Advice on Broadband Provider

[l5foye]

BT is currently my broadband provider and my contract ends on 21st January. I live at the end of a country lane and fibre optic cable has been installed to the telegraph pole beside my house. The fibre optic company says it has no plans to connect me to the line due to government restrictions ( apparently it was being paid to bring faster broadband to rural areas but I am outside the chosen area) However it has said it will investigate if I am willing to pay and investigation is underway. Obviously I don't want to sign up to a 24 month contract when there is the possibility of getting fibre optic. The fibre optic company is currently charging £19 per month (BT is £35 pm) What should I do? Can I get a monthly contract with a company? Any suggestions? TIA

 

[rich1068]

Surely your current set up with BT will become a rolling monthly contract after 21st January?

 

[l5foye]

Thanks . I didn't know that.

 

[fourwheels]

Yes but it might be more expensive per month because you will be out of contract.
I don’t know about N Ireland but have you tried putting your Post Code into competitor sites i.e. E.E, Sky, Talk Talk. There have been some good deals going recently and companies are falling over themselves to connect you to full fibre.
We don’t live at the end of a lane but we had a similar problem in that fibre came to the next door estate but not our road. We switched to E.E. It took them a few days to sort things out but they eventually connected us.

 

[l5foye]

Thanks for the reply. I have gone onto various comparison sites but they seem to think I have got full fibre- which of course I haven't. The fibre cable near my house owned by a Northern Ireland company who don't seem to have a tie up with the bigger UK wide companies.

 

[fourwheels]

Actually it was much the same with us, they all said we had full fibre. I knew we didn’t and the last stretch from the road to our house was underground and non ducted. Our existing contract was at an end so we signed up with EE. That presented them with a few problems when they came out, and it took a couple of weeks to resolve, but they eventually connected us to a local pole.
Your situation sounds similar.