I could watch MotoGP they increased the price four times in less than two years!IoT (Internet of Things) is really starting to take off now and you are only going to start consuming more and more bandwidth so seems like a no brainer.
Would bite your hand off for those speeds in the country
Is this a speculative request to lay in the infrastructure or have you asked/enquired about their service?
Even if you go with them it doesn't mean you have to use their services forever, just like Virgin, having their cable installed does not mean you cannot switch to BT/Sky/etc. at some point. I had Virgin, then Sky, then back to Virgin over the last decade.
Even if you go with them it doesn't mean you have to use their services forever, just like Virgin, having their cable installed does not mean you cannot switch to BT/Sky/etc. at some point. I had Virgin, then Sky, then back to Virgin over the last decade.
I work for them.
If you don't want their service they'll leave a POT (like the water meter thing) at the boundary of your land and public land.... unless they need to get through your land to reach another property..?
BT have their own network which SKY, Talk Talk and PlusNet et al use
Virgin media have their own.
Gigaclear have their own.
The competition sight mega speeds but they mostly have copper to the door.... which is limiting.
Gigaclear don't build where Virgin Media are (currently) or where BT copper speeds are sufficient...not when there are areas that get next to nothing.
If you're happy with your service, then that's the end of it really, but bear in mind those package prices, don't require a landline... your landline phone calls over the internet... so you can sort of deduct £18.99 or whatever straight away....
I'm not in Sales or Customer Services btw....but if you have specific concerns PM me.
If you don't want their service they'll leave a POT (like the water meter thing) at the boundary of your land and public land.... unless they need to get through your land to reach another property..?
BT have their own network which SKY, Talk Talk and PlusNet et al use
Virgin media have their own.
Gigaclear have their own.
The competition sight mega speeds but they mostly have copper to the door.... which is limiting.
Gigaclear don't build where Virgin Media are (currently) or where BT copper speeds are sufficient...not when there are areas that get next to nothing.
If you're happy with your service, then that's the end of it really, but bear in mind those package prices, don't require a landline... your landline phone calls over the internet... so you can sort of deduct £18.99 or whatever straight away....
I'm not in Sales or Customer Services btw....but if you have specific concerns PM me.
Quickmoose said:
I work for them.
If you don't want their service they'll leave a POT (like the water meter thing) at the boundary of your land and public land.... unless they need to get through your land to reach another property..?
BT have their own network which SKY, Talk Talk and PlusNet et al use
Virgin media have their own.
Gigaclear have their own.
The competition sight mega speeds but they mostly have copper to the door.... which is limiting.
Gigaclear don't build where Virgin Media are (currently) or where BT copper speeds are sufficient...not when there are areas that get next to nothing.
If you're happy with your service, then that's the end of it really, but bear in mind those package prices, don't require a landline... your landline phone calls over the internet... so you can sort of deduct £18.99 or whatever straight away....
I'm not in Sales or Customer Services btw....but if you have specific concerns PM me.
This is something I could be interested in - how do they decide what area's to cover/not cover?If you don't want their service they'll leave a POT (like the water meter thing) at the boundary of your land and public land.... unless they need to get through your land to reach another property..?
BT have their own network which SKY, Talk Talk and PlusNet et al use
Virgin media have their own.
Gigaclear have their own.
The competition sight mega speeds but they mostly have copper to the door.... which is limiting.
Gigaclear don't build where Virgin Media are (currently) or where BT copper speeds are sufficient...not when there are areas that get next to nothing.
If you're happy with your service, then that's the end of it really, but bear in mind those package prices, don't require a landline... your landline phone calls over the internet... so you can sort of deduct £18.99 or whatever straight away....
I'm not in Sales or Customer Services btw....but if you have specific concerns PM me.
Toltec said:
Is this a speculative request to lay in the infrastructure or have you asked/enquired about their service?
Even if you go with them it doesn't mean you have to use their services forever, just like Virgin, having their cable installed does not mean you cannot switch to BT/Sky/etc. at some point. I had Virgin, then Sky, then back to Virgin over the last decade.
Yep, purely speculative. Apparently they work in conjunction with the government to offer fibre to areas that can't or aren't likely to get it anytime soon. As you say I can stay as is, and I'd have to at the moment as I'm in an 18 month contract, but going forward for me or anyone else who lives there it would be very handy.Even if you go with them it doesn't mean you have to use their services forever, just like Virgin, having their cable installed does not mean you cannot switch to BT/Sky/etc. at some point. I had Virgin, then Sky, then back to Virgin over the last decade.
Herbs - hopefully answers your question, might be worth contacting them to see if there's any chance in the future.
acme said:
Toltec said:
Is this a speculative request to lay in the infrastructure or have you asked/enquired about their service?
Even if you go with them it doesn't mean you have to use their services forever, just like Virgin, having their cable installed does not mean you cannot switch to BT/Sky/etc. at some point. I had Virgin, then Sky, then back to Virgin over the last decade.
Yep, purely speculative. Apparently they work in conjunction with the government to offer fibre to areas that can't or aren't likely to get it anytime soon. As you say I can stay as is, and I'd have to at the moment as I'm in an 18 month contract, but going forward for me or anyone else who lives there it would be very handy.Even if you go with them it doesn't mean you have to use their services forever, just like Virgin, having their cable installed does not mean you cannot switch to BT/Sky/etc. at some point. I had Virgin, then Sky, then back to Virgin over the last decade.
Herbs - hopefully answers your question, might be worth contacting them to see if there's any chance in the future.
Gigaclear bid for parts of the country that are subsidised by the government (BDUK).... and to join up these areas we also build off our own backs, via private investment.
Type your postcode in on the website...
Devon, Somerset, south of Bath/Bristol, Wiltshire, East Berks, Gloucestershire, Northampton, Essex.
Has to be properly rural though..
One proviso - I recently moved from ADSL to fibre, and on paper it's 3x faster down and about 8x faster up.
So I was expecting pages to load pretty much instantly.
Nope. In practice, browsing PH, Amazon, FB whatever etc, it's no faster because there's always a botleneck somewhere... 'wating for... transferring data from... read advertising' etc
So I was expecting pages to load pretty much instantly.
Nope. In practice, browsing PH, Amazon, FB whatever etc, it's no faster because there's always a botleneck somewhere... 'wating for... transferring data from... read advertising' etc
Simpo Two said:
One proviso - I recently moved from ADSL to fibre, and on paper it's 3x faster down and about 8x faster up.
So I was expecting pages to load pretty much instantly.
Nope. In practice, browsing PH, Amazon, FB whatever etc, it's no faster because there's always a botleneck somewhere... 'wating for... transferring data from... read advertising' etc
interesting...So I was expecting pages to load pretty much instantly.
Nope. In practice, browsing PH, Amazon, FB whatever etc, it's no faster because there's always a botleneck somewhere... 'wating for... transferring data from... read advertising' etc
The other caveats are: the construction of your house...rural properties sometimes/usually have thicker walls and that destroys wifi...
In most case though 50MB up and download is quicker than 0.3-24 down and 0-0.5 up wherever and however you use it...
If you have JUST a FTTH service and don't thereore pay for/have a landline, if there is ever an outage, you have no phone....a mobile is always a useful back up...
We have recently moved to Gigaclear after our previous provider sold out to them. The previous provider was essentially a small one man band jobby that developed the fibre infrastructure - tying it into Virgin in the nearest big town. Like you I'm in a rural spot so no BT Infinity or Virgin. Be lucky if I got 2mbps over copper.
Thus far I've had no issues other than Gigaclear sending me payment details with the right account details but a ladies name. The speed depends on the locale and usage and and and.... Generally I get about 50/60mbps when I pay for 100. Will depend on where you are. It's quick enough.
In terms of installation, they will dig in a shallow duct to a pot at the front of your house from the nearest cabinet. From there, definitely take the option of them doing the installation and set up in your house.
Hope this helps.
Thus far I've had no issues other than Gigaclear sending me payment details with the right account details but a ladies name. The speed depends on the locale and usage and and and.... Generally I get about 50/60mbps when I pay for 100. Will depend on where you are. It's quick enough.
In terms of installation, they will dig in a shallow duct to a pot at the front of your house from the nearest cabinet. From there, definitely take the option of them doing the installation and set up in your house.
Hope this helps.
Manners2001 said:
The speed depends on the locale and usage and and and.... Generally I get about 50/60mbps when I pay for 100. Will depend on where you are. It's quick enough.
If that were me I'd be on at Customer Services daily. 50-60% of what's advertised is unacceptable, that's the whole point of FTTH: unless the entire cabinet is full of users and they're all streaming 4K UHD films at the same time, only then would/should you see drop off.Perhaps they'd be ok with you paying 50-60% of the bill...
Its odd, I've seen more customer speed tests showing they get faster not slower speeds...
Up to you, but I'd not have that.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Satellite is not feasible for streaming etc.
My experience is that Satellite is great for streaming from a speed point of view, but not so great from an eating up all of your data allowance point of view. If you can get an unlimited package, then streaming shouldn't be a problem at all.I don't work for Gigaclear but I may sound like one with how happy I am with their services. When we first moved here, we had broadband via BT. The line was next to useless and BT themselves were worse so we switched to the only other option, PlusNet, which of course is a subsidiary of BT but with much better customer service at least. Anyway, for years we struggled with 1Mbps download on a good day, below 0.2 on a bad one and upload speeds of as low as 0.04Mbps. Yes, almost as bad as dial up. When the parish council investigated, we were found to be outside the government target for coverage with high speed broadband. BT came and gave a presentation in the village hall and said they'd charge the village £20k to bring a cabinet to one end of the village, then copper cables from there. Someone had heard of Gigaclear so they too were invited and also presented on the same day - fibre to the property for every household at no charge as long as 40% of the village sign up. We had a village referendum (really did!) which was 100% for Gigaclear, although do bear in mind that out of 123 properties, only about 20 could be bothered to vote. Anyway, it took a while to get to the requisite target and then to build the network but after all that, we went live just before Christmas 2016.
Wow, what a difference that made. It was like we had just discovered electricity. Although paying for 100Mbps, we were getting download speeds in excess of 160Mbps regularly and the upload speeds were higher! In fact, I started a thread on here at the time with pictures of my screen during speed tests; I'll see if I can dig it up.
We've now been with them for 14 months and never had an issue. The boys can use Netflix HD simultaneously in their own rooms watching different films while the youngest is doing something else, my wife catching up Facebook and I'm doing some work while listening to iPlayer radio. Prior to Gigaclear, we struggled to email simple pdf attachments which would sometimes time out. The difference is incredible.
The phone is now via VOIP with Vonage as our provider. No line rental at all, just pay for our package which includes free calls to mobiles and also an app for two mobiles to be able to make WiFi calls wherever you are. The app even lets you receive calls so if you're abroad and connected to WiFi at your hotel, you can make or receive calls via your landline, and not just in Europe either. Absolutely priceless. Not just that, but another thing we hadn't noticed was that even the copper cables to the village were the crap end of crappiest and oldest cables. We had terrible call quality and attributed it to poor quality from the cordless phones because of the silly thick walls. Once we connected up to Vonage and started using VOIP, with a little gadget that allows you to connect a standard phone, it turns out that the phone was fine; the problem all along was the terrible copper cables!
As for the total cost, we used to be in an Area 3 or whatever it was called. It basically meant that as there was no competition to provide telephony services, we were paying through the nose for our crap phone line and useless internet. Overall, we don't seem to be paying any more than we did before, a bit less if anything, because all these fancy offers you see plastered all over TV and internet weren't available to us anyway. This was the sort of conversation:
-Hello PlusNet, I've just seen your fantastic offer, can I sign up please?
-Oh yes sir please do. Here you here's the paperwork.
- Hold on. WTF is this? It's 3 times as expensive as your offer!
- Ah, sorry, you're in a low competition area so you aren't eligible for the offers. It's this plan or nothing.
- Right. I'd better get some KY and lube up then...
We did have one outage due to a cable fault somewhere but they located it very quickly and fixed it in no time. As opposed to BT who ran a few tests when we lost internet, and did nothing for about 2 weeks, and only after that the usual useless service resumed.
All in all, being with Gigaclear has been nothing but brilliant. Someone said they didn't see any difference between before and after high speed internet it I suspect that they have another problem, possibly with their hardware. Just before we got Gigaclear connected up, I also invested in upgrading my WiFi kit at home from basic Edimax access points to Ubiquiti AC APs. There was no difference in internet speed obviously but the network speed was far better. Despite the size and the build of the house, with 6 access points, 5 long range and 1 pro, there are no dead spots, and network speed is 350Mbps and above on 2.4GHz, almost double on 5GHz. Internet is instantaneous these days. Even my crap mobile phone can download 80MB apps in just a few seconds over WiFi. While someone's watching Netflix HD. That's good internet, and it's all down to Gigaclear. I may sound a bit evangelical about them, but they have made a huge difference to me and my family.
Compared to how much we were paying previously and the level of service we were getting, our average download speeds are about 100 times faster (under 1Mbps to over 100), our average upload speeds are over 500 times faster (under 0.2Mbps to over 120), landline phone quality is better, plus there's the phone app, all for the same cost. To be honest, it still would've been worth it if they charged many multiples of what they do!
QQ
Wow, what a difference that made. It was like we had just discovered electricity. Although paying for 100Mbps, we were getting download speeds in excess of 160Mbps regularly and the upload speeds were higher! In fact, I started a thread on here at the time with pictures of my screen during speed tests; I'll see if I can dig it up.
We've now been with them for 14 months and never had an issue. The boys can use Netflix HD simultaneously in their own rooms watching different films while the youngest is doing something else, my wife catching up Facebook and I'm doing some work while listening to iPlayer radio. Prior to Gigaclear, we struggled to email simple pdf attachments which would sometimes time out. The difference is incredible.
The phone is now via VOIP with Vonage as our provider. No line rental at all, just pay for our package which includes free calls to mobiles and also an app for two mobiles to be able to make WiFi calls wherever you are. The app even lets you receive calls so if you're abroad and connected to WiFi at your hotel, you can make or receive calls via your landline, and not just in Europe either. Absolutely priceless. Not just that, but another thing we hadn't noticed was that even the copper cables to the village were the crap end of crappiest and oldest cables. We had terrible call quality and attributed it to poor quality from the cordless phones because of the silly thick walls. Once we connected up to Vonage and started using VOIP, with a little gadget that allows you to connect a standard phone, it turns out that the phone was fine; the problem all along was the terrible copper cables!
As for the total cost, we used to be in an Area 3 or whatever it was called. It basically meant that as there was no competition to provide telephony services, we were paying through the nose for our crap phone line and useless internet. Overall, we don't seem to be paying any more than we did before, a bit less if anything, because all these fancy offers you see plastered all over TV and internet weren't available to us anyway. This was the sort of conversation:
-Hello PlusNet, I've just seen your fantastic offer, can I sign up please?
-Oh yes sir please do. Here you here's the paperwork.
- Hold on. WTF is this? It's 3 times as expensive as your offer!
- Ah, sorry, you're in a low competition area so you aren't eligible for the offers. It's this plan or nothing.
- Right. I'd better get some KY and lube up then...
We did have one outage due to a cable fault somewhere but they located it very quickly and fixed it in no time. As opposed to BT who ran a few tests when we lost internet, and did nothing for about 2 weeks, and only after that the usual useless service resumed.
All in all, being with Gigaclear has been nothing but brilliant. Someone said they didn't see any difference between before and after high speed internet it I suspect that they have another problem, possibly with their hardware. Just before we got Gigaclear connected up, I also invested in upgrading my WiFi kit at home from basic Edimax access points to Ubiquiti AC APs. There was no difference in internet speed obviously but the network speed was far better. Despite the size and the build of the house, with 6 access points, 5 long range and 1 pro, there are no dead spots, and network speed is 350Mbps and above on 2.4GHz, almost double on 5GHz. Internet is instantaneous these days. Even my crap mobile phone can download 80MB apps in just a few seconds over WiFi. While someone's watching Netflix HD. That's good internet, and it's all down to Gigaclear. I may sound a bit evangelical about them, but they have made a huge difference to me and my family.
Compared to how much we were paying previously and the level of service we were getting, our average download speeds are about 100 times faster (under 1Mbps to over 100), our average upload speeds are over 500 times faster (under 0.2Mbps to over 120), landline phone quality is better, plus there's the phone app, all for the same cost. To be honest, it still would've been worth it if they charged many multiples of what they do!
We have Gigaclear.
They (sub-contractor) came through our village around 12 months ago making a mess of all the verges laying the cables very shallow in places. All grown back and forgotten now but was chaos in the lanes for a few months. A tough job for the guys on the machines to be fair.
I did the install from roadside Pot to house myself. Approx 30m and simple to do.
Have now cancelled Sky, and BT. No landline, all TV through Netflix, Prime, iPlayer via fibre.
Went from 0.8mbps for £18.99 from BT plus landline for £12ish to Gigaclear with 100mbps upload and download.
Only downside is their routers are known for poor Wi-Fi range/signal and you have to use the one they supply. I had buy a seperate range extender.
As with most technological advancements, I can't believe how we survived before fibre.
About 50% of the village signed up in principal before Gigaclear confirmed they would install infrastructure. A year on and that figure is more like 90% signed up.
They (sub-contractor) came through our village around 12 months ago making a mess of all the verges laying the cables very shallow in places. All grown back and forgotten now but was chaos in the lanes for a few months. A tough job for the guys on the machines to be fair.
I did the install from roadside Pot to house myself. Approx 30m and simple to do.
Have now cancelled Sky, and BT. No landline, all TV through Netflix, Prime, iPlayer via fibre.
Went from 0.8mbps for £18.99 from BT plus landline for £12ish to Gigaclear with 100mbps upload and download.
Only downside is their routers are known for poor Wi-Fi range/signal and you have to use the one they supply. I had buy a seperate range extender.
As with most technological advancements, I can't believe how we survived before fibre.
About 50% of the village signed up in principal before Gigaclear confirmed they would install infrastructure. A year on and that figure is more like 90% signed up.
Edited by astroarcadia on Monday 12th March 20:20
We're still waiting for them to get to our hamlet in Berkshire 
Date keeps getting put back & back by months. Our whole lane is keen to sign up as we have a ropey old copper line hanging off BT poles, with the max speed of 7Mb on a good day when there aren't trees falling on it.
We got all excited in January when their contractors stated laying the cable through the next village. Road closures, diversions, all that good stuff. Then we noticed the road closures were up but no-one was working.
Called West Berks Highways who said that all they knew was that the contractors had upped sticks and left and that WBC would send someone out to reopen the road. Since then the purple Gigaclear barriers have remained piled up at the side of the road.When we rang Gigaclear they told us the cable was laid and we were free to sign up - err, no, the cable's sticking out of the ground a few lanes away!
No idea what's going on, but we all still want the service - whenever they can get someone to lay the cable.
Date keeps getting put back & back by months. Our whole lane is keen to sign up as we have a ropey old copper line hanging off BT poles, with the max speed of 7Mb on a good day when there aren't trees falling on it.We got all excited in January when their contractors stated laying the cable through the next village. Road closures, diversions, all that good stuff. Then we noticed the road closures were up but no-one was working.
Called West Berks Highways who said that all they knew was that the contractors had upped sticks and left and that WBC would send someone out to reopen the road. Since then the purple Gigaclear barriers have remained piled up at the side of the road.When we rang Gigaclear they told us the cable was laid and we were free to sign up - err, no, the cable's sticking out of the ground a few lanes away!
No idea what's going on, but we all still want the service - whenever they can get someone to lay the cable.
Quickmoose said:
If that were me I'd be on at Customer Services daily. 50-60% of what's advertised is unacceptable, that's the whole point of FTTH: unless the entire cabinet is full of users and they're all streaming 4K UHD films at the same time, only then would/should you see drop off.
Perhaps they'd be ok with you paying 50-60% of the bill...
Its odd, I've seen more customer speed tests showing they get faster not slower speeds...
Up to you, but I'd not have that.
I know what you mean but I'm generally only on at very peak times to be fair, plus the network is piggy backing onto Virgin who, despite their advertising, also suffer drop off. In the grand scheme of things it's a small issue when I have a lot going on elsewhere. If I was home all day running a business then fair enough. To browse the net, watch some Netflix or Amazon and other 'stuff' it works I'll let it slide. Perhaps they'd be ok with you paying 50-60% of the bill...
Its odd, I've seen more customer speed tests showing they get faster not slower speeds...
Up to you, but I'd not have that.
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