1.6GB only for new customers?

[Holiam2024]

I just spoke with your sales team.  I have 900MB full fibre broadband and asked about upgrading to 1.6GB.  I was told that this offer was only for new customers.

Now I'm aware a lot of companies don't allow a downgrade whilst in contract, but this is the first time i've been told by a service provider that I am not able to upgrade even if i agree to the same T&C's duration etc.

Please tell me this is not your standard policy and the sales team member got it wrong?

[Mustrum]

@Holiam2024  you are not the first to ask, and no doubt will not be the last.

Have a read of this and other similar posts. https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Broadband-Landline/1-6GB-Busiest-Home-Bundle-only-available-for-new-su... 

[Matt_124 · Accepted solution]

It is not a matter of EE not wanting you to upgrade, it is due to the new ordering and management system used for 1Gb+ orders. (directly provisioned with Openreach as opposed to using BTWholesale i believe)

These Busiest Home Bundles and Broadband Made For Gamers packages use a completely different backend system and until these are combined/linked/migrated onto one platform existing customers aren't able to upgrade to it due to (most-likely) contractual supplier reasons. It is not a policy of not allowing for upgrades.

If, for example, you were on Full Fibre 500 and looking to upgrade to Full Fibre 900 this would be simple to facilitate and would take effect within days with no issues. There is just an added layer of complexity they really need to work through to open this up.

As far as we've heard, EE are looking to make these speeds available to everyone at some point but it has been a while with no real update...

[Customer_404]

I have noticed, whilst looking at different packages, that if you take EE TV then the max speed you can get is 900mb whereas if you have Broadband only you can go up to 1.6gb.

I would upgrade if we could!

[Holiam2024]

It was Openreach that installed me fibre

[Holiam2024]

I don't have TV - or at least I never requested it?

[Matt_124]

Hi @Holiam2024 

Openreach install all Fibre on the Openreach network, they are the only people qualified to do so.

Openreach complete the engineering work regardless of what provider/wholesaler places an order if it is on their network.

BTWholesale essentially acts as a middleman between EE (amongst other providers) and Openreach. This has been the case for BT for years, and for New EE when it launched last year.

The issue is that BTWholesale do not offer 1.6Gb packages as of yet, therefore EE had to go to Openreach directly to launch this as quickly as possible.

This means that currently EE customers are split across two separate ordering and management systems, with those on the 1.6Gb plans on a separate and newer system to everyone else.

This also possibly explains why features like Digital Home Phone and TV are not available, as EE would have delivered these in combination with BTWholesale previously (Multicast for example for TV), but now needs to get it arranged directly with Openreach.

For what are likely contractual reasons, this means customers are unable to upgrade from the other Full Fibre packages to 1.6Gb packages mid-contract. Most likely this is because of the contract EE would have with BTWholesale not being able to be upgraded.

As for why it can't be done on renewal when fully out of contact, it actually probably can, but it could cause some significant disruption for customers with changing contracts and Engineer visits to install new kit. It is probably easier to not allow it yet for everyone until it has become a more polished process, as well as there not being a tremendous demand for such speeds from the majority of customers.

[Mustrum]

@Matt_124  You have a strange , but wrong understanding of how the BT Group works.

Openreach's remit is to deliver connectivity from the customers premises to the nearest exchange., This includes fibre and copper services. 

Consumer provides the direct interface from customers  Included are BT Retail as it was known, EE and Plusnet. All operating independently with their own systems. However strategy concluded EE should lead with Consumer products, BT Retail with Business products, and PN to pick up a no frills service for those who want it.

BTW, or Networks provide the infrastructure to deliver the products to the customers which has grown in capability, they provide the backbone and backhaul infrastructure in-between the exchanges and gateways across the country.  the model to deliver those products is as it always has been.

What has changed is New EE has come along, but developed from BT Retail, or independently, but not from  EE and hence legacy EE customers not able to enjoy BT Retail benefits, nor New EE ones. On top of that to deliver the new 1.6Gb service some odd workarounds seem to have been put in place meaning DV and TV are not able to be combined. One possibility may be due to the inability to control such a wide  asymmetrical difference in the new product in extreme conditions. 

Hope this helps/

[Matt_124]

Yeah in fairness what you say makes sense, I think my understanding of BTWholesale and BT Retail as an entity may have got a few wires crossed, however I feel like swapping the names around it kind of matches what I was thinking/trying to get at.

The reality in my mind is even when checking the BTWholesale checker, it only shows up to 1000, whereas the Openreach fibre checker shows the maximum available.

Hence the emphasis, in my mind at least, on "BTWholesale" as the link in the chain that is preventing 1.6Gb being deployed as an addition on top of the existing tech stack as the rest of the New EE plans (Sub-1Gb) are.

Glad to be corrected on it, I appreciate it. Just a lot of moving independent parts to make sense of in there that probably don't matter much to the average customer.

@Mustrum as I understood it, BT Consumer are the anchor tenant of BT Wholesale so have no choice but to purchase their services from BT Wholesale, however the New EE 1Gb+ plans are sidestepping this in order to provision these services.

[robh661]

That’s an ongoing problem, I’ve tried about 3 times, to get the 1.6gb.
But if the speed is faster then what we’re currently getting i.e 900mb. 
Why is the 1.6gb cheaper at £69.99, because if that’s the wholesale price, then EE should reduce the price of their current packages. And not increase them. 
Because I did have DV, but got rid of it. Just leaving the EETV. 
So I think they need to stop pushing that 1.6gb package  until it’s fairly priced and available to everyone old or new customers.