G Network or Community Fibre? Broadband options in Brixton

[editor]

I'm finally out of my BT contract and am looking at the G Network or Community Fibre options, both of which are hugely cheaper.

Community Fibre saying that they're 'coming soon' and I don't mind hanging on if they're notably better. Opinions please!

Community Fibre | Broadband Deals | TV & Phone Deals

Bringing fast and affordable broadband packages with a reliable service to Londoners. Enjoy unmatched speed and high reliability with Community Fibre.

communityfibre.co.uk

G.Network | 100% Full Fibre Broadband speeds from £24pm

Switch to G.Network for broadband from just £24 per month, offering up to 13x faster speeds, a reliable connection, and flexible contract options for your home or business.

www.g.network

 

[ash]

Community Fibre were excellent with the set up etc. The coverage and speed doesn’t seem much better than BT tbh but we have got a lot of solid walls between places we need to use it .

 

[editor]

You get 6 months free with G Network - if you sign up before the 30th Sept



And here's Community Fibre's prices

 

[editor]

And here's what I'm currently getting off BT for loads more dosh

 

[colacubes]

I signed up to Community Fibre yesterday. Installation next week. Currently £25/month for 1000mbps with first 9 months of a 2 year contract free. Less than half what I’m currently paying Virgin and they can’t be any shitter.

 

[David Clapson]

I got G Network a couple of months ago. Smooth installation, no problems since, ridiculously low price. Every month they send me a bill for 0 pounds. After 6 months it goes up to £24. I just did a speed test with 48 tabs open and got 136 Mbps

 

[magneze]

Virgin are fucked in London aren't they. Fed up with being screwed by them everyone's likely to move when given the choice.

 

[Jimbeau]

We transferred to Community Fibre about a year back after donkeys years with Virgin. It’s half the price and has been rock solid since the day it went in. This is what we’re getting right now:

 

[han]

We just got G Network in our street, after struggling for so long with adsl! BT Openreach refused to upgrade the infrastructure, twats.

Anyway, several people in our street have signed up and are raving about it. I signed up for the 1 year 900mbps package this morning, yay. My neighbour gave me a referral code so we both get a 50 quid Amazon voucher. Win!

 

[organicpanda]

just looked into changing from BT and neither G network or community are an option at moment is there anywhere online that shows the timetable for when it is available

 

[skyscraper101]

I'm on Hyperoptic and paying £22 for 50Mbps

In the year and a half I've had it, it has worked solidly without issue. Even at 50Mbps with two TVs streaming, phones, ipads, 3 alexas, and phones all on the go I've not once needed extra speed. I think unless you're a hardcore user in need of gigabyte speeds, the increased cost of 100MB, 200MB etc is diminishing returns.

I'd go with G Network. If it doesn't perform well there'll surely be a cooling off period and you can cancel.

 

[nick]

Get a mate with a Three phone to check out the 5g signal in your flat.
If it is good then look at the Three 5 G router. I think it is £26pcm, with half price offers for the first 6 months,
Had mine for nearly a year now and I get >800 MBPS to the router. It has only crashed a couple of times (lightning related normally) - and a quick "turn it off and on again" has resolved.
No waiting for an engineer. They post it - you plug it in and (maybe) put it close to a window for better reception

 

[Rushy]

Get a mate with a Three phone to check out the 5g signal in your flat.
If it is good then look at the Three 5 G router. I think it is £26pcm, with half price offers for the first 6 months,
Had mine for nearly a year now and I get >800 MBPS to the router. It has only crashed a couple of times (lightning related normally) - and a quick "turn it off and on again" has resolved.
No waiting for an engineer. They post it - you plug it in and (maybe) put it close to a window for better reception

Three coverage checker says the service is not available at my address in Brixton. Weirdly it also says mobile services are not available although I was with them for over ten years. But I have 5G with Smarty which uses the three network so I tested it with my handset. I'm getting download of 250Mb but upload of <5. What's your upload speed like?

 

[nick]

Three coverage checker says the service is not available at my address in Brixton. Weirdly it also says mobile services are not available although I was with them for over ten years. But I have 5G with Smarty which uses the three network so I tested it with my handset. I'm getting download of 250Mb but upload of <5. What's your upload speed like?

Well this is on my laptop so is at the end of chain:
5g=>. Three 5G router (Huawei) => hardwired to Asus Mesh netwoor = > wi-fi to my lap top:



My phone at same spot using Three 5G (wifi turned off is getting 920 down, and 88 up)

 

[alex_]

just looked into changing from BT and neither G network or community are an option at moment is there anywhere online that shows the timetable for when it is available

Look on their websites, but you won’t get specific dates

 

[magneze]

I'm hoping it's soon around here. There's some WiFi networks around which are community fibre.

 

[alex_]

I’ve got a fibre zip tied to my bt pole which has a hyperoptic label on it. Can’t wait.

 

[colacubes]

I'm hoping it's soon around here. There's some WiFi networks around which are community fibre.

If they’re really close it’s worth calling. Our house was down as not available but when I called they said they could add us on as the houses just round the corner had been hooked up and they could put us on.

 

[magneze]

If they’re really close it’s worth calling. Our house was down as not available but when I called they said they could add us on as the houses just round the corner had been hooked up and they could put us on.

Awesome! Will try tomorrow.

 

[BusLanes]

We've had Community Fibre for about 10 months and it's been fine? Basically as sold on the tin.

Installation was fine. Customer service after the installation was appalling though, which I think is because they didn't have enough customer support staff due to growth. That was 6-9 months back tho

 

[sleaterkinney]

Virgin are fucked in London aren't they. Fed up with being screwed by them everyone's likely to move when given the choice.

I can get 400/40 mb here with them, never got more than 20m down with bt fibre before.

 

[urbanspaceman]

4G & 5G Home Broadband Deals | Unlimited Home Broadband | Three

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www.three.co.uk

3 sent me a message about home broadband without fibre, using 4G or 5G. Not yet available on my street, but when it is very high speeds, and competitive prices. I like the idea of this, because no messing about with "engineers" and installation appointments, you set it up yourself.

 

[Rushy]

4G & 5G Home Broadband Deals | Unlimited Home Broadband | Three

Discover our 4G and 5G unlimited home broadband deals. Pay monthly contracts with our unlimited data plan, and connect up to 64 devices – only at Three.

www.three.co.uk

3 sent me a message about home broadband without fibre, using 4G or 5G. Not yet available on my street, but when it is very high speeds, and competitive prices. I like the idea of this, because no messing about with "engineers" and installation appointments, you set it up yourself.

Three's coverage checker told me it's not available on my street too. But I had 250Mb 5G broadband when I checked their network using a mobile phone. So I called them and they said to buy a Three 5G router from their website and see how it went. If I was not happy they'd refund it.

I would have done this except that I'd arranged GNetwork install for the next day. I was a bit wary of them but they were efficient and communicative. - emails were replied to quickly enough that you could have multiple messages back and forth in a day. There was a bit of a faff during install because they had the wrong router and had to go to N London to pick one up. I now have 150Mb at the router and most importantly, I have 125Mb wireless in rooms where I could barely muster a connection with Virgin's router in the exact same position. So far very pleased!

 

[editor]

Neither of the community options are available for me yet despite being relentlessly pestered by snail mail invites.

 

[CH1]

My copper connection generally works fine - is it because others are fleeing to G Network with their gaming?

 

[alex_]

My copper connection generally works fine - is it because others are fleeing to G Network with their gaming?

Cheaper I suspect.

 

[Gramsci]

Three's coverage checker told me it's not available on my street too. But I had 250Mb 5G broadband when I checked their network using a mobile phone. So I called them and they said to buy a Three 5G router from their website and see how it went. If I was not happy they'd refund it.

I would have done this except that I'd arranged GNetwork install for the next day. I was a bit wary of them but they were efficient and communicative. - emails were replied to quickly enough that you could have multiple messages back and forth in a day. There was a bit of a faff during install because they had the wrong router and had to go to N London to pick one up. I now have 150Mb at the router and most importantly, I have 125Mb wireless in rooms where I could barely muster a connection with Virgin's router in the exact same position. So far very pleased!

Im fed up with my temperamental copper connection and BT Outreach attitude re repairs. My internet provider Phone Coop are very good on being green and paying Living Wage etc but they cannot get BT rubbish Outreach to give me decent connection.

So as G Network are in my street thinking of contacting them.

Annoyingly the G Network website refuses to give me detailed breakdown of the various costs of different contracts or rolling contract unless I take the plunge and give my details.

I take it you are on a 150mbps contract?

I wonder how that is going? Is it sufficient for your needs? And if you dont mind me asking how much your paying a month.

 

[Rushy]

Im fed up with my temperamental copper connection and BT Outreach attitude re repairs. My internet provider Phone Coop are very good on being green and paying Living Wage etc but they cannot get BT rubbish Outreach to give me decent connection.

So as G Network are in my street thinking of contacting them.

Annoyingly the G Network website refuses to give me detailed breakdown of the various costs of different contracts or rolling contract unless I take the plunge and give my details.

I take it you are on a 150mbps contract?

I wonder how that is going? Is it sufficient for your needs? And if you dont mind me asking how much your paying a month.

They've been great so far. I'm not exactly a heavy user but speeds are good. No worries at all streaming multiple media at once.
It's a 150 service. Currently getting 110 by wifi two rooms away from the router. Was getting more like 20 with Virgin on a 100 service.
I got six months free and then 6 months at 24.
Their support has also been excellent - stuff like changes to payment methods gets sorted quickly without fuss.

Really nothing to complaint about.

 

[CH1]

Cheaper I suspect.

Dunno what particularly you mean there. The internet connection probably is cheaper, but then there's land line rental plus call charges.
I currently rely on my landline phone as I don't have a mobile. So what I feel I need is internet plus phone in the traditional way.
The issue for me on G Network, Community Fibre etc is they are internet only.
Also I use POP3 email mainly - tied in to Force 9 since 1994. I guess if I sacked PlusNet I would lose my email address which is precious to me.

So my reasons for not acting are not typical for 99% of users. And I'm a bit worried about the 2024 cessation of copper actually - looks like they will turn off the copper connection and supply a new fibre router incorporating 2 rechargeable wireless handsets which I won't be able to hear properly (DEAF).
Or so I hear.

One important reform needed for everyone is some sort of regulation of supply contracts. Nowadays contratcs seem to be on "starter" rates which can then increase, even double. And you get in-contract price hikes as well. It's all being run a bit like Network Rail or British Gas - hardly surprising considering who created the utility system to benefit shareholders.

 

[alex_]

Dunno what particularly you mean there. The internet connection probably is cheaper, but then there's land line rental plus call charges.
I currently rely on my landline phone as I don't have a mobile. So what I feel I need is internet plus phone in the traditional way.
The issue for me on G Network, Community Fibre etc is they are internet only.
Also I use POP3 email mainly - tied in to Force 9 since 1994. I guess if I sacked PlusNet I would lose my email address which is precious to me.

So my reasons for not acting are not typical for 99% of users. And I'm a bit worried about the 2024 cessation of copper actually - looks like they will turn off the copper connection and supply a new fibre router incorporating 2 rechargeable wireless handsets which I won't be able to hear properly (DEAF).
Or so I hear.

One important reform needed for everyone is some sort of regulation of supply contracts. Nowadays contratcs seem to be on "starter" rates which can then increase, even double. And you get in-contract price hikes as well. It's all being run a bit like Network Rail or British Gas - hardly surprising considering who created the utility system to benefit shareholders.

I suspect many people are moving to altnets because they don’t use landlines for calling and just want the cheapest possible internet connection and the cheapest altnet price is cheaper and faster than openreach based products