Wessex Internet
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Great service, but serious operational issues
Now that my connection is live, the service itself is fantastic—I get exactly the speeds I pay for, which is the main reason I’m giving 3 stars. However, there are major downsides that potential customers should be aware of. The Positives: ✅ Performance is excellent – I consistently get 5-10ms latency and the full speed I subscribe to. ✅ Service quality is solid once it’s up and running. ✅ They let you use your own router – Might take a little effort to get your PPPoE username and password, but you can. The Frustrations: ❌ No symmetric download/upload speeds – Other ALTNETs offer this at a lower price, but Wessex Internet does not. ❌ Higher-than-expected costs – There are cheaper providers elsewhere, but Wessex Internet has an effective monopoly in my area. While they are required to offer wholesale options due to government funding, they are too small for any major ISPs to be interested, and their pricing probably makes it unviable too. ❌ Locked-down supplied router – They lock down their provided router, meaning you can’t make your own configuration changes such as IP reservations or port forwarding. This hasn’t affected me as I use my own router, but I know neighbours who have found this frustrating. ❌ Dynamic IP address, static not an option. The Issues: 🚨 Failed install & poor communication – They knew the fibre to my home was broken 4 days before my scheduled install but still sent an engineer on installation day just to confirm what they already knew. 🚨 3-week delay to fix ~100m of cable – I was given contradictory and incorrect information throughout the process. 🚨 Unnecessary arguments with support – I had to convince them that they didn’t need to send an engineer onsite to activate the service once the fibre was fixed (which they eventually confirmed themselves). 🚨 Massive inefficiencies – It feels like Wessex Internet has grown too quickly and is now struggling with serious operational issues that lead to wasted time and delays. The Bottom Line: It took a 1-star Trustpilot review to finally get my connection working, which was then fixed in 2 days—why did it take a public complaint for action? In 2025, the Internet is a necessity, and my biggest concern is what happens if there’s another fibre break or major outage? Based on my experience, I cannot afford to be without service for 3 weeks again. If you’re considering Wessex Internet, be prepared for great performance—but also be aware of the risks if anything goes wrong.