On 28/07/2018 11:56, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
More on my friends Internet access issues, which I mentioned earlier..

He would seem to have several issues and is on Plusnet, which is BT
supplied.

1. He seems to be reporting his Internet connection is unstable.

2. His wifi access from the Plusnet router is desperately poor range
coverage.

A completely different matter.

He contacted PN this am and PN has checked out 1 and agree with him.
They are sending a new router and have upsold him to fibre. They suggest
that they don't need to run anything into his house, he just needs to
switch to the new router.

How much extra is that costing him? 'Normal' ADSL should be OK unless he
lives a long way from the exchange.

Virgin recently ran fibre round the village and left little plastic
access points in the pavement, adjacent to every home. Where people have
taken up the Virgin service, they have had to run from the access point,
into the house with cable.

....which someone will dig up with a hoe or just a kick. They don't even
bother to secure their roadside cabinets.

How come Plusnet/BT don't need to do this?

Because it's FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) as others have noted.

Friend bought himself a pair of BT Homplugs, to extend the range of his
wifi (2). During his call to PN, they said the Homeplug might be causing
him the problems with his poor interned - I don't really see how,
however the Homeplug access point, seemed not to be working at all,
despite it all being lit up. The AP failed to show in his devices list
of available AP's.

I have the same pair of Homeplugs here, just for when I might need them
and they work absolutely fine.

Homeplugs are regarded as the Spawn of the Devil by some, due to the
radio interference.

--
Max Demian