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Michael Phillips is product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk and can help with anything from contractual problems, to giving technical advice or telling you how to speed up those slow movie downloads.
On the subject of LLU broadband, our expert says…
Hi Jimmy,
That’s a great question. There is a lot of techno babble surrounding broadband and sometimes it can be hard to get to grips with the different terms (check out our extensive broadband glossary). Hopefully I can help you understand LLU broadband and help make your broadband switching decision easier.
What is LLU broadband?
First of all I think it’s important to note that “LLU” and “ADSL” are not in fact mutually exclusive categories when it comes to broadband providers. The two terms describe different aspects of broadband provision:
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is the technology that has been developed to transmit a fast broadband signal over old copper phone lines.
LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) is not a type of technology, but rather describes the de-regulation of the former BT exchange network which allows 3rd party access to the last mile of copper wiring to a broadband users house.
The “Local Loop”, describes the wires and equipment that connect your home to your local telephone exchange. Historically owned and maintained by BT (www.bt.com), LLU means that other companies can now access the local exchanges.
This means, for example, that when your local exchange is “unbundled”, BT may allow a provider such as Be broadband (www.bethere.co.uk) to install their own equipment in the exchange which will allow Be to provide you directly with broadband.
An ISP that provides LLU broadband will use ADSL or ADSL2 technology.
What are the advantages of LLU broadband?
The main advantages of LLU broadband are speed and price:
Speed - Because LLU providers use their own equipment rather than re-selling BT wholesale services, they are able to use alternative technologies, such as ADSL2 to offer faster connection speeds and added features. BT is rolling out its 21 Century Network system but this will take time and currently, BT’s hardware and lines can only support a maximum of 8Mbps. Some LLU providers on the other hand, for example Be, can provide speeds of up to 24Mbps! The speed you receive will of course depend on the ISP and package that you choose, as well as a multitude of other factors including your distance from the exchange.
Price - LLU broadband providers also have more control over their costs. Because they are making an upfront investment and using their own equipment and technology rather than re-selling BT’s service (and thus having to pay BT per customer), they have more flexibility on their prices and can offer deals much cheaper than BT. For example, the first year cost of BT’s broadband with line rental comes to £167, whereas the same deal from Talk Talk (www.talktalk.co.uk) costs under £90.
In most cases it is just the broadband element of your connection that will be unbundled, which means you can receive broadband from one ISP whilst retaining a BT line for making telephone calls.
What are the disadvantages of LLU Broadband?
At the moment, apart from limited coverage, the main disadvantages of LLU broadband seem only to arise if you change your mind and want to be reconnected to BT. The main problem is that once you have handed ownership and control of you wires to an LLU provider, it may be expensive to get them reconnected to BT’s equipment.
If you have to cut off your broadband and then have it reconnected, you might have to pay a cease and re-provide fee of £58.75, but if your entire line (broadband and telephone) was unbundled then you might also have to pay BT up to £124.99 to have a standard phone line reinstalled too. This will not apply in all cases though.
There have also been issues arising around obtaining a MAC code from LLU providers. Ofcom is working on an LLU MAC code scheme, but at the moment it’s voluntary, and only applies to partial LLU, where your broadband but not your phone line has been unbundled.
You asked whether an LLU provider will require you to install any special equipment in your house. Actually, all the specialist equipment is installed in your local exchange.
On the question of whether your existing wireless router would work with broadband from an LLU provider, the answer is maybe, but it is likely that an LLU broadband provider will provide you with a new wireless router anyway.
If there is a good reason that you want to continue using your existing router, for example if it is made to a higher specification than the free router you receive and it does work with your new connection, then you could do this. However, you should bear in mind that most ISPs will not provide any technical support or help, unless you are using the router that they have provided.
Be broadband (www.bethere.co.uk) has really made the most of the opportunity to unbundled lines. It has installed advanced equipment in number of exchanges, allowing them to offer customers speeds of up to 24Mbps. Be broadband is not the cheapest LLU provider, but it does achieve high actual speeds - its first connected customer averaged 18.5Mb!
Sky (www.sky.com) has also made good use of LLU, installing ADSL2 lines across the country and offering customers speeds of up to 16Mbps.
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Talk Talk, which is the cheapest LLU provider, and Tiscali (www.tiscali.co.uk) have installed equipment which makes their connections ADSL2 ready, but they are not yet offering speeds of over 8Mbps.
The ISPs that don’t provide LLU (and instead re-sell BT wholesale’s service) are generally smaller ones like Madasafish (www.madasafish.com) and Plusnet (www.plus.net). However, even some of the providers that do provide LLU services, for example Talk Talk and Tiscali, will re-sell BT’s service in areas where the exchanges have not yet been unbundled.
You can check whether your local exchange has been LLU enabled at www.samknows.com and can search for the best value broadband packages available in your area using our Broadband Comparison Tool.
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