Uk Broadband

[Enigma2003]

hey evry1,

probably not right section but hopefully broadband will be coming to my area in the next month or two and i was wondering which ISP was the best to use. it will be hopefully used on an ethernet dsl modem and will be running it over a small network (3 comps)

whats the best ISP that wont give me any hassle?

[Proper Bo]

I dunno about networky stuff but i use blueyonder, good and cheap but not available everywhere ;)

[Enigma2003]

whoa quick reply.

well i will have a BT line and will be using my BT line to get the broadband. does bluyonder have any problems with kazaa?

[Proper Bo]

blueyonder is done through telewest, I don't think you can get it when you're with BT cause it comes through with my digital tv, but it is available on its own. Kazaa runs fine for me, good speeds :)

[Enigma2003]

do you have the 512kb, 1mb or the 2mb link?

max download & upload speeds?

sorry bout the questions, i just wanna make sure

[Proper Bo]

the 512kb, £25 a month, max dl is sposed to be about 64kbs (i think) although i sometimes get steady 75-80 off websites.
the max ul is about 19kbs

[aintgottime]

NTL cheap and fast go for a 1mb line at £34.99

[lynx]

Cheapest I've seen on a BT line (NTL is cable) is pipex (http://www.pipex.co.uk) at about £23.50 per month for 512k down 256k up, no bandwidth limits. Also rated one of the best DSL providers in UK.

[Enigma2003]

thanx Lynx :)

[Enigma2003]

thanx Lynx :)

[Miyake]

ive had bt broadband for a year next mont and so far no probs. its it works out at 6 pound a week. ive downloaded abot half a gig/1 gig a day on and off and so far no red letters have come telling me to back off from p2p (touch wood)

has any1 had said letter from bt yet? :huh:

[chrisgm]

had bt broadband 9 months great no probs and no red letters :ph34r:

[DarthInsinuate]

these sites help:

ISPReview (http://www.ispreview.co.uk)
ADSLGuide (http://www.adslguide.org)

have a look at Eclipse or Bulldog in particular

[Lamsey]

For a UK ISP I'd definitely recommend Eclispe Internet (http://www.eclipse.net.uk) - these are the guys I'm with and the service is second to none :)

ADSL service ("ADSL Connect 500 Lite")
For 512k down / 256k up: £23.99 a month (inc. vat)


Information on why you should switch to eclispe.net (http://www.eclipse.net.uk/index.cfm?id=bbresidentialconvert)

Details of services provided (http://www.eclipse.net.uk/index.cfm?id=bbresidentialservicedetail)

Details of pricing (http://www.eclipse.net.uk/index.cfm?id=bbprice)


Only problem is that you have to buy your own hardware, so there's a high inital cost, but after that you're well set up :) .

[lynx]

I would be very wary of taking any notice of reviews posted in ISPReview (http://www.ispreview.co.uk).

I just looked at their 'reviews' based on cost, and the cheapest (pipex) was posted at number 12, while vispa (one of the more expensive options) was posted at number 10. Their reviews are based on a very small number of customer comments, usually made by people who know no better, or some that I would be tempted to suggest have been posted by the ISP themselves.

Btw, I did find one that was cheaper than pipex, but it actually posted that it did not support p2p, so I discounted that one. The websites of two others were so poor that after five minutes I still had not found any pricing information, so I decided they probably weren't worth looking at.

ADSLGuide (http://www.adslguide.org) on the other hand gives information which they appear to have gathered themselves. Here, I found 2 ISP's which are cheaper if you already have your own equipment, but are considerably more expensive than pipex if you need the modem and filters.

[3rd gen noob]

i'm seriously considering getting pipex adsl, however, i'm not sure how good the binary newsgroups are

are there any pipex customers out there who can give more info, please

[MetroStars]

when i first moved 2 the uk i was using AOl, wot a load of shit, so i changed 2 Freeserve and i think there the dog's nuts

[3rd gen noob]

Originally posted by MetroStars@17 August 2003 - 14:52
when i first moved 2 the uk i was using AOl, wot a load of shit, so i changed 2 Freeserve and i think there the dog's nuts
i'm on freeserve 56k just now, and it's good, but the broadband isn't as cheap as pipex...

[MetroStars]

yea i had the 56k 2 start with, no problems just so slow.. but there Broadband is gr8, bit pricey at 27 pounds a month...

[lynx]

Pipex is one of the longest established uk service providers. I'm pretty sure it's newsgroups will surpass anything offered by Freeserve.

I just wish I wasn't stuck with f***ing BTBroadwank for another 9 months. Perhaps I should try downloading about 3 gigs per day (they've got a 1 gig limit) and see if they threaten to cancel my connection. Should have done more research before I signed up.

[Spider_dude]

i use plus net, 24.99 a month. got a router and run it on 5pc's. only have to sign month to month contracts instead of being lumbered witha yearly one. no red letters yet, and i leave it on all day and night downloading.

[Enigma2003]

Does anyone have a 1mb link in uk? which isp? how do you find it?

what is bulldog like?

[3rd gen noob]

just a little update, i ordered pipex about 2 minutes ago...now all i have to do is sit and wait (only another few weeks until the service comes...been waiting for a year and a half already)

@Enigma, for 1 meg, you should look into ntl or telewest cable

[Dapadipz]

im on BT Broadband

no problems, i read about the 1 gig limit on the back of one of the letters
i download sumtimes 2 gigs a day, most days over a gig and BT aint dun neting.

my advice though, dont get AOL broadband

[KLMaster]

iv been using freeserve now for about 5 months and have ha no problems with it what so ever, DONT GET AOL i now a friend whos got it and he says its toatal shit as it disconects him every 5 minutes, hes has to call there help line like 10 times a week because of problems with it.

[Amarjit]

Here are some tips when choosing a broadband ISP: Never go for companies such as BT, NTL, Telewest, AOHELL or Freeserve. They simply rip you off for an utter rubbish service.
Choose a suitable speed, if you wish just to check your e-mail a 512Kbps service ought to be sufficient, if you plan power-using then opt for 1.024/2.048Mbps.

The one I'm using at the moment is Gio Internet (http://www.giointernet.com), they've been around for a while, but in their hands they offer the cheapest 512/256Kbps ADSL service in the country for £18.99 (inc. VAT) per month. There are absoultely no cons such as port blocking/throttling/speed restriction and NO bandwidth limit. It's on 24/7/365 and the phone line is no longer tied up whilst surfing. And unlike AOHELL there is no crap software to install you simply purchase a modem, they give you the advanced information through the post and simply enter the modulation etc. into your modem and that's it! As well as that Gio Internet have PeerCache enabled for maximum speed. It's £55 to activate the line and I purchased an advanced modem for £20, and that reminds me that they do not force you to purchase their hardware, and to top it off there is 5 complimentary POP3/SMTP e-mail addresses.

Take this into consideration, as they only force you into a 3 month contract rather than 12 like the other rubbish ISPs.

[smellmycomputer]

Originally posted by Amarjit@20 August 2003 - 09:39
Here are some tips when choosing a broadband ISP: Never go for companies such as BT, NTL, Telewest, AOHELL or Freeserve. They simply rip you off for an utter rubbish service.
Choose a suitable speed, if you wish just to check your e-mail a 512Kbps service ought to be sufficient, if you plan power-using then opt for 1.024/2.048Mbps.

i've been using ntl broadband for about 6 months now and i've had absolutly no problems withthe service, i've had no problems with it disconecting or anything like that,

don't know why everyone hates them, but yes their dial-up service is complete wank

[lynx]

Originally posted by 3rd gen noob@18 August 2003 - 12:49
just a little update, i ordered pipex about 2 minutes ago...now all i have to do is sit and wait (only another few weeks until the service comes...been waiting for a year and a half already)

@Enigma, for 1 meg, you should look into ntl or telewest cable
Is the delay because broadband is only just becoming available in your area ?
I helped a friend of mine sign up the other day and it only took 3 days (excluding weekend) including modem delivery, but the area was already enabled.

[3rd gen noob]

Originally posted by lynx@20 August 2003 - 13:57
Is the delay because broadband is only just becoming available in your area ?
I helped a friend of mine sign up the other day and it only took 3 days (excluding weekend) including modem delivery, but the area was already enabled.
yeah, i live in the middle of nowhere pretty much, so it's taken a long time for them to get around to updating the exchange...:(

[redhed17]

I am also using Giointerenet. I've had it since June, with no problems. :)

At only £18.95 per/month, only £5 cheaper than the 56k connection I had.

£5 for a 10x increase in speed, and being able to use the phone at the same time, bargain. :D

[Livy]

im got telewest, blueyonder 512k service, £25 month, and its a good service, no major outages etc. :) also got it on a router between 2 pc's and no probs, email service good, and also good personal website service, thinking about the 1meg sevrice too, £35 a month. and also they have a 2meg service,

[cosmic doobie]

BT Broadband have a Cap :lol:
I've been uploading / downloading about 40 gigs a week and I'm still inline with them.
When did they start the restrictions ?

[lynx]

Don't know when they started, and I don't know if they enforce it, but if you look at the conditions I think you will find it mentioned.

Apparently you can cancel your order within 10 days, but they don't send the terms and conditions until you get your first bill, so how do you know you don't like them until you get them ?
I wonder if they can make you keep the contract if they decide to try to enforce the bandwidth limits, sounds very iffy to me.

[basics]

go with AOL only 19.99 a month

free phone helpline (not 1.50 per min like freeserve n the rest)

free modem

the power of 1 of the biggest companies in the world( so not likey to change ur service ....unless for the better or go bust!!!)

hmm lets see who disses me for this ...................i await ur valid reasons for not choosing aol

not just "coz theyre shit!"

[pol]

try this one then :P -i use ntl and i dont know how much it costs to 'phone a helpline, cos i've never used it :)

edit + free modem + installation + 600k service

[Bernardattic]

I have gone for bt broadband just because i dont have a credit card and i have just added the broadband cost to my phone bill piece of p1$$ .

plus i have never been told that i have uploaded/downloaded more stuff than i should .free helpline 24/7 (and you can phone them for help on other stuff too cos they have some proper technical bods that work there :D )

shamone
Bernardattic

[ezyryder]

the Telewest is the best, i've got friends with quite a few different networks arround and about my home town, but telewest seems to come up trumps for being the best. I have the 1mb connection, probably updating to 2mb.

Also, AOL, if I am not mistaken, did AOL not team up in the war with RIAA to stop file-swapping? so surely getting an AOL connection isn't a great idea?

[lynx]

Originally posted by Bernardattic@20 August 2003 - 20:56
I have gone for bt broadband just because i dont have a credit card and i have just added the broadband cost to my phone bill piece of p1$$ .

plus i have never been told that i have uploaded/downloaded more stuff than i should .free helpline 24/7 (and you can phone them for help on other stuff too cos they have some proper technical bods that work there :D )

shamone
Bernardattic
You must have hit lucky with BT's helpline. In my professional capacity, I often had to phone BT, to find out why the service was not working, and meaningful assistance occured about 1 out of 10.

And with BT, if you pay monthly, you pay monthly in advance, but if you don't pay monthly you have to pay 3 months in advance, and pay an extra £1 per month for the priveledge, what sort of shit is that ?

If you use p2p (and why are you here if not ?) do NOT use AOL, the full name is AOL-Time-Warner, some of the very people who are trying to close down p2p. Think they are not going to be monitoring your connection ? Avoid them like the plague.

[basics]

If you use p2p (and why are you here if not ?) do NOT use AOL, the full name is AOL-Time-Warner, some of the very people who are trying to close down p2p. Think they are not going to be monitoring your connection ? Avoid them like the plague.

rubbish!!!!!!!!!

if u have an idea of how corporate companies are run, you would realise that aol and warner brothers are run as separate companiies!!!!!!

do you not think that the anerican companies counterparts around the world would follow suit ie warner in us warner in the uk etc etc and take on every country not just the us!!!


these companies are run as separate stand alone companies...............yes they are all owned by aol time warner thats is the parent c ompany!

anyhow no matter what i say......... if u dont know you dont understand!!!

[Lamsey]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stacymouse/aol.jpg

[DarthInsinuate]

Originally posted by lynx@17 August 2003 - 14:36
I would be very wary of taking any notice of reviews posted in ISPReview (http://www.ispreview.co.uk)
agreed i find the reviews random and insignificant - i just recommend the site because they have a very big list of ISPs that you can browse quickly (kinda)

[Barbarossa]

Originally posted by Bernardattic@20 August 2003 - 19:56
I have gone for bt broadband just because i dont have a credit card and i have just added the broadband cost to my phone bill piece of p1$$ .

plus i have never been told that i have uploaded/downloaded more stuff than i should .free helpline 24/7 (and you can phone them for help on other stuff too cos they have some proper technical bods that work there :D )

shamone
Bernardattic
The amount of hassle I'm going through with the BT broadband helpdesk at the moment I would NEVER recommend them to anyone!

I've been passed around so many times between departments it's ridiculous, and everyone asks the same questions and everyone treats you like an imbecile.

One guy reckoned I must have got the MSBlast.A virus, even after I pointed out I was on windows98.

One department even told me to phone the complaints line about the other deparment because they had led me down the garden path...

Stay away from them, they are useless! :angry: :angry:

(NB outstanding problem still unresolved after 3 days)