Goodbye Sky Broadband, Hello BT Infinity...

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
Forum Member
Goodbye Sky Broadband, Hello BT Infinity...

Well it's a sad day. I've now left Sky Broadband for BT Infinity. I've been with Sky Broadband now for probably 3 years. They've served me well during that time.

I've been getting 4Mbps, which is about the limit for my line, and even though I signed up for their Mid package (now Everyday), which has a 10GB monthly cap, I've regulary exceeded that averaging around 1500% over quota i.e. 150GB per month.

Thanky you Sky!! :-) Not once have they sent me a warning email, or even upgraded me to the Unlimited package (if they had I'd have asked them to drop me back down to the Everyday package again anyway).

I've been very pleased with the service from Sky Broadband, and will happily go back to them when they are able to offer me a fibre broadband service. I signed up to the Sky Fibre broadband trial, but as of yet they do not seem to be running any trials in my area, and when I telephoned them to query when they would be offering trials in my area, or even a full fibre broadband service (over BT's network), they we're unable to give me an answer...apart from 6 months +

So from Thu 9th Sep I'll be on BT Infinity Option 2 at £24.99 a month, with 40Mbps download / 10Mbps upload, and a 300GB limit before they reduce the speed during peak hours for 30 days. No doubt I'll hit the 300GB limit occasionally, and no matter, as off peak I'll be going full speed ahead.

If Sky get their act together and offer an comparable alternative, then I'll be back.

Glenn
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Comments

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 198
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    Errr, OK.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
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    OK so what are you saying ???????
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 148
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    He is saying he now has Super Fast Fibre Optic Broadband :)

    Download at will fella :):):)
  • stealthstustealthstu Posts: 112
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    Let us know how your speeds are, as ive read that it is an 'up to 40mb' service, and im interested to see how close they get to it!!
  • SupercellSupercell Posts: 5,079
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    I am thinking of switching to BT infinity as its just become available...at the moment it says 17.7MB download speed available....so not quite 40...but better than the 1.3MB I currently have!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
    Forum Member
    deano_sky wrote: »
    He is saying he now has Super Fast Fibre Optic Broadband :)

    Download at will fella :):):)

    Exactly :)

    All I was trying to say in a nutshell was that I've been very happy with Sky's Broadband service, they've let me go way way above my 10GB quota, and not once penalised me, fined me, or even sent me a warning email!!

    But alas, Sky do not offer fibre broadband, and BT do. BT Infinity went live in my part of my town 2 weeks ago. I would have had it there and then if it hadn't taken 2 weeks to change from Sky Talk back to BT.

    Glenn
  • fmradiotuner1fmradiotuner1 Posts: 20,476
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    It don't seem to be available for me

    We have tested your line and of our two broadband products, BT Infinity and BT Total Broadband, you can get the option(s) below.

    If you don't see BT Infinity, you can register and we'll let you know if it becomes available to you.

    They say I can only get 15mb about what I get with Sky.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
    Forum Member
    Just ordered BT Infinity Option 2, equipment arrives on the 9th, and install is on the 13th Sep :)

    Long than the 5 day lead team I was originally told, but at least it's happening.

    I've no internet until then! :( What will I do!!

    Glenn
  • speedyritespeedyrite Posts: 298
    Forum Member
    Just ordered BT Infinity Option 2, equipment arrives on the 9th, and install is on the 13th Sep :)

    Long than the 5 day lead team I was originally told, but at least it's happening.

    I've no internet until then! :( What will I do!!

    Glenn

    As Q said to 007: "Always have a backup plan (and never let them see you bleed...)"

    In my case, the backup plan would be to temporarily use a 3G PAYG dongle. Not ideal, but hey, it has served me well of an evening whilst working away...


    PS. Enjoy your fibre connection when you get it ;-)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 198
    Forum Member
    Just ordered BT Infinity Option 2, equipment arrives on the 9th, and install is on the 13th Sep :)

    Long than the 5 day lead team I was originally told, but at least it's happening.

    I've no internet until then! :( What will I do!!

    Glenn

    check if you can pick up a neighbours home hub and if they have fon or openzone activated, and sign up for your free fon or openzone through BT and use that :-)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
    Forum Member
    It's unlimited allowance but after 100 Gb your speed will be reduced. Trust me on this one, heres an email to a BT Infinity customer:

    Dear Customer,

    We thought you'd like to know that your broadband usage in July is now above 80GB.

    In accordance with our Fair Usage Policy, and to protect the online experience of all our customers, if your monthly broadband usage goes over 100GB, we'll restrict your broadband speed at peak times (typically this is between 5pm and 12am, but these times may change depending on the demands on the network) to 1Mbps for 30 days.

    Please note: your service won't be affected in any other way - we'll restrict only your speed, not the amount you can upload and download.

    We'll email you again to let you know if your usage exceeds 100GB. For more information, please see our Fair Usage Policy <http://bt.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/bt.cfg/php/enduser/cci/bt_adp.php?p_faqid=10495&cat_lvl1=346&p_cv=1.3... _cats=346> .


    Don't want to rub your nose in it mate but you're gonna get screwed if you do a lot off peer to peer downloads. If you don't use peer to peer then your safe, but if you do and you download say 4 files at lets say 13Gb each (roughly the size off a 720p movie) and if the site you use works on a sharing ratio then thats doubled at the very least due to upload usage being counted the same as if you were downloading this means your done, that's 104Gb and your out.
    1-2 days quallity download, 26-29 days 1mb speed between 5pm-12pm. No way, I'll wait for Sky and see whats on offer in the future.

    Welcome to BT's world!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 198
    Forum Member
    Don't want to rub your nose in it mate but you're gonna get screwed if you do a lot off peer to peer downloads. If you don't use peer to peer then your safe, but if you do and you download say 4 files at lets say 13Gb each (roughly the size off a 720p movie) and if the site you use works on a sharing ratio then thats doubled at the very least due to upload usage being counted the same as if you were downloading this means your done, that's 104Gb and your out.
    1-2 days quallity download, 26-29 days 1mb speed between 5pm-12pm. No way, I'll wait for Sky and see whats on offer in the future.

    Welcome to BT's world!

    he only uploads 13GB if he wants to BT wont see it as upload unless he does upload, although some upload traffic will be present, but nowhere near 13GB.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
    Forum Member
    he only uploads 13GB if he wants to BT wont see it as upload unless he does upload, although some upload traffic will be present, but nowhere near 13GB.

    As I stated in my post,

    "and if the site you use works on a sharing ratio"

    Most sites off this kind use a share ratio, even the public sites. If it’s a private site he does indeed have to share at least 1:0 at the very least, if not he will get banned, and if he uses a public site they soon catch on to people who don’t share and limit there download speed, regardless off trying to hide there IP address.
    Even if he decides he does not share then 8 files off 13GB or 5 files at 20GB (say the size of 5 1080i movies) does not constitute £24.99 a month in my book. Glenn already admitted in a previous post that he download 150GB

    “I've been getting 4Mbps, which is about the limit for my line, and even though I signed up for their Mid package (now Everyday), which has a 10GB monthly cap, I've regulary exceeded that averaging around 1500% over quota i.e. 150GB per month"

    Good luck trying to get away with the same stats on BT. He is still going over his limit by 50GB. If Glenn is downloading that amount on a 4mb line then what’s he gonna do when let lose on a 40mb line. At the end off the day I’m only giving my humble opinion and trying to help the guy from getting into something he will later regret”

    Good luck in whatever you do Glenn!
  • coopermanyorkscoopermanyorks Posts: 21,215
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    I bet it all ends in tears with BT
  • RestorerRestorer Posts: 2,092
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    I bet it all ends in tears with BT

    Yeah, i'm going to stay with Sky until it's clear what their fibre optic policy - if any - will be.

    My exchange will be fibred up by Dec but for me it's a bit of a no brainer. Pay Sky £7.50 for 7mbps truly unlimited or pay BT £25 for (possibly) 20mbps+ of capped usage.

    I don't think Sky will ever be able to offer cheap FTTC as it will remain a BT wholesale product :(.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
    Forum Member
    I bet it all ends in tears with BT

    Well If Glenn stays within his 100GB a month then fine. I suppose it’s ok if you wanna download between 12am and 5pm then you’re ok to get your full speed, but like most people I like to have a decent speed at peak times say after 6pm. He's gonna have an even slower speed than he has now maybe as little as 1mb to browse youtube, fbook etc which is a loss off 3mb if the limit is reached and will only be able to download at full speed while he is at work which can be done with Sky 4mb line anyway. It won’t matter how fast it downloads as he won’t be at home and if the site is decent enough it will have completed the download by the time he comes home.

    If the 100GB limit is reached and pretty quickly I would imagine with that kind off speed then your gonna come home from work and browse the net at 1mb everyday for maybe half a month or less and hand BT £24.99 for the privilege.

    The reality is:

    For BT

    1. Download 95GB then stop downloading.
    2. Use the other 5Gb for browsing maybe 40mb etc.
    3. Wait until next month to download another 95GB.
    4. Give BT £24.99 for 18 months

    For Sky

    1. Download as much as you like at 4mb
    2. Browse the net everyday at 4mb at anytime off the day.
    3. Give Sky £10 with Sky talk or £15 without.

    So best way is to stick with Sky, do any downloading when you’re at work or when you’re out and about. Come home and browse the net at a decent speed. As I said before, it’s a no brainier and I agree with you my friend, this is gonna end in tears for a lot off people who don’t understand the “Fair User Policy” that BT inflict on their customers. Once their 100GB is reached people will be ringing BT and complaining there speeds are crap at peak times, and after many arguments, they will lose and then they realise they are held to an 18 month contract and there is sweet F.A they can do about it.

    As restorer says, Sky might not be cheaper but I'm sure there FUP will be a sight better than BT, then again, BT have a habit off sharing, remaining wholesale might not be the case and everyone has a price, you only have to look at BT customer services, the public have been complaining about there tech support help lines for the past 5 years and providing them with more than enough feedback to change their ways and they are still shite. So this just goes to show they don't give a damn about there customers as long as the money keeps rolling in. It’s only a matter off time before Sky realise it’s in there own best interests to make BT an offer and the greedy turds that they are will rip there arm off. Sky have a lot off loyal customers on Sky Broadband and my best guess would be, if offered Sky fibre optics, 97%-99% would stay with them before switching to another provider.


    All I know is that I myself will hold out and see what Sky has to offer, even if it means I have to wait a year or longer. I can only give people the information that can save them a lot of time, money, frustration and aggravation at the hands of BT and make them aware of exactly what they are signing up for.

    Laters:)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
    Forum Member
    Just to add another interesting point. A lot off people are moving to BT Infinity at the minute and leaving Sky but let’s see how long it will take Sky to realize this and push forward for fibre optic broadband and then start getting there act together and fight to get their original customers back and more. It might sound naive but I was one off the first people with Sky Broadband when no one really knew they did Broadband and now they are one off the biggest providers and have since introduced Sky Talk, Sky HD, line rental, Sky 3D and Sky credit cards. What's next? Obviously Sky fibre optics that’s what:) so I have faith in them!

    BT Infinity might be good for the first month or so, but when the novelty off having a 40mb line (if you even get that) wears off and you find that the 100GB limit is burnt up too quickly, what happens when your stuck for another 16-17 months?
    Yes, you guessed it, nothing...your there for the remainder off your contract or you could just pay BT an additional cost off 400 odd quid for the rest off your contract to get shot off them (not including cancellation charges) and then have the hassle off having to wait for a slot at Sky or whoever you choose and having to pay for new connections charges etc. I’ll give BT a miss and hang around aimlessly for Sky. Even if money was no object you’re still capped after your limits been reached. I have a mate who lives in Sweden and he had a 40mb line and now that there are restrictions on peer to peer downloading in Sweden he now finds he doesn’t even need that kind off speed. He said it was great at the start but now it’s useless and reduced his package down to 10mb’s and says this is more than enough speed for his needs. To me the only ones that are really going to benefit is BT themselves and people who live in rural areas who only have 512 and 1mb lines, even then they will be paying more to get threw back to 1mb if they exceed there limit, what a bummer:(

    It’s food for thought!
  • planetf1planetf1 Posts: 730
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    I know quite a number of friends/colleagues thinking the same - leaving sky or O2/Be (since both have no limits on LLU) and moving to infinity

    I have to say I'm thinking the same myself -- no peer to peer, and the BT fup is now 300Gb.

    However my idea would be O2 or sky -- and in particular for TV streaming sky would appear to potentially have the upper hand as a broadcaster.

    Signed up to trial, just hope to get some ideas on limits/prices/dates before too long.

    Our local green cab is now installed and infinity will be available imminently and should move me from 4.5/1 to ~25/8 or similar, quite a big difference
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 198
    Forum Member
    This is the silly thing, People will see 40MB!!!!

    But id rather have a decent 10MB line which is truly unlimited that is more than enough for low pings on gaming and basically isnt going to reduce to 1-2Mb in peak time,

    BT Need to offer a realistic service rather than flaunting high numbers.
  • planetf1planetf1 Posts: 730
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    Of course it isn't really unlimited, and I know there are other restrictions. 100% they should advertize it clearly as a 300Gb package. Up until a few weeks ago I'd have agreed, though I think the new 300Gb limit will be sufficient for almost everyone.

    Even though I use "only" about 170gb/month I admit 300Gb is a minimum - I'd certainly expect to use more. The killer is probably video streaming. Something I'd guess sky would address
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 35
    Forum Member
    good luck Glenn

    i hope your BT infinity install goes better than mine.

    i was due to be connected on thursday 2nd of september,
    engineer visit was arranged between 8am and 1 pm,im still waiting for this engineer to arrive,no phone call or email to say he would not be coming(,i got my hub on the friday before so i thought this would go ahead without any problem.)
    after a few phone calls to BT and a few emails,i got a phone call this morning,asking when did the engineer arrive,when i said he didnt,he sounded surprised,then had me on hold for 30 mins while he tried to sort this out.

    after which when he came back ,he said he was sorry,he couldnt sort a few things which would allow him to get BT infinty set up for me,so he said he had now passed this on to a specialist team to sort this out ,as infinity was a recently new product,he couldnt get it set up,and i would hear from this team within 48 hrs.

    funny thing is on thursday morning at about 9.30 i internet connection went down for about 30 mins,i thought this was BT getting ready to swap my broadband over,it came back on 30 mins later,now my broadband is slower than it was .

    my line profile was 7150 kps but has dropped to 2000kps,i hope this goes back up soon maybe after 3 days which should be sometime today.

    anyway good luck, hope change over goes ok for you.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
    Forum Member
    I don't know where you are getting you information about 100gb usage being changed to 300gb. I saw these posts regarding the upgrade to 300gb and thought that that might temp me to have a go.
    So I cave BT a call and asked them about this issue and they verified that the limit is 100gb, I told them I had read various posts online about the 100gb being changed to 300gb and was assured it is NOT 300gb.

    So for anyone who is reading the posts in this thread and being swayed towards ordering BT Infinity under the illusion that they are now going to have 300gb is total crap. I myself have spoken with them and it a rumour which wouldn’t suprise had been started by BT. I also found on a BT.com site a girl calling herself KerryG who is an Administrator and Community Manager saying this was changed to 300gb. Post can be found here:

    http://community.bt.com/t5/BB-in-Home/WHERE-IS-OUR-USAGE-MONITOR-BT/m-p/41380/highlight/true

    Here is a copy off her post:

    Re: WHERE IS OUR USAGE MONITOR BT [ New ]

    Monday

    Hi Everyone

    I’d like to clarify a couple of points that have been raised to me via private message.The increase to the heavy user threshold from 100GB to 300GB is already in place now. There is no change to the usage allowance for BT Total Broadband Option 1 customers – this remains as 10GB. Additional usage for BT Total Broadband Option 1 customers will also be charged at 5GB for £5 (instead of 1GB for £1). If you find that you are likely to incur additional use charges, it may be worthwhile reviewing which broadband option you are on, details of the different monthly usage allowances can be found here. Or if you want to upgrade your broadband package you can find more information here.

    Thx

    Kerry


    Not true people don't get suck in. Luckily for me I am very dubious about these kinds off changes and found out first hand that it’s all lies.

    Look out...be aware!

    Laters
  • Dave-HDave-H Posts: 9,925
    Forum Member
    Very interesting all this, especially if BT are not being honest about their restrictions and limits (something that Virgin have been accused of at times too!)
    Sky at least do seem to deliver what they say.
    I'm one of the lucky ones who actually get pretty near 20 MB all the time from Sky unlimited broadband, so I see absolutely no reason to even think of going over to BT at a much higher price (I'm only paying £7.50 a month to Sky for my broadband service.) OK, so the speed is double (potentially) from BT, but it has limits, and how many servers on the web can actually deliver 40 MB anyway? Since I've had 20 MB I've found that I can almost count the number of servers that actually deliver that, especially from the States, on the fingers of one hand, and they are mainly big companies like Microsoft. Even YouTube is still often painfully slow, and I can't believe that going to a 40 or 50 MB service would make any difference to that. You can't receive the data any faster than it's being delivered from the source, no matter what your broadband speed is!
    :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 87
    Forum Member
    I was unaware there weren’t many sites that would necessitate a connection off 40mb. In my area BT says I can get 16.3mbs instead off my 3.5mb line so again I would be even more reluctant now to stay away from BT. £25 per month for an extra 13mbs. Getting 40mb with 100gb limit then restricted speed to 1mb after 100gb downloads at peak times is bad enough without 16mb reduced to 1mb, at least with Sky I know where I’m at.

    Its Sunday evening and the Internet is packed and my connection speed to the router shows 3936Kbps, a speed test on bbmax reveals 3379Kbps and 340Kbps upload plus checked a peer to peer download and getting 410K/bs.
    Now for a Sunday night, that’s wicked and pretty sure I’ll get that sort off speed any day, any time.

    Think I'll just sit tight:)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
    Forum Member
    Hi All,

    Thanks for all your comments regarding my move from Sky Broadband to BT Infinity.

    Regarding the statement by a BT Community Administrator, Kerry G, that the FUP for heavy users has increased from 100GB to 300GB... I certainly hope it has increased, because prior to this announcement I was extremely undecided, and was seriously considering staying put with Sky. Although I was also still considering moving to BT Infinity even with the 100GB limit, as after 100GB you get speed capped for 30 days, during peak hours. Off-peak the world would still be my oyster :)

    When they announced the 300GB limit. Well that made all the difference, no qualms or hesitation at all. Yes I downloaded 350GB the other month, but my average is 150GB. So 300GB would be plenty

    The 300GB limit better be true!! I did read somewhere, can't remember where, that the new limit doesn't come into force until November. I'll soon find out. I get BT Infinity enabled on 13th Sep, so I'll let everyone know as soon as I hit some kind of limit.

    Regarding the use of P2P software. Yes I do use P2P software, amongst may other bandwidth consuming applications such as HD video streaming on Xbox 360 / PS3, buying the off PS3 / 360 game, online gaming, Sky Player (download about 5 - 8 films a week to watch during may daily commute on the train), BBC iPlayer, Skype etc..

    I know that BT throttle P2P traffic, but it's not really an issue, that there are easy ways around it. I have a few friend on BT's Total Broadband ADSL option, and the get around the P2P throttling issue easliy.

    In uTorrent, or eMule, turn on "Protocol Obfuscation". Basically the protocol the software uses to communicate is encrypred, there BT cannot determine the software in use, and leave it alone. Un-obfuscated, BT detect that P2P software is in use and throttle it. Simple.. I'm not worried

    Also I use giganews for my usenet server, so can also download stuff from that. I know BT's usenet server is basically giganews, and BT's usenet server is capped, but thankfully I go direct to giganews.

    No doubt in a number of months, if not years time Sky will have a fibre product, and if it's better in terms of price, FUP then I'll move back..

    I'll let you all know how my BT Infinity install goes on Monday, and more importantly the speed I get. As soon as I hit some kind of limit and get a warning email from BT I'll let you know... then you'll all probably say "told you so" ;-)

    Regards,

    Glenn
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