Research Alternative Internet Providers

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Based on #84

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Hyperoptic would need to install a dedicated line, so they are not a realistic alternative

Have requested a quote from Telcom

[iteles]

Let's steer clear of Virgin Media, they're AWFUL.

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Quote from Telcom:

30Mbps (100Mbps bearer) - £380 /month
50Mbps (100Mbps bearer) - £390 /month
100Mbps (100Mbps bearer) - £470 /month best value!
100Mbps (1Gbps bearer) - £600 /month
200Mbps (1Gbps bearer) - £650 /month
500Mbps (1Gbps bearer) - £750 /month currently on promotional price!
All of the above are based on a 36 month term with a £499 installation fee on a 100Mbps bearer and £999 install fee when on a 1Gbps bearer.

[iteles]

That's a BS offer.

[ghost]

As far as I understand:
We don't have many options because the connection is being sent over a neighbourhood shared cable (ADSL / FTTC connection). The only way to resolve this is to get a dedicated leased line (which is expensive).

He said he could take another 10% off the price. We could also maybe share the price with Founders & Coders if they'd be interested? So we could maybe get something for 200 a month ish if we went this route

https://github.com/foundersandcoders/london-programme/issues/245

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After 4 emails, he said the lowest he can absolutely do (I think we can probably get him to go lower) for a 30Mbps (100Mbps bearer) leased line is £360/month.

So if we shared this with Founders & Coders we'd be looking at £180/month each for the leased line.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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I pushed back again, he said the best he can do is:

£499 install, £342 per month
£0 install, £360 per month

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@iteles I'm thinking we should share a leased line with FAC and go ahead with this (or a similar provider, but I imagine the cost won't be significantly different)

[iteles]

@markwilliamfirth I think that that is a ridiculous amount of money for internet given we have nowhere near a full house.

I doubt Founders & Coders can justify that kind of money per month.

Is there a minimum contract length?

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@iteles

I think that that is a ridiculous amount of money for internet

Leased lines are quite expensive, we could try swapping providers instead, but I was advised by Telcom that we might not see much of a difference as the connection is still ADSL/FTTC - he could have misinformed me though? What do you think?

given we have nowhere near a full house

We should be actioning our offering to current tenants - if they are paying for the space with the understanding that the internet is adequate, then we should be providing that

Is there a minimum contract length?

36 month term - probably room for negotiation on that or we could pass on the lease to the next owners of the space if we leave before then

[iteles]

We (and F&C) aren't going to be in this office for 36 months. It's unfeasible if that's the minimum term. 8 - 12 months is more realistic as a contract length, 6 months for Founders & Coders.

I suggest we also call up some alternative providers and ask if they can either send an engineer round to check out the situation or provide some guarantees that the service will be better.
As @jsms90 has said, talk talk are particularly rubbish.

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@iteles

8 - 12 months is more realistic

I wasn't aware of that - can we add this here? #91

Bearing this in mind should we really be investing that much money and time into the space e.g. digital door lock etc? #27

I will get quotes from some other ADSL/FTTC providers

[iteles]

What I meant was, it's ridiculous to be paying almost £4500 a year for internet full stop, but to have that as a 36 months commitment is insane. In 8-12 months there will be cheaper alternatives available guaranteed independently of how long we're here.

[ghost]

If we share the cost with F&C it's only 180 per month, which is equivalent to one tenant (bearing in mind we have a tenant that will leave if it isn't fixed I don't think it's that bad)

I'll keep looking into ADSL/FTTC solutions

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BT

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Sky
https://d1iyvc6w63ago2.cloudfront.net/asset/ec606961d0b0f474830f/Offices_UK_Jan17_web.pdf

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Zen Internet Ltd kayleigh.tompsett@zeninternet.co.uk

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your time today in regards to improving the connectivity.

As discussed, one big difference in providers is the level of traffic shaping/throttling that can occur.

TalkTalk have told you there is no fault on the line, you have changed router, so we can only assume this is the cause of the drops, a congested network.

The majority of the “top 4” providers have to traffic shape and slow speeds to ensure the mass amount of customers they have can access the internet.

I was trying to explain, that Zen are an independently owned company, who pride themselves in offering a premium level of service, our mission statement has always been to the be the best ISP not the biggest.

This means investments are made into the network to ensure we don’t have to slow speeds to get our customers online, but ensure there is enough bandwidth for everyone, all the time, maintaining our award winning service.

The below may help in terms of the explanation;

https://www.zen.co.uk/about-us/our-network/

In terms of the services available, either of the two packages below would be suitable but the latter gives you a little extra security in terms of guarantees and service credits when these are not met;

Option 1;

Option 2;

The critical care is included on the attachment to inform you of the benefits of it.

It does give you certain guarantees, which if you think will be beneficial for you in terms of that extra peace of mind, it is there and available.

Any questions or queries, then please do not hesitate to contact me directly, either via email or on 01706 902 174.

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Virgin Media VMB@connectivity-business.com

[iteles]

Virgin media have TERRIBLE customer service (for home residents, never used business).

Zen is looking promising so far?

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Hyperoptic darren.shenkin@hyperoptic.com

Whilst we have neighbouring Hyperoptic Residential installations and having looked at your location our only option for dwyl is to provide a dedicated 100Mb leased line.

This unlike an inbuilding contended Broadband service is a dedicated 100Mb up/down direct uncontended fibre.

Rental £350.00 per month
Installation/Connection £2250.00

After negotiating:

Unfortunately there is very little we can do on the price. The best we could offer is £300pm on a 36 month contract. We can also reduce the connection fee by 50%. I appreciate this is both slightly more expensive, and also on a longer term. What I can provide is a dedicated support team to ensure we deliver the fibre as quickly as possible. Our fibre deliver team manage openreach as a full time role and will push them thought the installation process. This may not sound like much, and I would completely understand if you took the other offer.

[iteles]

We have hyperoptic in our flat and I'm not overly impressed. I don't think this is worth the money.

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http://www.inifi.co.uk/

Tan@inifi.co.uk

our full fibre services start at around £300 per month for 100Mb symmetrical internet line and our managed WiFi services start from £250 per month.

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