Broadband offers

[silverfoxcc]

In the last couple of weeks my FB has been inundated with fibre deals

Sky sent a text the other day telling me that effective mid Nov my Fibre(fitted by openreach) witll be something like 47 pm.. and includes the landline so seeing some of these deals has made my mind up BUT who to choose


As the regulars on here know.. i am electrical/computer systems dumb!

Has anyone else in the PH community condsidering a move?

What i am the lookout for is a full fibre connection ( does another supply have to drill and provide, or is it like the Gas and Electric,and use the recently fitted kit?)

Landline and a speed of up to 300 mbps Sky is suppltying 150

Any advice on the best one to go for, normal computer use.. not gaming type but may get MS flight sim for Xmas
Also taking the Desktop in to my friendly PC doctor to upgrade the Motherboard ( and ram if needed) and SSD hard drive to meet the new world head on ........l

[untakenname]

I usually swap broadband providers every 18 months or so when they invariably jack up the prices, worth checking topcashback and quidco for decent deals.

Got £80 cashback for the 250mb service with Virgin, £26 a month which seems decent.

Edit: Also check if any of your friends or family are with a provider as they often offer referral bonuses, I got an additional £50 ontop as a friend was already with Virgin.

[C69]

Might be worth getting some competitors' quotes, then asking Sky to beat or match them. Saves the potential hassle caused by switching providers.

This MSE piece should be useful: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv...

[the-norseman]

Generally these days there are 3 fibre connection suppliers, Openreach, Cityfibre and Virgin.

I'm on a cityfibre connection, I'm with Vodafone. I could switch to Zen or similar but tbh the connection has been down once in the last 6 years (the other week when Vodafone was down) so I dont see the point.

Unless your somebody who finds themselves speaking to customer services a lot, switch makes no sense unless you can get a better price.

[babelfish]

silverfoxcc said:

As the regulars on here know.. i am electrical/computer systems dumb!

You also start loads of threads on here and never return to them

[RotorRambler]

City Fibre there?
I’m with Toob
900mbps, £25 a month, no price hikes during the term..
Had it a year, zero problems!

[Easternlight]

Check on the price of the phone connection, it's getting increasingly expensive.
I'm with BT and it's £40pcm but of that £11.99 is for the phone.
I need to go over to just using our mobiles in the future, they both go over to WiFi calling in the house anyway.

[p4cks]

RotorRambler said:

City Fibre there?
I m with Toob
900mbps, £25 a month, no price hikes during the term..
Had it a year, zero problems!

This. there's a price war in the fibre industry at the moment and toob difficult (impossible!) to beat

[Dave Hedgehog]

I like Trooli but they are only in a few areas



https://www.trooli.com/our-network/coverage

[TikTak]

Bit of a postcode lottery really. I've lucked out in that respect my deal isn't bad but not as amazing as some people have but definitely shop around.

Just have it in mind that numbers aren't everything and it also totally depends what you're doing. Sure 900mb sounds nice, but for example it's just me and maybe 2 devices at a time so the ability to streak 8k on 15 devices at once is pointless.

150mb for £14 a month, fixed for 24 months with OneStream.

[Davie]

If you remain with an internet provider that uses the Openreach network be it Sky, BT, PlusNet, Vodafone etc etc then you can utilise the existing Openreach fibre equipment in the house. If you move to an internet provider who uses another network provider, they'll need to start over again and fit their equipment. Check what providers are actually present your area first.

[Lucas Ayde]

TikTak said:

Just have it in mind that numbers aren't everything and it also totally depends what you're doing. Sure 900mb sounds nice, but for example it's just me and maybe 2 devices at a time so the ability to streak 8k on 15 devices at once is pointless.

150mb for £14 a month, fixed for 24 months with OneStream.

Agreed on the max speeds .. the only few times you'd really notice them is if you're a gamer and doing a Steam download which will go as fast as you let it go (PSN downloads are a bit faster too but don't seem to max out the connection) or if you like to sail the Seven Seas. I get my 900mbit maxed out with Usenet. Even then, I do the d/l on my home server so it doesn't really matter all that much whether or not something takes 3mins or 30mins.

It is worth just physically getting the fibre to the home installed though, as that will be a pre-requisite moving forwards. Copper is being deprecated so sooner or later you will have to move over.

[GlenMH]

Lucas Ayde said:

It is worth just physically getting the fibre to the home installed though, as that will be a pre-requisite moving forwards. Copper is being deprecated so sooner or later you will have to move over.

I am on VM coax but will be getting fibre installed at the next changeover (Feb) so I have both in the house.

[Mr-B]

See if you are in a Three 5g broadband area, no need to worry about new lines into the property just get the kit and plug it in (well it's a bit more than that but not massively so).

[Bluevanman]

Mr-B said:

See if you are in a Three 5g broadband area, no need to worry about new lines into the property just get the kit and plug it in (well it's a bit more than that but not massively so).

The latency is a bit crap,not ideal if the OP is going to be gaming like he suggests but other than that it's a cheap option, especially if going through a cashback site

[Skyedriver]

Probably no help to the OP but they're installing Highland Broadband around our area at the moment. It's full fibre to the house rather than the current BT fibre to the cabinet.
They're advertising speeds up to 100 meg but by the time I cancel BT (£350), move BT/TNT Sport onto Sky from Discovery -, lose the landline and upgrade wife's mobile, I'll be paying out a lot more for the benefit. Stick with BT for now.

[Mr-B]

Bluevanman said:

The latency is a bit crap,not ideal if the OP is going to be gaming like he suggests but other than that it's a cheap option, especially if going through a cashback site

On opensignal tests it is showing 25 to 35ms normally, don't know if that is good or bad but I don't game so not an issue for me anyway.

[Russet Grange]

Mr-B said:

See if you are in a Three 5g broadband area, no need to worry about new lines into the property just get the kit and plug it in (well it's a bit more than that but not massively so).

Yes that's what I've got, £16/month, plenty fast enough, no wires.

[Griffith4ever]

Bluevanman said:

Mr-B said:

See if you are in a Three 5g broadband area, no need to worry about new lines into the property just get the kit and plug it in (well it's a bit more than that but not massively so).

The latency is a bit crap,not ideal if the OP is going to be gaming like he suggests but other than that it's a cheap option, especially if going through a cashback site

I get around 20-30ms ping to google. Its unnoticeable , even gaming, with the exception if FPS fighters. It can be a touch of a disadvantage on Dayz in PVP encounters. Other than that, its bloody fast and cheap. I pay £20 a month for unlimited. At my current address I get 800 down and 90 up. I just unplugged it and moved to my new house and I get 120Mb down and 110 up there. The wired alternatives max out at 40Mb down 2mn up there.....

[RotorRambler]

I had VM fibre for many years (coax to house) but got too expensive & the renewal merry go round was getting tedious!
As above I switched to City Fibre (Toob) @ £25 a month for the contract duration (900mbps). That is fibre to the house, overhead from BT pole in my case.
I thought it good to have both delivery types.
If Toob is too pricey at renewal i ll no doubt get a great Virgin deal as a new customer!
Get it in and working a week before the other one goes off.
To avoid any faff on the day.
Rinse and repeat.
No renewal negotiation, if/when it jumps, switch and cancel (same as car insurance).
I show the same loyalty as they do.
Will obviously get a great offer to stay of course..

The op requirement to have a landline does make it more tricky. I did get rid of mine 10+ years ago, not missed at all in my case.


The Toob Linksys mesh wasn’t quite powerful enough to reach back of my house etc. I added a ‘Community Fibre’ badged one that are all over auction sites for under £40.
Rock solid for over a year.

Edited by RotorRambler on Wednesday 22 October 08:46