Finding the Most Affordable Fibre Provider

Questions To Ask When Enquiring About Fibre

Before you decide to get fibre, there are a few things you need to find out. Calvin Collett, CEO of iConnect Telecoms, says these are the most important details to find out from your potential fibre to the home (FTTH) provider before signing up for a package.

How Far Does the Fibre Go?

A good FTTH service will not only terminate at the door, but will be taken to where it’s needed in the house. It will also include a Wi-Fi router, similar to the ones supplied with ADSL services. Larger houses will generally require more than one Wi-Fi router or booster to ensure that there is coverage wherever it is required.

Does the Fibre Provider Install All the Devices, Or Is It DIY?

Sometimes the Wi-Fi routers are provided, but installation is excluded. In this case, a consumer needs to ensure that they are capable of installing the Wi-Fi router and connecting it to the fibre. It is often better to go with a fibre supplier who will do this for their customers. This avoids possible costly mistakes and saves the consumer from the hassle.

How Much Data Am I Getting?

Fibre providers will often offer capped or uncapped services, but what does this mean? Capped services offer consumers a limited quantity of data. After the data has reached its limit, or ‘cap’, the consumer will have no more data left to use and will need to ‘top up’. The consumer will then receive additional data, but often at exorbitant top up rates. This is due to the fact that the consumer, ultimately, gets penalised for every extra megabyte of data they consume over their cap. Uncapped services provide unlimited amounts of data. Consumers need to, however, understand the fair usage policy attached to their contract to make sure their expectations match up to the service.

How Can I Manage My Data Use?

FTTH providers need to be able to provide their customers with transparency into their data usage. Preferably through an online portal. In this way, consumers can manage how much data they use, what it is being used for and pull reports as needed. At the very least, providers need to offer their customers monthly reports.

What Support Do I Get?

There should always be support offered with the fibre service. This to minimise failures and provide customers with a way to report faults. Ideally, customers should not even need to log a call. Support should be proactive and the fibre provider should actively monitor the service. Consumers need to confirm the details of their support. This includes understanding what level they should expect, what the service times are, and that the support is in line with their needs.