Advice on o2 Broadband or Titan ADSL (an entanet reseller)

rummy

I'm really confused

I'm wanting to change over from my ISP and I've chosen Titan ADSL and o2 Broadband.

o2 Broadband:
Advantages: £7.50 for 8megs, unlimited download, currently 30 day money back guarantee until 31st Aug 08
Disadavantages: router problems, 12 month contract (what if I have problems on the 31st day?!!)

Titan ADSL:
Advantages: 1 month contract and good speed download plus no port blocking or speed throtling
Disadvantages: £29.99 for 60GB download during peak times (8am-10pm) and 330GB off peak (from 10pm -8am everyday)

Customer service seems good on both of them according to reviews.

I am a heavy download user so I need at least 200GB each month but I want to download anytime too and not be stuck in a contract

I know I can't have everything so I'll have to go with one or the other. Originally I thought go with o2 and if they are crap, cancel within the 30 days but then what happens if I don't have problems until the 31st day then I'll be with them for 12 months!!

The other option is to go with Titan, see how they are and if I don't like it then I can go - afterall they are 1 month contract only. But then the 30 day offer money back guarantee is due to end in August and I don't know if o2 will do it anymore - they started off with 100 at the beginning of the year, took it down to 50 in June and now it's finally 30. Once this ends, doubt they'll have anymore.

If anyone could provide their experiences with either of these BB providers or their opinion, I'd be really really grateful. :rolleyes:

Thanks.

hazelmere1

Hi , we're with o2 and cannot praise them highly enough . A few little teething problems at the very beginning which were quickly sorted out via a British call centre (heaven). We regularly run 2 laptops and a desk pc at the same time through the wireless router with no problem . What are the router problems you mention? We were with shitcali before that and told them where to stick their 12 month contract after 1 month , continuous disconnection problems + going through the same crap everytime we called their Indian call centre.

rummy

Hi, thanks for your reply.

I've also had an awful experience with my ISP which is why I'm desperate to move. Also my current download speeds are terrible and I feel like I'm on dial up!

The router problems I mention are those I've seen on other sites i.e not being able to detect wireless from a different room in the house (which I desperately need and worried about as I have an old style house with thick walls!) and also the wireless constantly disconnecting and sometimes not reconnecting. I'm not very technical so I'm not happy to set it up with a different router.

Would you mind mentioning which router you have (i believe o2 have two types that they send out). How did you find their call centre? Were they helpful when you had your teething problems. Would you mind if I asked what those teething problems were?

Thanks again

hazelmere1

Hi , we had a couple of disconnections and a line speed issue ( i think it needs to settle anyway) within the first few days . Call centre staff are great , actually call you back when they say they will to check everything has been resolved. Every step we were informed via text from ordering to going 'live' , even choosing what day to receive router package. My main reasons for choosing o2 was a free to call British call centre if there was any problems and good customer service . Our router is made by thomson as far as i can see . I understand ours is the bigger 1 of the 2 and the new 1 is about half the size. Obviously that is just our experience and some people will advise you differently . Good luck with whoever you choose as i know only to well how frustrating it can be with an underperforming ISP.

peachyprice

Hi,

We've just changed to o2 from Tiscali, had no problems what so ever so far.
The router is a Speedtouch 585 and has been fine. We have no problems with 4 lappies connected wirelessly in different parts of the house and garden and an XBox connected through ethernet, all at the same time.

Woby_Tide

if your main block with O2 is the 12 month contract then go with Be* instead. Yes it's more but still cheaper than Titan. You get the same unlimited downloads, the contract is only 3 months (or c.2 months if you pay the £40 release fee). For both Be and O2 there is no reason not to use either your current router or pick up a cheap Netgear DG834 on Ebay and use that, you've no need to use their router

rummy

oooh thanks guys. I might just give them a try... I saw Be* by the way as a friend recommended it but customer support is very important to me and o2 had better than Be (they are in Bulgaria) whereas o2s call centres are British.

I might just go for o2 even though it's 12 months and pray they are good to me. My last ISP were a real headache.

Thanks again guys!

Woby_Tide

I've only had reason to call Be once and they handled the call better than my last dealing with BT before I left them. I gues sit's down to preference but I went based on the fact I was less likely to have issues with them in the first place but at worst I was only ever £40 from leaving rather than up to 11 months. Them being UK based doesn't always guarantee a decent service(though in both O2 and Be case the complaints are in the minority and long may it continue)

rummy

Yes I agree with you on that. My current provider always had British speakers and they were absolute rubbish which is why CS is so important to me. I also tend to have alot of techinical problems (I don't know why - I think it's just me!!) and the only reason I prefer British speakers is because I'm not a very patient person when things go wrong which is unfair on the person handling the call.