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Dear *************,
This is a service announcement from PlusNet. Please read on to find information about faster speeds and product changes. There is also an update on how we manage our network to ensure that you receive a quality broadband experience.
Faster speeds
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2006 is the year when high-speed broadband will become a reality. BT will be upgrading their network to enable all telephone exchanges to support speeds up to 8Mb – this work is scheduled to begin this coming April. As soon as these speeds become available on your line, we’ll be giving you access to them.
We’re also working with alternative network operators, including those who have their own equipment in local telephone exchanges (this is known as Local Loop Unbundling or LLU). We will increasingly be using alternative network providers to deliver higher speeds for our customers in the coming months.
How does this affect me?
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You will get a free upgrade to faster speeds, if your line will support them. We will be updating all our broadband products to reflect the faster speeds, with some customers also seeing price reductions – find out more at
http://www.plus.net/go.html/product_update/GLq4uUnoMR3i
If you’re already paying for an up to 4Mb or an up to 8Mb product and we find that you cannot get these speeds, you will get a refund of any extra money that you have paid, providing you have not taken advantage of the higher levels of usage available on these products. We’ll contact you in the coming weeks with more details about this if it applies to you.
Traffic management and the PlusNet network
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8Mb speeds are almost here and applications such as iTunes, Video on Demand and media services such as Sky By Broadband are all taking off.
What does this mean? Well, it means that the old style of network management doesn’t work anymore. ISPs have typically taken no notice of what traffic is passing through their network - they have simply hooked up more capacity to deal with increasing demand. This has been possible previously due to significant annual reductions in the cost of purchasing capacity from BT Wholesale.
This approach to network management does not work when someone in the home is downloading high definition video, someone else is making a phone call using VoIP and someone else is browsing their favourite websites. Their service would simply grind to a halt. ISPs instead need to prioritise certain traffic to ensure no drop in quality for time-sensitive applications.
Over the past 12 months we have been developing our network management capabilities to deal with this ever changing challenge. We recognise that some customers have inadvertently seen the adverse effects of us developing these capabilities and for that we apologise.
The focus of our development has been the management of a small number of customers who are using disproportionate amounts of capacity and driving up our operating costs. We introduced new allowances for Plus and Premier customers in December which means 95% of customers get improved speeds throughout the month, and that heavier usage customers are managed at peak times. Significant progress has been made on this work and we are almost at the point where Broadband Plus and Broadband Premier are being used as intended. You can find out more on our website at
http://www.plus.net/go.html/network/GLq4uUnoMR3i
The value of this work will be realised when high-speed broadband becomes available and all PlusNet customers benefit from the traffic prioritisation techniques we have put in place. This will guarantee a quality broadband experience and ensure that time-sensitive applications run at the high speeds necessary.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued custom.
Kind Regards,
Customer Support
PlusNet – The smarter way to broadband
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