New packages from IDNet

[stevenrw]

I spoke to somebody back in November last year regarding the IDNet bundles on offer. I've been with IDNet for many years now and have been on fibre lite for about a year. The guy I spoke to said that at that time they were reviewing the packages on offer and would be looking to "improve" them "within a few months". I chased again "a few months" later (sometime in the spring of this year if memory serves) and was told that they were still under review.
Things move on very quickly in the ISP world and I feel that, great as they are for service, IDNet are not making much effort to stay competitive. Their current packages are a little restrictive IMHO. For example, you can get a greater download/upload allowance but if your line will not support the faster speed available then you have to pay more for only half the benefits.
So, is there really likely to be any new packages available any time soon?

[Gary]

Who knows but I would agree they are far from competitive now, and maybe thats how they want it, shame as I'm happy here but cost vs download allowance is restrictive 

[Tacitus]

My feeling is that they're concentrating on the business market with value add services like hosting, VOIP and so on.  This type of stuff is less price sensitive since if a business depends for its survival on top quality comms and reliability, they are unlikely to mind paying a bit extra.  If you look at the Timico site, they don't even quote a broadband allowance, preferring to talk about integrated comms, 'benefits to your business' etc.  Bit like the Rolls Royce myth, "If you have to ask the price you can't afford it"

For those in the consumer market it's a race to the bottom and I can't see iDNet wanting to get involved.  That said, even for a B2B supplier, the data allowances are pretty meagre.  Must admit Zen's current offerings do look tempting.

[stevenrw]

I was also tempted by Zen's latest packages but they are not as good as IDNet on their phone deals, so you gain a bit and lose a bit.
I'm contracted with the fibre at the mo so we'll see what transpires in a few months.
I agree that they are perhaps concentrating on the business user so little guys like me take a back seat, and I do understand that they can't compete with the major suppliers.
I really don't want to leave, and I'd certainly never entertain any of the big players. Luckily (or unluckily depending on your pov) I don't have to make the decision for a few months yet.

[Tacitus]

I don't blame iDNet for concentrating on the B2B market as it makes sound business sense, but I'm in a similar position although at present on ADSL.  My usage is OK, but I'm on one of the older peak/off-peak packages so I can manage it quite well.  It is creeping up over time.

What prompted the thought of moving is that there's a nice shiny new fibre cabinet just appeared at the bottom of the road. 
I can't see me getting the full 78mbps or whatever, so Zen's up to 38mbps would fit the bill.  The allowance of 50meg would probably do for a start but the unlimited package is not overly expensive so I could move to that in the future.  I agree Zen's phone packages are not as good but since I'm not a heavy landline user I could probably stick to a pay-as-you-go package as most calls are local.

Don't have to make a decision yet since the RFS date for fibre is 31st Dec and even then there's no guarantee they'll switch the cabinet on, but it is definitely something I'm thinking about.

Nothing whatever to do with quality of service since I've found iDNet to be first rate, it's just that over time my needs are changing.  My sister - also with iDNet - is in the same boat, since increased visits from the grandchildren are pushing her usage ever upwards so at some point she'll probably go with Zen.  Twice the allowance for the same price is a pretty compelling offer.

[Gary]

For me Zens package does look very tempting, I would leave my phone with IDNet and since I am out of contract in September choices need to be made, unlimited for the same price as I pay now is very tempting although if IDNet changed the £35 fibre tariff allowance to 200GB for £35 that would suit me fine tbh.

[stevenrw]

I would leave my phone with IDNet 

Ah, there lies the dilemma Gary, Zen are set up on a bundle basis. If you take Fibre, you'll have to pay £4.50 pm, which takes the shine off just a tad.
There are no free calls whatsoever on the Zen phone packages. Of course if you have a mobile phone contract then you'll likely get free minutes airtime with that, so using your mobile at home would be an option.
I almost fell foul of that when (very briefly!) looking to switch to Virgin Media - their call charges are eye-watering.
IDNet definitely have the best call packages, if only they would just tweak their BB packages. It really wouldn't take much to keep everybody happy.
Seems like we are all struggling with a decision we really would rather not have to make.

[Gary]

Ah, there lies the dilemma Gary, Zen are set up on a bundle basis. If you take Fibre, you'll have to pay £4.50 pm, which takes the shine off just a tad.
There are no free calls whatsoever on the Zen phone packages. Of course if you have a mobile phone contract then you'll likely get free minutes airtime with that, so using your mobile at home would be an option.
I almost fell foul of that when (very briefly!) looking to switch to Virgin Media - their call charges are eye-watering.
IDNet definitely have the best call packages, if only they would just tweak their BB packages. It really wouldn't take much to keep everybody happy.
Seems like we are all struggling with a decision we really would rather not have to make.

Zen offers a phone package with 5000 minutes for £6.50 but on top of a £17 line rental. £17 is steep I pay that to idnet for unlimited calls which includes line rental. I pay £35 to IDNet for 100GB so paying that extra £5.40 (including Vat) works out fine really mind you Plusnet are tempting I know its shaped etc but most people don't notice and get on fine with it, its just CS that's an issue. IDNet could increase allowance and that would keep me happy but I cant see it coming really but we could all be wrong. Zen don't yet do IPV6 either.

[Tacitus]

There are no free calls whatsoever on the Zen phone packages. Of course if you have a mobile phone contract then you'll likely get free minutes airtime with that, so using your mobile at home would be an option.

You do have the choice of PAYG with £11.22 line rental for those who don't use the phone a lot, or you get 5000 minutes for £17.35 including the line rental.  Not as compelling as iDNet's offer but 5000 minutes/month should be enough unless you've got a house full of teenagers.  Even then they're probably using their mobiles most of the time.

One thing that doesn't ever get mentioned is Zen's Broadband voice, which I take it is a domestic VOIP offer.  That gives you 1000 minutes for £5.24/month (=£4.20+vat), which I would think for a great many people counts as unlimited.  Zen do supply a VOIP compatible modem, but team it with something like a Fritzbox and I think  you would have a pretty nice domestic setup.  Surprised iDNet don't put out some feelers; maybe they have and decided the likely take-up wasn't worth it. I assume they feel it's sufficient to market it to businesses, since most home/office workers would have it provided for them by their employer.  I know Timico do their own app for iOS and Android which enables call diversion etc, but again this is B2B stuff.

[Simon]

I've checked with IDNet and they expect to 'refresh' the packages this Autumn. 

[Gary]

I've checked with IDNet and they expect to 'refresh' the packages this Autumn. 

Great news, Simon. 

[Gary]

You do have the choice of PAYG with £11.22 line rental for those who don't use the phone a lot, or you get 5000 minutes for £17.35 including the line rental.

According to the site the line rental is £17 then £6.50 for 5000 minutes on top. BT charge £15.99 or something like that line rental then packages on top. IDNet are much cheaper unless I read the Zen site wrong. If you click on the 5000 minutes a pop up shows its an extra £6.50 TBh I am happy here, they have been very helpful with me and if the 'refresh' suits my needs I will stay. I like the level of service and all you can eat packages generally get congested at some point unless Zen has infinite cash and bandwidth.

[Tacitus]

According to the site the line rental is £17 then £6.50 for 5000 minutes on top. BT charge £15.99 or something like that line rental then packages on top. IDNet are much cheaper unless I read the Zen site wrong. If you click on the 5000 minutes a pop up shows its an extra £6.50 TBh I am happy here, they have been very helpful with me and if the 'refresh' suits my needs I will stay. I like the level of service and all you can eat packages generally get congested at some point unless Zen has infinite cash and bandwidth.

Zen's website is not very helpful.  I rang them up when I was thinking of moving and was told that the £17.35 included the line rental and 5000 minutes - that's with their HomePhone offer.  However if you take one of the Fibre packages including line rental, you pay an extra £6.50 or so for the 5000 minutes.

That part is clear, it's when you start combining packages that it appears to get a bit confusing.  The only way is to ring them and get a clear statement of what is and isn't included.

Good news that iDNet will be refreshing the packages this Autumn.  That would be good since the RFS date for Fibre is the 31st Dec  - assuming they decide to switch the cabinet on.  I'm happy with iDNet (as is Sis), so neither of us has any great desire to move, but our needs have changed compared to when we both signed up, some 6 years ago. 

[stevenrw]

I'd guess most people's usage patterns have changed considerably over the last few years Tacitus, that's why it is so important that IDNet's offerings keep pace, and why its been so frustrating that they haven't.
The advent of catchup tv alone has increased internet downloads significantly, and cloud storage has increased the requirement for decent upload speed which wasn't there before.
Assuming the information they gave to Simon (thanks for the update btw Simon) actually happens we will probably not need to bother Zen after all.
Fingers crossed everybody!

[Clive]

Great news, Simon. 

I'm very pleased to hear that Simon.  My Plusnet connection in the same building is a third of the cost yet faster.  Same 10 Gb cap.   But ID are very easy to get hold of if problems occur and are usually very helpful. 

[zappaDPJ]

I've checked with IDNet and they expect to 'refresh' the packages this Autumn. 

I don't know about where you are but autumn has already set in around these parts

[Gary]

I don't know about where you are but autumn has already set in around these parts

Yep its 20c and thats winter to me after that heatwave which seemed to go on forever   

[Simon]

I don't know about where you are but autumn has already set in around these parts

  It's certainly turning autumnal here too, but I prefer this level of warmth to the energy zapping heat we had a few weeks ago.

[Clive]

   I despair! 

[Tacitus]

Just looking at Zen's packages and their up to 38Mbps with 50Gb download looks attractive.

One thing that does intrigue me; say I have the standard (up to 76mbps) package and because of distance from the cabinet I only get (say) 32Mbps.  If I swap to an 'up to 38Mbps' package, do I still get 32Mbps or do I only get 32/76 x 38 = 16Mbps.  IOW my actual speed is pro-rata on the max attainable speed, which in the latter case is limited to 38Mbps.

Best would be if I still got the 32 since there would be no point in going for the 76Mbps package since I couldn't get anywhere near that due to the distance from the cabinet/noise etc.

If iDNet could do a comparable package and price, I imagine they'd get a lot of interest

[stevenrw]

IAFAIK Tacitus, you will always get the maximum your line will support up to any limit set by your package. That's one of my beefs with the IDNet packages.
My line (Fibre) will only support about 30mbps due to distance from cabinet, so I'm on their "Up to 38mbps" Fibre Lite package. Sure enough I get approx 30mbps consistently.
However, fixed by that is a capped upload speed of 1.9mbps and a download cap of 25GB/Month.
To increase either the upload speed and/or the download cap I have to change to the Fibre Pro package, which is more expensive, but the only benefit for me is the upload speed is uncapped and the download cap is increased to 100GB/month, but there is no increase in speed since my line will not support any faster than the 30mbps that I'm currently attaining.
So I'd be spending another £8 (ish) per month but only getting part benefit.
If I could get close to the theoretical 76mbps allowed by the Fibre Pro package I'd have no hesitation, but I can't - er..so I won't.
I'm sure I'm not alone in this situation and I'm hoping that their new packages will be a little more flexible and take into account the constraints set by cabinet location.

[Tacitus]

Thanks for the info Steve.  TBH it sounds like I will be in the same boat.  I don't really know what speed I will get, but going on distance and the fact the lines are pretty noisy, I can't imagine it will be anywhere near 76Mbps.  In fact 32-40 sounds more like it, so I don't see any point in paying for an 'up to 76' if I'm never likely to get anywhere near that.

As I said, Zen's up to 38Mbps package with 50Gb download would probably do me for a while as my current use on a slow connection is around the 25Gb mark, but with greater reliability on fibre I'm likely to make increased use of iPlayer and iTunes films.  We'll see what iDNet come up with.  I'm not in a hurry since I doubt BT will have the work done much before Xmas or early new year.

[Technical Ben]

IAFAIK Tacitus, you will always get the maximum your line will support up to any limit set by your package. That's one of my beefs with the IDNet packages.
My line (Fibre) will only support about 30mbps due to distance from cabinet, so I'm on their "Up to 38mbps" Fibre Lite package. Sure enough I get approx 30mbps consistently.
However, fixed by that is a capped upload speed of 1.9mbps and a download cap of 25GB/Month.
To increase either the upload speed and/or the download cap I have to change to the Fibre Pro package, which is more expensive, but the only benefit for me is the upload speed is uncapped and the download cap is increased to 100GB/month, but there is no increase in speed since my line will not support any faster than the 30mbps that I'm currently attaining.
So I'd be spending another £8 (ish) per month but only getting part benefit.
If I could get close to the theoretical 76mbps allowed by the Fibre Pro package I'd have no hesitation, but I can't - er..so I won't.
I'm sure I'm not alone in this situation and I'm hoping that their new packages will be a little more flexible and take into account the constraints set by cabinet location.

Only £8 more for an additional 75gb and hight uploads speed is a bargain IMO. But that depends on the initial costs... Still wishing I was not Exchange connected... where are my wire snips!

[Bill]

I've often wondered why ISPs don't split their packages into "Connection" and "Data", eg for IDNet fibre:

Connection- Fibre Lite 1 (40/2), Fibre Lite 2 (40/10)¹, Fibre Pro (80/20)

Data- up to 25GB, 100GB, 200GB, 500GB, unlimited

Each priced appropriately and the customer could mix and match to suit their connection and usage patterns (eta- and pocket!). Shouldn't (afaics) be particularly complex to implement and the customers would have more choice.

¹ As an aside, I hadn't realised that IDNet don't do a 40/10 package

[Gary]

Thanks for the info Steve.  TBH it sounds like I will be in the same boat.  I don't really know what speed I will get, but going on distance and the fact the lines are pretty noisy, I can't imagine it will be anywhere near 76Mbps.  In fact 32-40 sounds more like it, so I don't see any point in paying for an 'up to 76' if I'm never likely to get anywhere near that.

As I said, Zen's up to 38Mbps package with 50Gb download would probably do me for a while as my current use on a slow connection is around the 25Gb mark, but with greater reliability on fibre I'm likely to make increased use of iPlayer and iTunes films.  We'll see what iDNet come up with.  I'm not in a hurry since I doubt BT will have the work done much before Xmas or early new year.

You may be surprised, do you know how far from your present cab you are? Im about 360 meters and get a sync of 65Mbps and an upload of 17.50Mbps. On a clean line I should sync at 65Mbps so I'm getting what is expected, even after a year.