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[les-70]

Nearly 3 years after its first expected date an FTTC cabinet now actually being installed so I am looking at choosing an ISP.     Currently I am with TalkTalk Business with no real problems.

   Please can anyone offer any guidance on actual  FTTC throughput under peak load conditions - typically in the evening at busy exchanges.  For arguments sake assume a 80/20 sync as the starting point.

   I notice BT business FTTC includes the BT wholesale elevated service levels with a 16Mb/s "assured" rate and that some the smaller ISPs offer the same option.  Is anyone on these services --- and do they work well?

   BT home worries me as neighbors with ADLS2 16Mb/s syncs and BT find e.g. BBC iplayer totally unusable in the evenings. I wonder if this bodes badly for FTTC.

  I don't know of a Plusnet connection with neighbors to compare with but maybe the traffic management with Plusnet would help.

  I assume other ISPs may also be better if they have bought enough bandwidth but wonder whether BT/Openreach congestion is still an issue before reaching their networks.

  XILO offers different levels of assured rates.  I am not sure about ZEN, their previous office products stated the elevated 16Mb/s assured rate but their current business products are the same as the home ones - same prices anyway.  (ZEN don't have a POP at my exchange)

    Any advice or comments gratefully received.

[kitz]

I cant speak for the business products which obviously will be given priority over home.

My own exchange is (was) notorious for congestion and why I used to pay extra for max premium (20:1) compared to max (50:1) in the IPStream days of old before moving to BE* LLU. 

When it comes to FTTC then you will share bandwidth across all ISPs between the cab and the exchange.  However that said its unlikely congestion should be an issue at this point.  Since 21CN BTw doesnt have the same backhaul issues from exchange to the core network either.  I havent heard of any 21CN backhaul isses with congestion at all.   With GEA FTTC backhaul depends on the LLU provider so cant speak for those.   
I personally stayed away from Sky because several times seen signs of sky backhaul congestion in this area - admittedly it was all on adsl2+ though.

Knowing what this exchange can be like I chose my ISP with trepidation, Zen was a bit expensive for me at the time, although they have since brought their prices down.  I went with Plusnet just the normal home, but the unlimited package as I do a heck of a lot of streaming TV.
Even during peak Ive never seen anything less than 70Mbps throughput.   This is a speedtest Ive just done now



I believe only p2p is shaped on unlimited, since I dont use p2p Im afraid I cant give you any indication of how that fares. Over the past few weeks Ive been doing a lot of external FTP traffic and that seems to be more or less my line speed.  Hard to say for sure because some of the files I was transferring were done in the blink of an eye.

FEXT currently seems to be more of an issue than congestion with FTTC.

[Ronski]

Here's a good explanation of Plus Nets traffic management, it certainly makes sense to me to do it this way. They activity monitor things that might cause problems, when Apple released IOS7 to the whole world Plusnet was ready.

I've been with PN since 2003, and have been on fibre for just over a year, and have also moved work over to PN Business Fibre in July. The only speed related issues I have both here at home and at work are being to far from the cabinet, but that's no fault of PN. Other than that speed is excellent, I get around 40 meg, never seem to have any slow downs, and can even download 1GB of P2P in no time at peek time on a Sunday evening. My daughters watch Iplayer a lot and never have any problems. So they get a big thumbs up from me 

PS. I don't think P2P is shaped, perhaps only on the cheapest products. On ultimate it's just given lower priority, but if the bandwidth is available P2P can use it all until something else more important needs that bandwidth.

[les-70]

 Thank you both for those of helpful comments.  I would like a static IP and Plusnet Business might be a good choice but the pricing seems very bad in relation to my expected use.  Many months I would manage with 50Gb/month but definitely not always.  The extra use charges of £1/GB could lead to some nasty bills and thinking about limits each month is irritating. 

 The unlimited business product is £12 extra after vat and very expensive if a 75 or 100Gb limit would have been fine.  Whilst the 50Gb product is good value, the Plusnet unlimited business is much the same price as BT business 100GB, Zen unlimited, or that of Xilo's most expensive 125Gb 30Mb/s assured product so I am having trouble with my choice.   If I accept that price level they may all be good options and Plusnet may not be the best choice. 

I will need to think on how much I am willing to pay for a business service with static IP.  Zen was a first choice but without any basis in fact I wonder over unlimited and no traffic management connections like Zen's current offerings -- It also looks like Zen's current business offering is identical to the home option and I can't help thinking that whilst I only want a solid 75Gb/ month I may be sharing with Terabyte users.

[Ronski]

If you're basing your need for a business product on having a static IP,  then PN home services can also have a static IP for a one off payment of £5.

[les-70]

 Thanks for that advice.  I was however thinking on a business line and connection as I have at the moment.  In 5 years I have had 3 major problems,  Twice disconnected at the CAB - which runs saturated and once an exchange fault when my DSLAM was "moved" one night.  I also have one unresolved issue which appeared a year ago and suddenly one morning lost me 4Mb/s sync from  19 to 15 there after,-- not bad enough to get it fixed!!.  Wobbles in Hlog came with this "mild" fault.  Except for the mild fault other faults were fixed within 24 hours -- I have come to value fast response especially as I do some work from home.   So it is good ISP response and static IP that is especially needed.

[Ronski]

I believe for fast response on Plusnet business you need to pay an extra fee, and I think bt may be the same.

[les-70]

  "My" FTTC box has been finally powered up after sitting in the cold for few week.  It is still not ready for service but I guess that, faults aside, once it is powered it is hopeful.

 Since starting this post the TalkTalk Business prices have dropped dramatically to be very competitive and a bit less than Plusnet Business on a like for like comparison.  I am now considering the devil I know!

[Chrysalis]

I am currently on BT and find the performance very good.  When BT initially removed traffic management at start of year I seen light congestion for a few weeks which then dissapeared and hasnt came back since, every protocol every hour of day I see line speed.

Obviously tho depending where you are there may be localised isues affecting performance.

Regarding iplayer the bbc seem to be cutting back on it lately, I find it more problematic than any other similiar type service.  Especially the pc web player which feels like I am watching a 240p youtube video from 2005.

[les-70]

  Thanks for all the helpful comments.  Cabinet is accepting orders as of today! and I have placed an order with my current supplier TalkTalk Business.  I have had to delay installation until early Jan due Christmas comings and goings.   I had ruled out TTB on cost but a couple of weeks ago their prices dropped dramatically.  Now £48 inc vat for "complete"  i.e. unlimited 80/20 with 4 static IP, including line rental, unlimited anytime calls to landline and mobile, and 5 call features inc.   I have found their support and responses OK to good and at that price it is good value and easier than a switch in provider.  I do a little work from home but would have been happy with any home or business account that had a static IP, no slow downs and effective support.