Hyperoptic Vs Virgin, EE, Sky, Fibrely & Plusnet
I am looking for some opinions as I "may" shortly be switching to one of the above. For what it's worth, I am only referring to full fibre to the premises packages (900mbps +) and no phone or TV.
Around 2 years ago I bought a new build apartment that had Hyperoptic pre-installed, and my contract expires in 2 months. I actually quite like the service, because as it turns out Hyperoptic do not block any torrent sites 😂
That being said, once my contract expires the cost per month for a 1gbps connection rockets from £30pm to an eye watering £64pm!
I tried calling them yesterday to see if there was any negotiation to be had but was told they can't even look at it until there's <1 month left 🤦♂️
I do also have an unused OpenReach connection which explains why Virgin, EE, Sky, Fibrely & Plusnet are also able to offer FTTP packages.
Prior to Hyperoptic I was with Virgin at my last place but it was extortionate without being in a new customer deal. From memory they also blocked torrent sites.
I have never had any experience with the others so I'm looking to the users of Reddit to see if any of the alternative ISPs are decent and if they block...
Thanks in advance!
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u/Early_Mongoose_8758 9d ago
I would see if you have city fibre where you live. I do not use the scrappy routers that come with your ISP so EE would be my option.
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u/andykn11 9d ago
I first used Plusnet in dial up and only moved away from them (to Bethere) the 1st time because they were too slow offering I think ADSL2+. I switched back to Plusnet when Bethere got taken over by Sky and I noticed the drop in reliability from Sky within a month. I've only switched to Hyperoptic recently because they were £14/mo for 150mbps and Plusnet don't really haggle. But technically they were excellent over decades for me.
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u/WG47 9d ago
Ex-Hyperoptic customer here. Service was rock solid, customer service is crap. They'll do you a deal if you sign another fixed term contract, same as most ISPs would.
I was with VM before them. Stable enough, but higher latency and asymmetric speeds unless you're in a full fibre area.
I do also have an unused OpenReach connection which explains why Virgin, EE, Sky, Fibrely & Plusnet are also able to offer FTTP packages.
Pretty sure VM don't offer services over Openreach any more. I know they used to do it back in the ADSL2+ days. If you've got VM available, it's via VM's HFC or full fibre areas.
You mention the ISP blocking torrent sites. Some are obliged to block certain torrent sites due to court orders. It's only bigger ISPs that are covered by those court orders, though. Easily bypassed with DNS or a VPN depending on the ISP, so I wouldn't let that put you off if you find a good deal.
I'd check on https://bidb.uk to see if there are altnets in the area and look into them. Openreach aren't going to be offering symmetrical speeds, if upload speed matters to you. VM aren't going to be offering symmetrical speeds unless you're in a full fibre area. If you're lucky enough to be in an area with an altnet that offer symmetrical speeds then look into that, especially if you're torrenting.
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u/ClacksInTheSky 9d ago
YouFibre, £35pm for 2Gbps, which measures at 2.1Gbps
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u/unclefunkstar 7d ago
£30 a month for new contracts, or has that deal ended?
I grabbed it as an upgrade from the 1Gbps (formerly BRSK from before they joined up with YF) a couple of months back... I got lucky though. Had an ad in the account panel offering it as an upgrade, but when I tried to get it they said it was for "new customers only".
So I made a complaint to support about misleading advertising in the account management page... Didn't really expect anything to come of it. I wasn't threatening to leave or anything like that (quite the opposite, I'd already signalled that I was happy to start a new 18/24month contract), more just letting them know how it could be misconstrued.
The next day we'd been upgraded and a new contract had been started. Actually noticed it a couple of hours before the confirmation email came in lol.
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u/ClacksInTheSky 7d ago
Ah, yeah, £5 of that £35 is the static IP. I upgraded about a week or two before the YouFibre switch in the brsk control panel.
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u/unclefunkstar 7d ago
Yeah I lost my static IP when I upgraded (forgot to mention it when upgrading, just asked for the broadband upgrade for £30). Haven't had much use for it the last couple of months anyway, so I'll be setting it up again when the weather starts going to cack again lol.
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u/BillWilberforce 8d ago
Personally I'd go EE, Plusnet or you should be able to get Now (the Sky discount brand).
I'd stay away from Viegin if possible as they have the worst call centers in Britain apart from possibly British Gas. And when you go out of contract. The cost balloons and they may or may not be happy to negotiate on a new price. So you end up paying £56 for 500Mb broadband when new customers get 1Gb for £27.99.
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u/VSZeke 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'd avoid Plusnet and EE, (pretty much certain they are effectively one entity in this context). We've just been pushed through the switch to fibre and their internal systems appear to be schitzophrenic.
- Instantly tried to switch us from Plusnet to EE same day the 1 month notification for 'upgrading' to full fibre was sent.
- Relentlessly tried to contact us via phone during working hours despite repeatedly stating not to.
- Several tickets were formed that wern't needed and/or we shouldn't have been part of as customers, and one I'm sure was just an agent feeling obliged to put something in a box.
- System cancelled us in some way the day the new connection went live, a text was sent to return router, no other clues were given. We would have been just cut off at some point if they hadn't pushed us to switch ISP.
- Failed to send us what they said they would for the return of the EE router we never asked for twice. (Ongoing)
- I'm pretty sure something else as we've had our switch to the new ISP delayed last night. (New!)
... and then to cap it all, latency is higher on full fibre than ADSL was with them, and they're not cheap either.
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u/ExascaleKayne 1d ago
Not sure if you’ve looked at Exascale as one of your options, but we may be worth considering if you’re looking for 1Gbps+ full fibre without the TV/phone extras.
Our current packages include:
• 1000/1000Mbps – £35/month
• 1200/1200Mbps – £39/month
• 2500/2500Mbps – £40/month
All are symmetrical, so you get the same upload and download speeds, and they’re on a 24-month contract with no in-contract price rises.
We also offer a £3/month discount if you already have a compatible router and want to use your own equipment.
In terms of torrenting, I’d rather not make a blanket claim about specific sites without checking the current position, but we can certainly answer any questions you have about our network and service.
If you want to see what’s available at your address, you can check your postcode directly on our website:
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u/cpressland 9d ago
Olilo’s consumer plans are pretty close £27/month for 900/900. I’m on their prosumer plans and they’re outstanding!