Reply to: Sky broadband any good?

[Paddy]

I can recommend GMX Mail. It does not hog other services, you can have multiple email accounts open at the same time on a single browser and is free.

[SueEllen]

NEVER have email service with your ISP, EVER!

That's why Gmail etc exist.

[SueEllen]

Have they got to the point yet where they're offering you broadband via the new fibre network? CityFibre have been laying cables down a lot of the roads in my area but haven't finished yet. I've had Virgin cable for many years (since they were NTL Telewest!) and it's been fast and reliable, but they're stupidly expensive now and I need to either haggle them right down or switch to another provider. Obviously I'd prefer fibre but CityFibre isn't ready to take subscribers in my area.

In fact, is anyone else using a provider via CityFibre? If so, who are you with and what do you think?

Nope not CityFibre.

There are actually two broadband companies digging up the roads around me though I've only seen strange yellow boxes of one of them.

[AtW]

NEVER have email service with your ISP, EVER!

[Uncle Albert]

I wish I could but I've put all my eggs in my BTinternet email baskey and they won't allow me to pay for just an email service so I'm pretty much screwed. I'm not really but the amount of work to transition over and don't know what to move to either so I'll stick with BT.

You sure of that?

From : https://www.bt.com/help/email/what-h...and-service-st

If you have BT email and you cancel your broadband with us, you can:

• Close your BT email
• Keep your email but with more basic features by getting Basic email, which is free
• Keep your email with the same features by getting Premium email, which costs £7.50 a month
• Keep your email with the same features, by linking it to a friend or family member's BT Broadband, which is free

If you don't make a choice yourself, we'll transfer you to Basic email.
For 60 days after you leave BT Broadband you can choose to upgrade to Premium email.

[AtW]

OpenReach aren't the same network as CityFibre though - right?

Correct.

If you lucky enough for CityFibre to be able to connect you then I'd go ahead with them directly.

[Snooky]

Yes, via OpenReach (so would be same as BT etc but possibly cheaper due to bundle), if you want top plan (1 Gbit) then you might have to go with BT

OpenReach aren't the same network as CityFibre though - right? Otherwise they wouldn't need to dig up all the streets to lay their own cables

[AtW]

I think it means the exchange is enabled.

Street cabinet needs to be enabled for FTTP, unless you are directly connected to Exchange

[AtW]

Have they got to the point yet where they're offering you broadband via the new fibre network?

Yes, via OpenReach (so would be same as BT etc but possibly cheaper due to bundle), if you want top plan (1 Gbit) then you might have to go with BT

[Snooky]

I'm currently in an area that is being dug up by another broadband operator so I can have their fibre rather than Virgin directly to my home.

Have they got to the point yet where they're offering you broadband via the new fibre network? CityFibre have been laying cables down a lot of the roads in my area but haven't finished yet. I've had Virgin cable for many years (since they were NTL Telewest!) and it's been fast and reliable, but they're stupidly expensive now and I need to either haggle them right down or switch to another provider. Obviously I'd prefer fibre but CityFibre isn't ready to take subscribers in my area.

In fact, is anyone else using a provider via CityFibre? If so, who are you with and what do you think?

[Lance]

Wouldn't say it's authoritative as it claims that I can get FTTP from BT.

And I know we aren't due to get that until 2025 at the earliest....

Not that it matters as I have a 350mb virgin line until the 1gb youfibre arrives in the near future.

I think it means the exchange is enabled.

[AtW]

Get FTTP directly from BT - some of the wanna be resellers won't have as much capacity, so some like Sky don't (or did not recently at least) offer 920 Mbit tier.

[eek]

Openreach will provide the last mile of cable.
But there are LLU (local loop unbundled) providers who have their own DSLAMs in the local exchange. So Openreach only provide the copper.

FTTC/FTTP services are different but I know less about them so cannot comment much. Although Talktalk/Sky claim to offer over 100Mbps so that suggests they can now offer LLU FTTC services.

This is the authoritative source for availability.
https://availability.samknows.com/br...r?address=true

Wouldn't say it's authoritative as it claims that I can get FTTP from BT.

And I know we aren't due to get that until 2025 at the earliest....

Not that it matters as I have a 350mb virgin line until the 1gb youfibre arrives in the near future.

[Lance]

It's all Openreach with, I think, the exception of Virgin (which I can't get). So your actual broadband service is going to be the same regardless of who you go with, but you are going to get a different router, and customer service varies according to company etc. I actually find Sky one of the better companies to deal with as far as customer service goes, and BT the very worst. That said, I flip between BT and Sky every 2 years because they offer new customer deals that are far better than their existing customer deals. Annoying but it saves a fair bit of dosh.

Openreach will provide the last mile of cable.
But there are LLU (local loop unbundled) providers who have their own DSLAMs in the local exchange. So Openreach only provide the copper.

FTTC/FTTP services are different but I know less about them so cannot comment much. Although Talktalk/Sky claim to offer over 100Mbps so that suggests they can now offer LLU FTTC services.

This is the authoritative source for availability.
https://availability.samknows.com/br...r?address=true

[d000hg]

Seems a good deal. If it's OpenReach fibre to the house being installed (not some private 3rd party) then you should always be able to change to another provider later on.