Worth upgrading to the next level?

[WelshDave]

Hi Folks,

I currently have FTTP via BT and I am trying to decide whether it is worth changing from Full Fibre 100 up to another package or will I not see much gain?

Options Iam looking at are Full Fibre 500 Halo 3 which would cost me an additional £2.00 per month but give me 500Mb download, 425mb guaranteed minimum and 73mb upload or Full Fibre 900 Halo 3 which would cost me an additional £5.00 per month but give me 900Mb download, 700mb guaranteed minimum and 110mb upload

below is results from the checker:

[licquorice]

Only you know what speeds you require.

Unless you are in the habit of streaming multiple 4K TV channels or uploading/downloading enormous files, then I doubt there is any benefit to be had.

[rbz5416]

Is your current package Halo 3? If not then the benefits that brings alone may make it worthwhile.

As above, unless you have seen issues with running out of bandwidth then the speed increase probably won't be noticeable.

[WelshDave]

No, my current package isnt HALO3.

Things have been slowing down a bit with my daughter on school holidays and streaming to multiple devices at the same time and my wife now working from home 5 days a week

[WelshDave]

Internet access has been slowing down a bit with my daughter on school holidays and streaming to multiple devices at the same time and my wife now working from home 5 days a week.

[pippincp]

1) determine how much it is slowed down.

2) determine if it actually has an effect on usage.

3) determine if the cost of upgrade is value for money.

Your choice and yours alone.

[besmirched]

I’ve recently had FTTP installed myself, and upgraded from 36Mb FTTC. So I can tell you a little about my experience.

I think most will be happy with the Full Fibre 100 - the title is misleading as it’s actually a 150Mb package.

We went for the Full Fibre 500Mb, as after years of slow speeds and frequent disconnections I wanted to go big, just not 900Mb big (yet).

The biggest benefit is if you are a household that has a gamer, big game downloads now complete in 10-20 minutes, rather than 3-5 hours on my old 36Mb connection. And the frequent updates for games now flash by.

If you’re in less of a rush for downloads to complete the FTTP 150Mb option will still be a huge upgrade over FTTC, and will no doubt deliver the other main benefit that we’ve seen since the upgrade - multiple rooms can now stream 4K HDR films and shows simultaneously. Before the FTTP install this would often be a concern with the quality dipping and we’d often have to let the household know that Room A is watching in 4K, and anyone else should avoid 4K content until finished. This was a massive pain in the **bleep** that I am glad is now resolved.

Also I have observed Xbox speeds generally seem to be 330Mb, Steam and PS5 do seem to max out the 500Mb of my package. I’m not sure if the speeds might be capped to 500Mb for PS5 and Steam though, but certainly Xbox does seem to have a lower cap in place. Just something to consider if you were mulling over the 900Mb option, as depending on where you’re downloading from, that source may have their own speed limit in place.

WiFi will also play a role, I have noticed speeds being typically 200Mb on mobile devices unless very close to the Smart Hub 2. This isn’t really an issue though because such bandwidth is not necessary for web browsing, music, HD YouTube videos, etc. I have my games consoles in the same room where the Smart Hub 2 is located, so they are wired. If that is not the case for you then I’d consider the BT Wifi disc (not tried this myself) or a smart/network plug.

The only other thing of note recently is with regards to SkyQ, this is on Wifi and in the next room, I am not sure what speeds the box is getting but downloading films and shows don’t seem to be any faster than the old connection. A little disappointing but not really an issue as the downloads continue while you watch. I was expecting the downloads to be much faster though. I’ve no idea if this is a Wifi signal issue or just Sky limiting the speeds.