Residential Broadband Products FAQ

Why choose Plusnet?

1. Why 'free' broadband doesn't work

Many providers are offering 'free' broadband. As a business, we don't see how this can be a good thing. Read why.

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2. What makes us different?

We believe there are several key things which make us different to other broadband providers. See the reasons we're different.

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Signing up for broadband

3. What products do you have?

Deciding which product is best for you

This really depends on what you want to use your broadband for and how much you want to use it. You can choose from:

• Plusnet Value - an ideal broadband package if you want to browse the web, stream videos online, play games over broadband and download occasional large emails, music files and movies.
• Plusnet Premium - the perfect option for gaming, regular large file and movie downloads, or if you've got a large family or work from home a lot.
• Plusnet Pro - our broadband account dedicated to online gaming, (but also great for downloads and music). Gaming and VoIP traffic is prioritised at all times, plus it gives low latency and pings for a fast gaming experience.

Find out more about our products on our homepage.

How much Plusnet Value broadband will cost you

How much you pay for Plusnet Value depends where you live (i.e. which local telephone exchange will supply your broadband). You can read about how the UK's telephone exchanges have been categorised, see which area you live in and find out how much you'll pay in our Guide to Low Cost Areas.

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4. What activation and contract options are there?

You can choose free set-up and house move. If you leave in the first 12 months after receiving free set-up or house move, you'll be charged for these in full. If you remain with Plusnet for 12 months after receiving free set-up or house move, these charges will be waived. You can choose to pay for these up front if you want more flexibility.

Read our Contracts Policy and our Terms and Conditions.

If you want to leave or transfer your service to another provider, you'll need to give us 10 days notice.

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5. What hardware options are available?

You can choose between either a 1-port wired router or 4-port wireless router.

You can choose free hardware. If you leave in the first 12 months after receiving free hardware, you'll be charged for it in full. If you remain with Plusnet for 12 months after receiving free hardware, the charge will be waived. You can choose to pay up front if you want more flexibility.

A postage and packaging charge of £6.99 is due when you place your order.

If you want to use your old modem or router you can. If you've received this from another provider, make sure it can be used with other services, as many ISPs lock hardware into their own service. You'll also want to make sure that your hardware is ADSL2+ compatible.

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6. How can I find out if broadband is available where I live?

Around 99% of UK telephone exchanges are broadband enabled. To find out go to our homepage and click on one of the products you're interested in. There won't be any pressure to buy anything, you'll just be asked to enter your telephone number and postcode to start off with. When you do this we can then tell you:

• Your local exchange
• An estimated broadband download speed
• What products you can choose from and how much they'll cost

You can then decide if you want to carry on and signup to Plusnet.

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7. How can I pay?

You can pay by Direct Debit, credit card and most debit cards.

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Changing Products

8. Does it cost me anything to change products?

There's no charge to change onto Plusnet Value, Plusnet Pro or Plusnet Premium from an existing residential product. You can also change between options without being charged.

For more details about changing products read Changing your Plusnet broadband product.

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9. How many times can I change product?

You can change your product as-and-when you want to, without being charged an administration fee, as much as once every 30 days.

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Broadband Bandwidth Charges

10. How do I know how much data transfer I have used?

You can use the View My Broadband Usage tool at the Member Centre.

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11. What bandwidth usage fees can I be charged?

Plusnet Value, Plusnet Pro and Plusnet Premium

These come with a standard data usage amount each month. If you go over the usage limit you can choose to Pay as You Go - by buying extra data transfer as-and-when you need it. Here are the data transfer costs:

Pay As You Go data transfer costs

Product Data transfer cost Plusnet Value £2.00 per extra 2GB Plusnet Pro £2.00 per extra 2GB Plusnet Premium £2.00 per extra 2GB

Note: you can also set a maximum amount that you want to spend on extra data transfer each month with the Data Transfer Watch tool. See Question 12 for more details.

Broadband Your Way and Plusnet Essential (products no longer available)

These products come with a standard data usage amount. If you go over these limits, you can choose to upgrade to a higher band. Data transfer costs are shown below.

Pre-pay data transfer costs (i.e. if bought in advance)

Product Data transfer cost Broadband Your Way Option 1 £1.00 per extra GB Broadband Your Way Option 2, Option 3 £0.75p per extra GB Broadband Your Way Pro £1.50 per extra 2GB Plusnet Essential £1.00 per extra 2GB

Pay As You Go data transfer costs

Product Data transfer cost Broadband Your Way Option 1 £1.25 per extra GB Broadband Your Way Option 2, Option 3 £1.00 per extra GB Broadband Your Way Pro £1.80 per 2GB Plusnet Essential £1.25 per extra 2GB

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12. Can I restrict how much I spend on extra data transfer?

Yes. Use the Data Transfer Watch tool (only available on Plusnet Value, Plusnet Pro, Plusnet Premium, Broadband PAYG and Broadband Your Way accounts) at the Member Centre. This allows you to set a maximum amount that you are willing to spend on extra data transfer each month.

Note: These restrictions are applicable at all times once you have reached your chosen data transfer limit.

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13. When will I be billed for any extra data transfer that I use?

If you choose to upgrade your product, you will be charged straightaway using your card payment details. If you choose the Pay As You Go option any data transfer you've used will be charged for with your next subscription payment.

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14. What happens to any data transfer that is unused at the end of the month?

It isn't possible to carry over any unused data transfer from the month before. On each billing date your included amount is automatically reset to your standard level.

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15. What happens if someone else uses my data transfer (e.g. if my computer is infected with a virus that sends out information without my knowledge)?

Keeping your computer or network secure remains your responsibility. To help keep you secure, our broadband accounts include anti-virus protection as standard. Your account also has a firewall feature on it. In addition, we recommend that you use a software or hardware firewall, along with anti-virus software on your computer. Find out more in the Security section.

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Upgrading from dial-up to broadband

16. What do I need to get started with broadband?

To get broadband you need to be in a broadband-enabled area and have a suitable BT telephone line. You'll also need a router, which we include as part of signup (or you can use your own if you'd prefer to).

Note: Most phone providers will still use a BT telephone line, so although your bill may be paid to another company, you are still likely to have a BT telephone line.

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17. How much data transfer am I using at the moment with my dial-up connection?

That depends on how you are using your connection but this example should give you an indication:

If you were to download from the Internet for 2 hours a day, using a 56k modem, you would use about 1GB a month. If you're just using the Internet to browse web pages and send emails, you will use around 200MB in a month.

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Switching to Plusnet

18. Can I switch to Plusnet from my existing broadband provider?

Yes. You'll need to get in touch with your current provider and ask for your unique reference number, known as a 'MAC Key'.

Find out more about switching to Plusnet.

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19. How much does it cost to switch to Plusnet broadband from another provider?

Moving is free, please see our Switching to Plusnet FAQ for full details.

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Moving house

20. I've moved house, will my monthly fee change?

If you move property into a different Market Area your broadband subscription payments won't change. So for example, if you were to move from a Market 3 to Market 1 area you'd carry on paying the Market 3 price.

This doesn't apply to Plusnet Unlimited, Broadband Your Way and older accounts as they aren't affected by market area pricing.

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21. How much does a house move cost?

Plusnet Value, Plusnet Pro and Plusnet Premium

• A house move is free if you're under contract.
• A second house move within the same contract period would cost £65.00.
• If you're not currently under contract then a house move costs £65.00.

Plusnet Unlimited

• A house move is free if you're under contract.
• A second house move within the same contract period would cost £65.00.
• If you're not currently under contract then a house move costs £65.00.

Broadband Your Way and older accounts

• A house move costs £65.00. If you stay with us for 12 months after moving then we'll cover this cost in full.
• Cancelling your account in the first 12 months after the move would mean that you'd be charged £65.00 to cover the cost of the move.
• We can only cover the cost of one move every 12 months. If you were to move twice in an 12 month period then the second house move would cost £65.00.

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This page last updated 20th October 2009