After applying and a couple of emails to the onlincs team I’m now the proud owner of a Satellite broadband voucher!

Eager to get things moving I’ve been looking at the various venders websites and also had a chat to a couple. It appears for England there is a choice of 3 packages all from Avanti, this was a bit of a surprise as I’d understood the voucher was a ‘contribution’ towards setup (I’m happy to pay any shortfall), this does not appear to be the case.

The Avanti packages are generally slower (15down/2up vs 22down/6up) plus no option of unmetered overnight this is not so much of a problem compared to by 1.6up/0.5 down! However the 30GB package might be cutting it fine with a house full of teenagers eager to stream video and music!

Upon closer inspection on the Avon site it appears the vouchers are not as valuable as you might think, the general info on the vouchers suggested they would provide 300-350 towards setup costs, however Avon have a different pricing structure when you use a voucher. So on the 20GB and 30GB package it’s only worth £50

During a Chat with them after supplying my location (Spalding) I was given the following link and told only the Avanti packages were available under the scheme.

http://avonlinebroadband.com/suffolk

Example below on the 30GB package

Without Voucher - Free to choose any package from Avanti or Tooway
(12 x £44.95) + (12 x £5 Hardware Rental) + £100 Installation + £49 12-Month contract free = £749.35 Total

With BDUK Voucher
(12 x 54.95 Monthly Fee) + 40 Account Setup Fee =
£699.40 Total

While the reduced start-up costs and simpler structure are welcomed, you end up paying it back in rental anyway and what happens after 12 months, I’m assuming you can negotiate a reduction if you remember also where did the account setup fee come from? Without the 12 month contract reduction the total its exactly the same for the first years years supply.

I’m feeling rather underwhelmed by it all now it’s a case of giving with one hand and taking with the other by the suppliers, I’d like to hear from anyone that got a good deal using their voucher...

I too received the voucher, but following investigation and some research I decided to leave satellite alone for the time being - mainly due to the uncertainty of service, and the cost.

I am hoping that the Phase 2 rollout might offer a better alternative, and 4G broadband also seems to be a viable alternative if you can get it !!

Fingers crossed

Jon

Well my village is not included in Phase 2 at this point so I'm back looking at the Satellite solution. I would very much like to get some feedback from anyone who has taken the satellite option recently PLEASE.

Thanks
Jon

Hi Jon,

In the same boat this end. Unfortunately nothing much has changed with satellite in fact if anything it's now worse as a lot of services are now over subscribed.

If you have an unlimited data plan with your mobile provider I can whole heartedly recommend a Boosty box. Ordered last Thursday arrived Saturday and up running by lunchtime. Normal ADSL speed in the 1.7 range with this fitted 7-9 huge increase and at £69 in your first year and £39 each year after so costs are minuscule compared to satellite as well.

Cheers
David

Hello - just FYI, the satellite solution has now changed and includes new suppliers and technologies in certain areas. Please check the 'Subsidy Solution' page which you can navigate to via the top bar. Thanks, Naomi

Thanks Naomi,

The trouble is there are only three satellite providers Avanti, Tooway and SES. So the long list of satellite suppliers are all resellers unfortunately.

All of which recommend as as starting point the 40GB package for family usage which is an eye watering £84.99 a month and still won't be enough for most families especially not streaming anything. Wireless is an affordable solution but coverage is extremely patchy and not much south of Lincolnshire. Most of East Lindsey is not covered by wireless.
Very disappointing.

Hi Both

David - Just to be clear, can you detail who your Sat provider is and what sort of speeds are you getting (prior to throttling if that is a feature). I will certainly look into the Boosty, but unfortunately 3G is not good and 4G only available if I go to bottom of garden.

Naomi - Out of the 3 wireless providers now listed only AB Internet have coverage remotely close to my location. I had AB out to survey my property several months ago (when first advised that the fibre to my cabinet would be of no benefit), the results of which were negative (no line of sight). I contacted AB again last week to see if they had any plans to increase coverage n my area - answer was no.

Thanks
Jon

Hi Jon

Due to the lack of guarantee that any of the satellite providers would give and the costs involved we decided it was a no go for us in any way shape or form. Throttling I have been told becomes active with all of the providers as the speed they quote is if you were using your system twenty four hours a day and then they average this out to give the quoted speed. 3G is very poor where we are as well so I just leave phone plugged in upstairs and speed at the moment is 1.95 without it and 7.3 with so all in all a very happy bunny.