Can IDNet compete?

[tehidyman]

BT online are now offering fibre broadband with far more download allowance than my ADSL2+ line for £15 a month which is less than my monthly IDnet cost. The £30 installation cost is offset by a £50 Sainsbury's voucher.  Will ISP's like IDnet be able to compete?

[mervl]

Not on price alone, but they never have. Same as your groceries really, a matter of taste.

I think Zen's the one to watch: I'd like to see the impact of them bringing their network into exchanges on QoS, compared say to IdNet using BTw. And whether there's a billing saving for actual consumers - do BTw actually charge an arm and a leg as the rumour mill would sometimes have it?

[Clive]

I wouldn't go back to BT even if they offered it to me for free. 

[Steve]

IDNet will never be able to compete on price with BT however that criteria for broadband is not top of my list.

[Gary]

IDNet will never be able to compete on price with BT however that criteria for broadband is not top of my list.

It is for many others though. It is possible the days of niche providers will come to an end because they just cannot compete and the tarrifs they offer are not viable for most consumers. Cost is a major factor these days. BT offer a reasonable service, yes its all ok till it goes wrong but then again I still have no resolution with my issue, and at £26 a month even though IDNet are great with support and have tried very hard if my line cant be fixed why top wack. At the end of the day any isp is only as good as the support they offer, and when BTw is the hurdle it does not matter who yells at them, nothing moves forward if BTw do not want it to.

I can see with FTTC niche providers being squeezed out of the market as bandwidth hungry tablets smart TB's and catch up servivces claw for more data. When I joined IDNet 5Gb was more than enough, now I can cruise close to 100GB a month, and that change is in just 4 years. 

[Steve]

There are still a few BTw resellers alive and kicking AAISP, Zen,Newnet for instance. So for me hope remains, if I feel I'm not getting value for the money that I spend on broadband I'll do something about it, as I said for me the monthly cost was not top of my list, whilst I can afford it I will try and make a balanced decision. Should the households requirements for broadband which includes financial circumstances change or indeed if the quality of service I receive deteriorates then of course I'll revisit that decision but in that scenario it still might not be BT who gets my pennies although I'm keeping an eye on the Premier League's future scheduling.

[nowster]

It's impossible as an independent to compete with the likes of BT or Sky. The wholesale costs of service exceed the retail price that the big boys are charging. I don't know what the prices are currently, but the cost of the DSLAM connection alone (not including the backhaul component or bandwidth charges) was about the same as what, say, PlusNet (part of BT) are now quoting as their lowest price.

[Technical Ben]

I wouldn't go back to BT even if they offered it to me for free. 

They are offering me 6 months free. I've never been with them myself, but 10 years ago they were atrocious in the customer service and user tools. As to a working connection, well it had no troubles, so no idea on that front.
Still, I can't see me leaving IDNet just yet.