upc loyalty 20mb to 25mb ?

franbe

Hi, i was reading here a few months back that

-20mb (€42) was getting bumped up to 30mb,
-new customers were getting 30mb immediately on sign up,
-old customers could go to a web page on the upc site and get 30mb straight away also but it meant a further 12 month contract.
-as per the opinion here, old customers who for whatever reason didn't want to tie themselves in to another 12 moths, could wait a couple of months, and they would get the 30mb upgrade.

so i waited, now after getting a great solid service for many years, constantly 0.5mb bellow the max of my package on speedtest 99.9% of the time, i get a text from upc

-for being so loyal were bumping you from 20mb to 25mb

where is my other 5mb?

and since the 'upgrade' my speedtest results are either 24.5mb about 90% of the time and 14.5mb about 10%, which begs the question what will the service be like if i get my extra 5mb ? will i need another 12 month contract to find out its worse again.

anyone know whats going on ?

everdead.ie

franbe wrote: »

Hi, i was reading here a few months back that

-20mb (€42) was getting bumped up to 30mb,
-new customers were getting 30mb immediately on sign up,
-old customers could go to a web page on the upc site and get 30mb straight away also but it meant a further 12 month contract.
-as per the opinion here, old customers who for whatever reason didn't want to tie themselves in to another 12 moths, could wait a couple of months, and they would get the 30mb upgrade.

so i waited, now after getting a great solid service for many years, constantly 0.5mb bellow the max of my package on speedtest 99.9% of the time, i get a text from upc

-for being so loyal were bumping you from 20mb to 25mb

where is my other 5mb?

and since the 'upgrade' my speedtest results are either 24.5mb about 90% of the time and 14.5mb about 10%, which begs the question what will the service be like if i get my extra 5mb ? will i need another 12 month contract to find out its worse again.

anyone know whats going on ?

Well you didn't sign up to the contract extention so they don't have to give you the extra 5 if they don't and you want it it means you still have to sign a 12 month contract.

jor el

You don't need 30Mbps. Getting 24.5Mbps 90% of the time is actually very good. All products are sold as up to whatever speed, and you will likely not get the actual speed. Getting close to it for most of the time is the best you'll get.

Even 14.5Mbps is more than enough for a home user.

I haven't noticed any difference since my upgrade to 25Mbps. I still get around 15Mbps any time I've cared to look.

franbe

@everdead
i understand they dont have to legally give me the other 5mb, but they changed there M.O. for upgrading existing customers. i'm with them long enough to know we lag the bump, but up to now we have always got the full bump when they apply it. and the link for the 12 month contract extension is off their site.

no one else surprised by this change of tact ?

@jor el
i notice when it drops to 14.5 from the old constant 19.5 i was used to, the further fluctuating by 5mb makes it very noticeable (14.5 to 24.5).

jor el

franbe wrote: »

and the link for the 12 month contract extension is off their site.

no one else surprised by this change of tact ?

It wasn't the UPC.ie site, but it was UPC's site none the less. No reason why that should effect your decision. I'm surprised they're giving anything at all for free. They want us to constantly be in a contract, so that we won't leave, hence they try and get you to sign into another one all the time.

The irony is that there's no need for them to do this. By offering the highest speed, caps and lowest price, they're the one operator you want to stay with. The cheap tactics of trying to lock people into perpetual contracts are not necessary.

franbe

i dont get it, smacks of sharp practice imo, its not like sky where it is a reasonably stable constant product over 12 months, and the subsidized offers on their website are 'for new customers only'.

bb improves so quickly, free full upgrades are standard practice, albeit with a lag period, afair there was one year i got 2 bumps.

it is the first time i am getting a speed they have never advertised.

they are basically looking for existing customers outside of the 12 month contract to contact them for the upgrade, or cancel and resign, or hoping they dont realize its an option.

maybe next time they up the price ill tell them im not paying the extra, then a few months later say ill give you half cause i like you ...lol.

jor el

franbe wrote: »

maybe next time they up the price ill tell them im not paying the extra, then a few months later say ill give you half cause i like you ...lol.

You could always try :P

I'm sure they'd give you the full 30Mbps right now if you'd agree to the 12 month contract. I'm not too bothered, and since I haven't noticed any difference between 20M and 25M, I'm not going sign up for something that I probably won't get (or notice anyway). If the next speed increase is something like 100Mbps (as is rumoured), then it may well be worth the contract extension if there's not going to be a free bump.

everdead.ie

jor el wrote: »

You could always try :P

I'm sure they'd give you the full 30Mbps right now if you'd agree to the 12 month contract. I'm not too bothered, and since I haven't noticed any difference between 20M and 25M, I'm not going sign up for something that I probably won't get (or notice anyway). If the next speed increase is something like 100Mbps (as is rumoured), then it may well be worth the contract extension if there's not going to be a free bump.

I agree most websites can't take full advantage of your increased Bandwidth and at this stage I would imagine people are looking at there caps as the Big issue it's great for multitasking online etc but realistically the only time I notice the upgrade I got from 10 to 15 mb is when I'm downloading a game from Steam.

Also the 100/120Mb speed increase will probably see the introduction of a few extra broadband speeds like 10/40/80/100 or something similar as not everyone needs those kinds of speeds and they will probably charge ~80 Euro for the top speed so you might only get bumped up to the 40/80 mark not too shabby though

franbe

say now i sign up for 12 months and get bumped to 30mb, then the next bump comes, 10/40/80/100, where 42e gets you 80 mb,

...what will they offer me for being loyal then seen as im in a contract ? maybe nothing ?

they've turned a good simple business relationship into an uncertain one.

ive never had to ask myself about the package im on with regards to whats on offer in the market, i just give them 500 euro a year and know im getting the top speed now or 2 months down the line.

its unnecessary and damaging to the brand.

is this a new global upc policy or just for us irish.