Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => ISPs => Topic started by: happy37 on July 05, 2012, 02:18:49 PM
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Hello everyone.
My current o2 broadband contract runs out next week (12th July), and I am now in a dilemma as to whether I should phone up and renew it for another year?
I am on the old legacy "O2 Home Broadband Standard" upto 16mb package. This was the old package that was available before o2 moved/changed all their broadband packages to what they currently are. (The Basics, The All-Rounder and The Works).
No problems at all with o2 either over the years.......if only they'd do something about offering FTTC/FTTH?
The line rental on my line is paid to BT - happy with that, and no problems to report.
The full monthly charge for the o2 broadband is £14.50. I also have an o2 mobile which immediately knocks off £5 from the monthly price. This is then brought down further to the current £6.95 which is what I pay every month, thanks to the great deal that the o2 Retentions team gave me last year and the year before that.
According to Kitz's line checker, being the distance away from the exchange that I currently am (Direct: 2.95 km), (By Road: 6.92 km), I currently get 3.5 Megs on my line from o2.
Here is my question/dilemma:-
1. Shall I renew again for another 12 months, the caveat is not knowing whether I will get the same deal, or even get to stay on the same old legacy package (no traffic shaping and unlimited downloads)
2. Look at switching to FTTC - I have been reading a lot about PlusNet over the last few days. Are they any good? The package that I have been looking at costs £16.49 a month. This is called "PlusNet Value" Fibre Broadband. I know that they don't have any limits on this broadband package between midnight and 8am, and there's a 4OGB monthly allowance. My household currently uses upto 15-20GB every month, and never exceeds that.
This is just for the usual downloading, streaming of radio/music and some occasional YouTube videos.
Please feel free to ask anything else that I might not have mentioned here yet.
Would be really grateful for your thoughts/comments and advice on this.
Many thanks in advance.
Regards
happy37
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Hi Happy
I was in the same dilemma last year.I am on the old Legacy package,was told to stay on it was £9.50 totally unlimited,or go onto the traffic managed basic package for £8.50..
They offered me £6.95 if I stayed on the old Legacy package,if I had gone onto the new one I could have got 6 months free.
My contract is up on the 18th and I'm off to Digital Region fibre.Can only get 2,5mb with O2.
There is rumours going round that Telefonica are in financial trouble.......
Ask them if you can stay on the Legacy package and what they will offer you.They told me even things like Youtube are traffic managed on the new package.
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Hi Unky,
Good to hear from you - hope all is well.
Oh well, I thought that it was just me with that dilemma? Now you've also said that o2 offered you to stay on the old package.
What speeds will you get on/with Digital Region fibre after the 18th?
There is rumours going round that Telefonica are in financial trouble.......
That doesn't sound good at all - hope they don't go bust or anything like that! :no:
I will phone up and ask what deal they are prepared to give me - is it better to phone on the 11th as my contract finishes on the 12th, or should I wait until it expires completely and then call up?
I'm a bit surprised that I've not heard from any PlusNet users from this forum - hope this doesn't mean that PlusNet's fibre isn't good!? :-\
Are there any rumours abound about BE or o2 doing FTTC or FTTP in the near future?
Thanks again for the advice Unky - much appreciated.
Regards
happy37
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I have been estimated to get around 25mb down and 6mb up with Origin broadband for £17.50 a month.
Regarding Be,O2 fttc,2013 at the earliest has been mentioned.
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I can get 40mb down and 2mb up...........from PlusNet.
£16.49 a month - what do you think, seeing that o2's Standard legacy, old package is £14.50?
Your thoughts will be most welcome.
Regards
happy37
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The thing that sticks in my mind is the 40gig limit with those cheaper packages. As things are I could leave mine downloading 24hrs and not reach 40gig. But I imagine soon eating up 40gig with the speed of a 20meg line. ;D
When I first joined the broadband thing I was paying £26+ for a 1/2meg connection. So I would go for the unlimited download package hoping that in time the price would come down. :fingers:
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The thing that sticks in my mind is the 40gig limit with those cheaper packages. As things are I could leave mine downloading 24hrs and not reach 40gig. But I imagine soon eating up 40gig with the speed of a 20meg line. ;D
Are you getting 40GB usage confused with 40mb download speeds.........All Origins packages are unlimited,no caps,shaping or download limits..the difference in price is because of the difference in Maximum download speeds.... Origin start with 24 mb down/10mb up for £17.50,then 40 mb down/10mb up for £25 and finally(if your line can support it) up to 100mb for £35 a month
http://www.origin-broadband.co.uk/
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Hi ss44 and UncleUB,
Good morning.
Thanks for your replies.
Looks like things are getting confused here, methinks.
40gb limit and 40 Megs line speed are getting people all mixed up.
Anyway, let's see what happens next week when I call o2 to see what deal they can give me to stay with them for another year?
Will keep you posted.
Regards
happy37
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Hi Happy
Good luck with your renewal,I'm sure they will offer you a good deal as many,many customers are leaving due to the fact that they can't offer FTTC.
I have been with them 3 years and have been very happy with them as a company.Their support is UK based(as you know) and is excellent,but the bottom line is I can't get more than 2.5mb and this day and age holds you back from doing a lot of thinks,ie iplayer,downloading films etc,and as we now have an internet enabled smart tv I want to be able to use all its features.
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@UncleUB I've just checked BT Infinity & Plusnet and both the cheap packages have a 40gig per month usage limit.
BT have an umlimited usage package for about £26 per month.
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@UncleUB I've just checked BT Infinity & Plusnet and both the cheap packages have a 40gig per month usage limit.
BT have an umlimited usage package for about £26 per month.
Thats quite poor then Colin,and as you say with a fast connection you will soon eat that up especially downloading a few films..The £26 package looks roughly the same as Digital region...£25 for up to 40mb download speed and unlimited usage.
Do you have fibre yet Colin at your exchange. ?
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I swapped from Virgin Media ADSL to BT Infinity (unlimited) about 2 months ago.
This costs me £25 per month with no download cap - I think the price has just gone up to £26. In fact I pay more than that as I have various phone add ons such as Unlimted Anytime calls. On my phone usage this made a lot of financial sense overall, so that is another factor you may wish to consider.
I signed up for the 40/10 service and have a profile of 38/10. Normally achieve an actual speed of around 37/8. Can upgrade to to 80/20 for free if I wish - I think the new £26 monthly price is for 80/20.
On my old Virgin service my monthly download figure were quite small - limited by the broadband download speed if nothing else. When I upgraded I specifically went for an unlimited download service as I suspected that actual usage in my house might shoot up if a faster line speed were available. (There are 3 users and separate PC's on the network in my house). My suspicion has since been borne out. My monthly download figure is now 52 Gb on average!!! When I quizzed the other users I then found out that, knowing the download cap had been removed, they had signed up for some TV services for their PC's (eg Eurosport for £2.99 per month). So beware!
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Thanks for the info bbnovice, there's nothing like getting it from some-one in the know.
@Phil, I thought the usage caps were very poor for such a download speed. I was looking to go for an unlimited package. I know it costs more and whilst I am the only subscriber I could easily exceed the limit.
Fiber (fibre) is at the exchange, the boxes are wired up, but according to the BT availability sites fiber will not be available until 30th September 2012. But after reading an article on the PC Advisor site which said the best way to find out about availability is to ring BT as the sites are quite out dated. If the article is to be believed BT themselves admit to this fact. So come Monday I shall be 0800.
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Well I asked for a MAC off O2 yesterday lunch time,as yet I'm still waiting for it to arrive via email.
Edit....They have just told me it takes 24 hours to arrive?
When I left BT they gave me a MAC code straight away over the phone. :shrug2:
Tbh they didn't put up much of a fight to keep me as a customer,they ask why you are leaving,as soon as you mention fibre they chuck the towel in.
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When I left BT they gave me a MAC code straight away over the phone
Maybe they couldn't wait to get rid of you. :-X
I watch this space with baited breath.
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When I left BT they gave me a MAC code straight away over the phone
Maybe they couldn't wait to get rid of you. :-X
I watch this space with baited breath.
Lol Colin
Received an email from O2 saying that the accessory I requested is on its way,accessory being the jiffy bag to send the router back.But no MACcode,just phoned them and was told it was requested from Openreach yesterday but no arrived as yet.They will request it again.
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It depends on not only the ISP, but also the staff member one gets, the day of the week, etc. The list is virtually endless. However, if you don't get it within 30 days you can complain as that is the rule set by OFCOM (?).
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Well I asked for a MAC off O2 yesterday lunch time,as yet I'm still waiting for it to arrive via email.
Edit....They have just told me it takes 24 hours to arrive?
When I left BT they gave me a MAC code straight away over the phone. :shrug2:
Tbh they didn't put up much of a fight to keep me as a customer,they ask why you are leaving,as soon as you mention fibre they chuck the towel in.
UncleUB et al,
Good morning - I thought that I'd pop back with an update to my question.
I called o2 again at the weekend.
A deal was given to me - this was another 12 months contract with the same speeds on the same Standard/Legacy package at £6.95 a month with 6 months free thrown in as well.
However, like UncleUB has also stated, I am also looking to be a lot more with my Internet connection than before.
So, I bit the bullet and ask the lady that I was speaking to about o2's Fibre offering, or if there were going to be any in the future?
"Not this year, she says.......it's still being talked about, and we are not sure when we will launch these."
Having heard this, I asked for my MAC code as I wanted to be totally honest as to why I was moving on.
@UnkyUB:-
Got my MAC code on my mobile as well as by email yesterday!
o2 told me that it should arrive within 24 hours, and hey presto, it did!
When should I give this to my new provider PlusNet?
I have signed up to PlusNet and the Value Fibre offering for £16.49 a month - 40mb down, and 2mb up.
Can someone please tell me how I can find out 2 more things?
1. Does PlusNet FTTC use DLM?
2. How can I find out which FTTC cabinet I will be connected to?
My postcode is BR1 4PU.
I know that there is a spreadsheet that I can check that can tell me about this, but would be grateful if someone could confirm this or post up a link to a download of that.
If there is any other useful info about PlusNet that people would like to share/tell me about, then please do.
Thanks.
happy37
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Hi Happy
I would give the Mac to Plusnet now,it will take over a week to get switched over,which should avoid the £15 charge quoted by O2.
Regarding which cabinet you are connected to I'm not sure,the right people to ask are burakkucat,Waltergmw,or one of our members who have Openreach connections.
This is a table giving rough speed estimates as to where you house is in regards to the street cab.This is for Digital Region,not sure if it works the same on BT's network
(https://forum.kitz.co.uk/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs14.postimage.org%2F5oiz7a9mp%2FSpeeds.png&hash=3970560c8b9c86a3d29bdbb9c73e1cc7de729a6e)
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Hi UncleUB
Thanks for that info - much appreciated.
I will pass on the MAC code to PlusNet then - what would happen if I waited, and why would o2 charge £15......IIRC, there was something in their email about a seven day period?
Re. which cabinet I might be connected to, could burakkucat, Waltergmw or anyone else "in the know" please let me know more about this, please?
As I said, my postcode is BR1 4PU and my exchange is Catford (LSCTFD)
I've looked at the "PCP to Postcode 13042011" csv report, and it states this for my exchange:-
LSCTFD CATFORD BR1 4PU {LSCTFD}{p53} 0 100 13.61 5a Yes FTTC
Has this information been updated since then in a newer spreadsheet, and what does all this mean, please?
@UncleUB:-
Good luck with your move to Origin Broadband - when do you switch over?
Regards
happy37
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@UncleUB:-
Good luck with your move to Origin Broadband - when do you switch over?
Regards
happy37
They have given me the 23rd July as an approximate date to switch over
Your Mac code is only valid for 30 days from issue,so I think if you haven't switched over inside 30 days you would need another Mac.I'm sure if this is in correct then someone will be along to give you more info.
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Your Mac code is only valid for 30 days from issue,so I think if you haven't switched over inside 30 days you would need another Mac.
That is what I was told in the 3 emails I was sent, UncleUB.
If it expires just ring them up and they will issue a new one, or so it says.
Someone at OR is going to be busy on 23rd July.
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Your Mac code is only valid for 30 days from issue,so I think if you haven't switched over inside 30 days you would need another Mac.
That is what I was told in the 3 emails I was sent, UncleUB.
If it expires just ring them up and they will issue a new one, or so it says.
Someone at OR is going to be busy on 23rd July.
I'm well stocked up with various medicines...... ;)
If it goes as smooth as my switch over day from BT to O2 I shall be very happy :)
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That is what I was told in the 3 emails I was sent, UncleUB.
If it expires just ring them up and they will issue a new one, or so it says.
Someone at OR is going to be busy on 23rd July.
I also got 3 emails and 2 texts from o2 with my MAC code.
Seems like that they want to push leaving customers out the door when they go! :P
Oh, and by the way, call it coincidence, but my new Fibre install with PlusNet is also on Monday 23rd July.
Openreach will indeed be busy on that day!
Good luck UncleUB! :)
Regards
happy37
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Sorry not read the whole thread.
O2 are terrible if your exchange is Sky unbundled get Sky BUT IF NOT LLU AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE as it is as bad as O2.
Looks like you are in luck:
But you will now have to also have Sky phone contract. But from others have said it is not that bad a deal.
LLU xDSL presence at your exchange
You are connected to the Catford telephone exchange.
The following table details the availability of LLU services at your location.
AOL is available in your area
O2 / Be Unlimited is available in your area
C&W is available in your area
TalkTalk (CPW) is available in your area
Digital Region is not yet available in your area
Sky Broadband / Easynet is available in your area
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Just checked my exchange:
FTTC status: 2013
Does that mean I may get fibre next year?
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Yes in a word.
As for 23rd July (https://forum.kitz.co.uk/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl10.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F2149%2F2149470rax8a9x54t.gif&hash=66b2062b04c3fcefb6d108229c9d525fe440882b) (http://www.glitter-graphics.com) :whip:
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Sorry not read the whole tread.
O2 are terrible if your exchange is Sky unbundled get Sky BUT IF NOT LLU AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE as it is as bad as O2.
Tbh Britbat I'm an O2 LLU customer and have been very happy with as an isp(its not O2's fault I live a long way from the exchange).Their access (non LLU) package is another story,terrible by all accounts.
I have always found their c/s very helpful and have had very few broadband problems in 3 years I have been with them,If they could have offered me fibre then no way would I have left.
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I fully agree with UncleUB's point here.
o2 are indeed a great ISP, and I've also had no issues with them since I joined.
I was on o2 LLU as well.
Their Customer Services and tech support teams were always on the ball, and still are, IMO.
If they could have offered me fibre then no way would I have left.
Precisely my reason for moving on now as I want to do more with my Internet connection.
Lastly, can anyone please help me locate my FTTC cabinet?
How is this done?
Apparently, it's PCP 53, the postcode is BR1 4PU and my exchange is Catford. (LSCTFD)
Thanks.
Regards
happy37
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Lastly, can anyone please help me locate my FTTC cabinet?
How is this done?
Apparently, it's PCP 53, the postcode is BR1 4PU and my exchange is Catford. (LSCTFD)
I'll repeat what was mentioned in a recent PM as an example of "how to find one's PCP" --
With regards to the Street View images of Google Maps, please remember that they were all taken some years ago! As to locating your PCP, number 53, the only sure-fire way to find it is to tour the streets. Perhaps use the images to locate those cabinets nearest to your home that may possibly be number 53 and then physically go & inspect each one for its identifying number. Another method that may help is to plot the mid-point of each postcode area whose telephone lines are connected via that cabinet. Then, once that information is considered in relation to the Catford exchange location, it should give you a potential target area to search. Of course, to try and use that technique, you will need to know all the other postcodes served by number 53 . . .
[ajb@Duo2 Postcode_to_PCP_December_2011]$ grep P53 *.csv | awk -F, '/LSCTFD/ { print $3 }' | sed 's/14/1 4/' | pr -t -4
BR1 4PU BR1 4QA BR1 4QX BR1 4RT
BR1 4PX BR1 4QE BR1 4QY BR1 4RU
BR1 4PY BR1 4QF BR1 4QZ BR1 4RY
BR1 4PZ BR1 4QR BR1 4RA BR1 4SL
And there they are. All sixteen of them, freshly extracted from the December 2011 file. ;)
There is one other way. Keep a look-out for an Openreach engineer in your neighbourhood and then just ask her/him where the particular PCP of interest is located. :D
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Mr B Cat et al,
Good morning, everyone.
Thanks for that really useful info - much appreciated.
Here are the Google Maps URL links for 3 cabs that I've found in mine and the surrounding streets:-
1. http://goo.gl/maps/XgmB (http://goo.gl/maps/XgmB)
This green cab is in the road called Southover, which is just up the road from my road Brook Lane. I went past there last night, but I could not see the number 53 or any nunbers on there for that matter?
2. http://goo.gl/maps/x7Qx
This green cab is at the top of my road Brook Lane. Again, no number 53 written on this one, but there are 8 or 9 digits written on there? These could be 1510.....
Is this a PCP/phone/FTTC cab?
3. http://goo.gl/maps/lAIF
This 3rd cab is directly opposite my house in Brook Lane. Again, no number 53 written on this one, but there are 8 or 9 digits written on there. Looks like 1510 2106 according to Google Maps? Is this a PCP/phone/FTTC cab?
Haven't found any more green cabs around yet, but unless someone "in the know" can confirm which one of these cabs is indeed PCP 53, I will be most grateful.
And finally, @burakkucat:-
There is one other way. Keep a look-out for an Openreach engineer in your neighbourhood and then just ask her/him where the particular PCP of interest is located. :D
Let's see - I might just do that, but it depends if he/she will be one to talk or not. :P ;D :D
Thanks.
Regards
happy37
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Hello Happy,
Thank you for providing those links. Unfortunately none of those cabinets appear (to me) to be PCPs and they are certainly not FTTCs. I believe they are Cable TV cabinets, now absorbed into the Virgin Media empire. It has been a very long time since I was last in that area, although it is still in my memory. Certainly if anyone asked me "Do you know Burnt Ash Lane, Southover, Brook Lane or Avondale Road?" I would smile and indicate in the affirmative!
To give you some idea for what you should be looking, RobertoS (http://www.robertos.me.uk/index.html) (a long term inhabitant on the ThinkBroadband fora (http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/qthreads.php)) has a website on which there is a page with a selection of images of street cabinets (http://www.robertos.me.uk/html/street_cabinets_etc.html). Of the first nine images on that page, numbers 3, 5 & 6 are of FTTCs, whilst numbers 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 & 9 are examples of typical PCPs.
Finally as {LSCTFD}{P53} is already "fibre active", it should have its FTTC twin fairly close by. So you should be particularly interested in any two green cabinets that are within 100 metres of each other. :)
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Yes, thank you for the links Happy37.
I hope you can cope with the membership of Kitz Forum coming round for a garden party. ;D
Why is part of your house blocked out of the google map?
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I hope you can cope with the membership of Kitz Forum coming round for a garden party. ;D
Yes, why not - the Kitz fora/forum members are all most welcome. :)
Why is part of your house blocked out of the google map?
Huh? - you totally lost me there?! Which picture and what bit are you looking at and referring to?
Thanks again.
Any more news with your new fibre install then? Unless I missed it, who are you having this installed from, and what product are going for?
Good luck! :) ;) :D ;D
Regards
happy37
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I've just had another look Happy37 and the blocked out bit has shown up this time.
Must have been a bit not showing up.
Although I have changed modem for the Netgear GT which i s a bit faster.
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Just received my new router from Origin,a TP Link TL-WR740N,looks a right bit of cheap kit ...........£11 on Amazon :-X
I hope it preforms better than it looks,its as light as a feather,I wonder if there anything actually inside it... ;D
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There seems to be a few decent reviews for your router UncleUB.
I've had my BTHH3 type A since the 19th. Not many good reviews about that one. :(
Still when I've had it a while there's plenty of postings about it on here.
I hope yours is a good 'un.
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There seems to be a few decent reviews for your router UncleUB.
I've had my BTHH3 type A since the 19th. Not many good reviews about that one. :(
Still when I've had it a while there's plenty of postings about it on here.
I hope yours is a good 'un.
Perhaps I am jumping the gun Colin,and you can't judge a book by its cover.
I also will be getting a Cellpipe bridging modem,this connects to the router.The router is from the isp(Origin) and the Cellpipe modem is from Thales (who are running the Digital Region project)
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If DR is using the Alcatel Cellpipe 7130 then inside it is much the same as the Huawei HG612 (BCM6368-based). i.e. should perform the same. The same modem is used by Telus in North America.
http://peterkieser.com/2011/03/17/telus-vdsl2-modems-deployed-in-the-field/
cheers, a
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Some Digital Region users have switched from using the Cellpipe modem to an unlocked Huawei EchoLife HG612 Home Gateway, so as to be able to gather their VDSL2 statistics using Baldy_Bird's scripts. ;)
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I see the Linux kernel is in there. :thumbs:
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I see the Linux kernel is in there. :thumbs:
Yup, 2.6.21.5 is the very same Linux kernel version found in the Huawei HG612, one model of VDSL2 modem supplied by BT Openreach! [1]
The development toolchain for yet another series of BCM6368 devices - the Actiontec 1000 range - is pre-built and ready to use. Peter Kieser is very graciously hosting those toolchain files. [2]
The toolchain contains a cross-compiler, assembler, linker, and embedded C libraries for the MIPS32 cores in these modems. In the absence of an official Alcatel toolchain for the Cellpipe 7130, the Actiontec tools could be an easy route for hacking the 7130.
The toolchain released by Huawei for the HG612 now needs tweaking. The team who developed it - buildroot [3] - have moved things around on their website. And the makefile scripts for the toolchain only download what is needed for the build. Since that "spring clean" at buildroot.org, the scripts are now broken. Patching them is a possibility though.
Has the purpose for the mini-DIN(?) socket on the Cellpipe 7130 front-panel been established yet? [4] Maybe a few photos of the Cellpipe PCB would clarify its role?
Rather than being a console serial port, it might be a battery backup (BBU) socket*. Apparently in some US states, BBU on residential gateways with VOIP is obligatory. State laws say that it is must be possible to call 911 at all times, even during power outages, etc. So the socket on the Cellpipe 7310 provided by Digital Region might be a throw-back to that?
cheers, a
* Maybe still an RS232 interface but using a proprietary serial protocol instead of a shell listening on it..
[1] http://huaweihg612hacking.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/what-is-different-between-the-sp06-and-the-sp10-firmware/
[2] http://peterkieser.com/2011/09/24/actiontec-releases-removed-from-open-source-download-area/
[3] http://buildroot.uclibc.org/about.html
[4] http://drlforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=222