Plusnet packages and speeds: How good are they?

Upload speeds fall further behind at every step

Full Fibre 74 gives you a 20Mbps upload speed, equal to 27% of its download speed. Full Fibre 145 falls to 20.7%, Full Fibre 300 to 16.7% and Full Fibre 500 to 15%. The download speed keeps rising quickly, but the upload speed receives a much smaller improvement each time.

Full Fibre 900 is the worst-balanced package. Its 115Mbps upload is only 12.8% of the advertised download speed. That’s still quick enough for most homes, but it means nearly a gigabit of broadband applies only when data is travelling towards you. Sending it elsewhere is considerably slower.

There’s no symmetrical option to rescue the range

Plusnet doesn’t offer matching upload and download speeds on any package. There’s no alternative network version in selected areas and no paid upload upgrade. Full Fibre 900 is as good as it gets, even if uploading files matters as much to you as downloading them.

That leaves Plusnet well behind providers using networks capable of symmetrical broadband. You shouldn’t have to buy more download speed than your home needs simply to improve the upload, but that’s the only route available here. Every step upwards gives you a faster upload, while making the overall package more lopsided.

Large uploads expose the weakness

Plusnet’s upload speeds will handle video calls, gaming, ordinary cloud saves and occasional photo sharing without trouble. The limitation becomes more noticeable when you upload video, back up several devices, send large work files or livestream regularly. Those jobs depend on the smaller number.

There’s no separate upload add-on that lets you keep a sensible download package. For most addresses, your choice is the modest upload included with the available Plusnet package. If your home sends lots of data, that deserves far more attention than the headline download speed.

Sources: Plusnet, All compared providers

You don’t need Full Fibre 900 to answer emails

Email, documents, browser-based systems, research and video calls use surprisingly little broadband. Full Fibre 74 is already fast enough for most individual home workers, while Full Fibre 145 or 300 gives a shared household more room to stream, browse and download at the same time without getting in your way.

Our working figures also suggest low latency, very little variation and almost no lost data over the underlying Full Fibre network. That matters more to video calls and remote systems than buying the biggest download number. Full Fibre 900 will shift huge files more quickly, but it won’t turn an ordinary Teams meeting into a better one.

The Hub Two may be a bigger problem than your package

Every package comes with the same ageing Wi-Fi 5 Hub Two. It may cover a small or straightforward home perfectly well, but Plusnet gives you no mesh system, newer router or whole-home Wi-Fi upgrade if your office sits beyond several walls, on another floor or at the far end of the house.

That makes choosing a faster package the wrong response to weak Wi-Fi. More speed arriving at the Hub Two won’t improve the signal reaching your laptop. Use an Ethernet cable where practical, or expect to buy and configure your own equipment. Plusnet has no supported solution waiting if its router can’t reach your workspace.

There’s no safety net when the connection fails

Plusnet offers no broadband backup, even as a paid extra. If the Full Fibre connection goes down, it can’t automatically switch you onto a mobile connection while the fault is repaired. You’ll need to tether to your phone, arrange your own backup or stop working until the service returns.

There’s no static IP for new users either, which will matter to only a small number of people running specialist systems from home. Plusnet does provide long telephone-support hours, online diagnostics and automatic compensation, but none keeps you online during an outage. If lost connectivity means lost income, this is a serious omission.

Plusnet lets you pay less as well as more

Most providers are delighted to move you onto a faster, more expensive package, then become considerably less helpful when you want to go the other way. Plusnet expressly allows both. You can move between its Full Fibre packages at any time, whether you need more speed or have realised the package you chose is excessive.

That makes choosing a package far less risky. Start with Full Fibre 145 and you can move up if it struggles. Choose Full Fibre 900 and you can come back down if it proves unnecessary. Plusnet doesn’t force you to keep paying for an initial decision that no longer suits your home.

You can make the change through My Account

Available package changes appear under Offers and Upgrades in My Account, so there’s no compulsory telephone conversation. You can also contact Plusnet if you prefer to discuss the options. The same routes cover upgrades and downgrades, rather than providing a smooth online path only when you’re volunteering to spend more.

Plusnet requires no advance notice before you request the change. That doesn’t mean every new speed will activate instantly. Some changes can happen straight away, while others may begin on your next billing date. You start paying for the new package once Plusnet has completed the move.

A new minimum term is possible, not inevitable

Plusnet may start a new minimum term when you change package, but it may instead carry across whatever time remains on your existing agreement. That makes checking the offer important. The freedom to downgrade is excellent, but restarting a long contract could still make the change less attractive than it first appears.

Read the confirmation before accepting. Check the new package, when it starts, what you’ll pay and whether the minimum term has changed. Plusnet deserves credit for allowing the move in both directions, but that doesn’t mean you should agree to a fresh commitment without noticing it.

Changing speed isn’t the same as changing technology

These rules apply when you move between Plusnet’s Full Fibre packages. Moving from Standard Fibre to Full Fibre is different. It may involve installation work, new equipment and a new minimum term because Plusnet is changing how the broadband reaches your home, not merely altering its speed.

Moving from Full Fibre back to Standard Fibre is different again and can trigger early exit charges during your minimum term. Don’t confuse that with dropping from Full Fibre 900 to Full Fibre 300, which keeps you inside the same Full Fibre range. Plusnet treats ordinary speed changes much more generously.