Jofm5,
Hmmm ....
Considering they were bought by BT Retail, I suspect QoS didn't play a major role in their decision.
More likely BT wanted to ensure the BT brand could continue to be sold to people who don't want to contract with BT. BT wanted to have a subsidiary that could compete with other ISPs, such as TalkTalk and Sky on price.
Added to the above, BT were buying the customer base as well as the IP in the Teleworker product that BT were selling into their valuable corporate customer base.
I believe BT were also interested in TalkTalk's CRM system (the WorkPlace platform) more than anything network level.
Infact, this is what BT published as "reasons for the offer"...
4. Background to and reasons for the Offer
BT considers that PlusNet has established a successful ISP business
focusing on the discerning broadband user. Furthermore, PlusNet benefits
from an industry leading internet based service platform (Workplace).
BT intends to continue to leverage and develop PlusNet's Workplace
platform and has no immediate plans to integrate PlusNet into existing
BT services, maintaining its focus on the internet serviced, discerning
user, at competitive broadband rates. BT believes that, by combining
this platform with its existing resources and expertise within BT
Retail, the customer experience will be enhanced.
Seems to be very little interest in QoS or any network element, which is no doubt why they were bought by BT Retail !
There was also a leaked email from former CEO Lee Strafford back in 2007 that pretty much confirms it was nothing about the network :
In 2000 I assumed sole control of the future of Team PlusNet and I took that responsibility very seriously, some would say too seriously. I realised that we had a huge opportunity but that if we wanted to take ourselves as far as possible that we need a plan and a methodology that we could all buy into in order to be able to put in the superhuman effort required to achieve what weended up achieving with no outside help be that financial or resources (and what turned out to be quite a large amount of external hindering). The plan was [1] finish the development of and upgrade of workplace, [2] establish PNT as the best operator in our space measured by churn rate and profits, [3] float the business in the London stock exchange in 2004 and [4] sell the business to BT 2 years later.