Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
 


       Downsizer Forum Index -> IT Matters
nettie

Broadband recommendations?

Hi there, I'm on the lookout for a new broadband provider, due to cost cutting at work they've decided not to pay for my home internet access any more Evil or Very Mad

I'm currently with BT (can't really afford it) and can't get NTL or Telewest round here. I was thinking along the lines of Tiscali or similar, can anyone make a recommendation?

Thanks!
dougal

I like the simplicity of the Virgin deal. (Despite the bearded one!)
£15 a month.
No startup costs. (Free modem for the asking)
No contract commitment. Cancel on 30 days notice.
Use it excessively and they say they'll send you an email. After a couple of such months they may suggest you move to a higher tarrif...
http://www.virgin.net


ISTR JoCorless mentioning a deal where you paid based on data usage, and it had very cheap front-end costs if you already have ADSL activated on your line...
nettie

Thanks, Dougal, will look into those Very Happy
tawny owl

I'm with Virgin too, and I think it's good - you do have to pay 25p/min for the support, but their little startup books are so good, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd certainly recommend them to anyone who's new to broadband for that reason. I'm on the £15 plan, and would describe myself as a pretty heavy user (I work from home, and I'm logged in for at least 8 hours a day and download and upload large files), but I've never had anything from them saying I've exceeded my limit.

As you're not a novice, though, you might want to look at Plusnet and Eclipse as well - I know quite a few people who've spoken well of them, and they offer a similar service to Virgin. Eclipse doesn't give a free modem, but they offer 10 email addresses to Virgin's 5, so that may be important to you. Plusnet give a free modem and unlimited email addresses, but their contract is an annual one, not a monthly like the other two, unless you pay a one-off payment of £11.75.

Whichever one you go for, make sure you get a migration activation code (MAC) number from BT before you move, otherwise you'll have to set the whole thing up again,which means cancelling with BT, waiting at least 2 days before applying to the new ISP*, then applying, then waiting at least 5 working days for the new broadband connection to be upgraded. If you have a MAC number, it should be nearly instantaneous, although you may have to pay a small fee (usually one month's service cost) to activate.


(*it takes BT that long to upgrade their database - if you order too soon, they'll refuse it because their system reckons you're still on broadband, and worse still, they won't tell your new ISP that it's been refused!)
joanne

dougal wrote:

ISTR JoCorless mentioning a deal where you paid based on data usage, and it had very cheap front-end costs if you already have ADSL activated on your line...


Yup its with http://www.metronet.co.uk/ - prices vary depending on speed and bandwidth.

Joanne
monkey1973

I'm with Freedom2surf who were recommended by a colleague due to their customer service rating. I pay £14.99/month but I had to by my own router (but I wanted to do that anyway so I could go wireless). They will supply a modem but you will pay more per month. No problems so far and I can vouch for their customer service who are very helpful and are British.

http://www.freedom2surf.net/
Cathryn

I have been with Tiscali for ages and they have been completely reliable - but recently I have been unable to access my email account at peak times and the whole system can get very slow. This can be frustrating so if peeps don't have this problem on virgin then I would go for that not Tiscali.
tawny owl

ruby wrote:
I have been with Tiscali for ages and they have been completely reliable - but recently I have been unable to access my email account at peak times and the whole system can get very slow. This can be frustrating so if peeps don't have this problem on virgin then I would go for that not Tiscali.


Very rarely - I've had it for over a year, and it's had two short periods of problems; both times there's been a message on the helpline explaining why and giving an approximate time of re-starting.
tawny owl

The itv.com site has an article from Martin Lewis about the cheapest BB providers:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1092034925,22928,
Lisa

I'm on Wanadoo and it has been completely reliable (I'm online all the time).
I'm not sure why I chose it, though, and I'm sure there are better deals now.
Lisa
tahir

I went with demon in the end, can't remember what I got or how much though Embarassed
woodyandluna

I'm been with plusnet for the last two months and I'm very pleased with them. They got it installed a couple of days ahead of schedule.

They were offering a free modem but I decided to get my own with a built in VOIP router too. They offer annual and monthly contract. For monthly contract a one off fee of £11.75 is added to startup costs(total £50 ish), but this can be deferred until you decide to cancel (if you ever do). The amount decreases by 20% for every year that you stay with them too.

Use their plustalk VOIP service too and very pleased with that too.

Brica
High Green Farm

We use Onetel for both Broadband and phonecalls. Pretty much turns a variable expense into a fixed expense (except mobile and international).
mrutty

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/

Quote:
Find the latest and greatest broadband news in the UK, service provider information, views and comments from users like you.
Forager

I've been with Virgin.net broadband since August last year and it's been excellent. They are actually part of NTL.

While it's a monthly deal, ie no 12 month contract, they do reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee if you leave before the first 12 months although I haven't seen any reports of this being enforced. It came in just after I signed up last year.

I signed my mum and dad up a few months ago and it's worked well for them too.
       Downsizer Forum Index -> IT Matters
Page 1 of 1
Home Home Home Home Home