Mate of mine lives in the karoo fiber trial area, just had a cable put right into his house, and last night was getting 180Mbps.

As some people have posted on here, it is perfectly possible to get those speeds on Karoo as well. Its depends on local infrastructure. Sure, according to the map on their site cover similar areas, Hessle for example were connection speeds are generally speaking very good on Karoo. I get well over 12mb connection most of the time. Also the technlogy Sure are using is similar to the tech Karoo are using... lots of external factors can effect speed. I know a local installation of a similar system in Lancashire came in with a fanfare of offering up to 20mbp, in realtity most get 2 or 3.

This coupled with the fact that you have to sign a contract, or pay for the installation and that fibre optics are been rolled out offering far higher speeds than the tech that Sure are using can. I'm still not convienced of its appeal.



That is very intresting and yes, I agree, if you want to buy the equipment (phone etc) to use VOIP like most people use phone then it does make it a little more appealing.

I use another provider nextgenus and get speeds up of upto 70mbs but average at around 40mps download and 25 upload during peak times

I paid £75 for installation and £25 p/m on a 30 day contract compared to 29.99 for broadband plus 13 for a landline i hardly used.

i bought a voip adaptor for £5 and got an 01482 number for free from connexion and can use this anywhere in the world using an app on my mobile and wifi making it great to phone family when out of country.

i was interested in karoo fibre optic but since moving i am more than happy and can't see me going back

Nextgenus is about the best on offer IF!! you are not downloading much. With the speeds they offer 5gb daily limit is a pittance and they are quick to throttle your speed if you go over that limit.

Sure gives everyone 25mbps, they can and did for a month or so offer 50/60 mbps, they limit this to 25mbps but don't have a daily limit. They don't install if you cannot get at least 10mbps.


They use the same technology as Nextgenus. Fibre optics in barton.

The karoo fiber optic install is interesting but who knows when it will come it, plus karoo don't offer unlimited.

Mines running at 3mbps, and has been for around the last week. Mind you, the fastest I've ever had from Karoo is around 4!

rlrl

They may use fibre optics, but the technology is still effected by external factors and interference which effect speed, sometimes, as I've seen in other installations outside of Yorkshire, these can be severe.

However, my underlying point was, for most people, if you are recieving 10 or mb from Karoo, given that the majority of internet distribution can't really be faster than this anyway, what is the appeal? It just becomes a numbers game, 10mb is a perfectly good connections for all but extremley heavy users, which the vast majority of domestic customers don't fall into, and that includes people that download high-def video, work at home and play online games.

I suppose it's always good to know there's always someone worse off than yourself.

yeah thats a good point which i forgot to add.

at the minute its 5gb a day and if you go over its capped to 0.5mbs till the next day.
i download a few films and albums a week, use xbox live daily, use iplayer hd,sky go and onlive throughout the week and have yet to be capped but if you do download large amounts then nextgen isn't for you

I believe they are looking at changing the their f.u.p. to 35gb a week or 150gb a month fairly soon too

Your thinking of something else! They don't offer anything outside of west hull! It's a small local company, the installer part owns the company.

Sure offer internet outside of West Hull. Its available in Hessle and other surrounding areas. Well according to their website anyway.

That said, I wasn't talking about Sure, I was talking about the technology they are using. There are several installations of it around the country.

Well yes Hessle etc but you know what I mean.
They use the same technologies as nextgenus.
They are faster cheaper and unlimited, until/if Karoo fits the fibre they are a very good alternative. Slightly cheaper then nextgenus tho they cap speeds at 25mbps but do not have a daily limit. I would recommend both over Karoo.

If you are getting less than say 3mb, which is what most domestic users would find perfectly adequate (allows video streaming, fast downloading, gaming, Skyping, VPNing etc) and live in one of the very select areas that it covers that standard ADSL can't offer similar speeds at, then you’re right. Like I said in my original post - other than that, waste of time and effort for most people. The savings are marginal unless you get rid of your phone line and install a VOIP phone system, which most people won't want to do or will lack the technical ability to do - Karoo can be got for slightly less than Sure at under £14 per month (plus line rental and £30 install).

Pretty short term investment wise given that we already know it’s going to be superseded. You might be sold, and as a user fair play, but going back to my original statement, it would take a brave investor to back that business model in my opinion.

I haven't got a Scooby Doo what my download speed is as I very rarely download anything and never check. I have 2 lap tops, 3 phones and an X Box using the connection at it's heaviest and apart from the odd drop in connection, which usually returns after a short period, we have no loading issues and Kieran has no gaming issues. Karoo might not be the best around but speaking to others who live outside of Hull, they certainly aren't the worst either.