Broadband, how much is 1gig?

HOLsale

i'm looking for a new broadband and phone provider

we currently have hellish bulldog which i can't wait to get rid of we have the 8mb package (though i've never seen it top 6.9mbs)

i'm happy with this speed but not with this company

i work based from home mainly ebay and amazon and i'm on and off the forums all day

we rarely download anything other than the odd text file or zip file for programs etc i do upload digital photos' though

don't don't load music much or videos etc

would 1gig be enough bandwidth for us? or would it be tight? i'm fine with the speed, i just don't understand the useage amoutns

i'm trying to figure out if i need the lite packages or the unlimited

right now we have unlimited so i've nothing to compare our useage to
as i don't know what we're using

also, in case i find other companies with different limits for the lite version, how much do you think we'd need per month?

cheers :beer:

tigermatt

If you don't do much downloading and you have simple emails with minimal attachments then 1GB usage allowance would be fine for you.

If you started to do more downloading or visit more websites then you may have to consider upgrading your usage allowance.

The packages that are "unlimited" usually have a very high usage allowance and the company will still get a little concerned if you were downloading a large amount and taking a chunk of their bandwidth, depriving other users of their bandwidth...

HOLsale

hopefully i will be running a few websites in the next few months, do you think it would be wise then to perhaps find a isp that allows for at least 2gig per month?

on average i have about 20 sites i visit regularly, 10 of them daily, 5 of those several times a day

i get at least 100 emails a day, maybe only 5 attachments per week on average

and i upload photo's online at least once a week

mr_fishbulb

HOLsale wrote:

we currently have hellish bulldog which i can't wait to get rid of we have the 8mb package (though i've never seen it top 6.9mbs)

I'd be happy with 6.9mb - 8mb is a theoretical maximum which you will only get if you live in the telephone exchange, and only then if you're lucky.

I'd say 1 gig is enought. Your usage roughly follows my parent's and they only use 1/2 a gig a month.

HOLsale

mr_fishbulb wrote:

I'd be happy with 6.9mb - 8mb is a theoretical maximum which you will only get if you live in the telephone exchange, and only then if you're lucky.

I'd say 1 gig is enought. Your usage roughly follows my parent's and they only use 1/2 a gig a month.

actually i'm fine with the speed, it's the company i loathe

theiving lying b*st*rds the whole lot of them.... not that i'm bitter or anything :mad: :rotfl:

wolfman

1gb is very minimal. 2gb would be closer to normal usage. I know that's roughly what my parents use.

If you're uploading photo's too this'll eat into the usage quite a lot I'd imagine.

Also as mentioned above 6.9Mbps is very good. Wish I had speeds like that, I'm on Freedom2Surf 8mb and it's a nightmare, usually at dialup speed (my upstream is normally higher than my downstream!!).

I'm personally going to move back to Eclipse. I've been with them for years, solid service. They offer 5gb usage on a 2mb connection. Or unlimited on a 1mb connection for around £20-24 per month.

I always find it incredibly frustrating to get a high speed connection so that you have the opportunity to stream video etc... but they then put a stingy usage limit on the service.

HOLsale

i've never even heard of eclipse wolfman, i'll have to add them to my list of companies to research!

do you know if they must have a bt line? i'd really like to take advantage of the £50 credit the post office is offering to join up for their phone service (assuming it's still on )

has anyone used onetel? are they good?

i'd love to get a decent package deal, internet/phone

can't do telewest at edinburgh uni won't let us have cables installed here :mad:

wolfman

Problem is being with Bulldog you'll probably be on an LLU and not Ip-Stream connection.

With Ip-Stream you can request a MAC code and switch service almost instantly. You also don't have to pay the £47 BT connection fee.

With LLU it's a lot trickier. From what I know only Zen accept LLU MAC's. I'm in a similar situation with F2S, but their service has been so bad they've agreed to switch us back to Ip-Stream (from LLU) for free (we won't have to pay the £47 reconnection fee).

Eclipse are very good though. Zen are seen as one of the best, a bit pricey though. https://www.adslguide.org.uk is a good place to look. Browse round the forums and you'll get a good idea of what the good and bad services are.

mr_fishbulb

I use IDNet and they are very good (have a look at their reviews on the adslguide link above).

http://www.idnet.net/broadband/default.jsp They do 8meg with 2 gig allowance for £14.99 a month.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

From IDNets sales blurb they only offer 8Mb if you're connected to 1 of the 25 exchanges their currently trialling with.

mercurystar999

I have just signed up for NDO broadband, customer service and technical help is excellent. Can't fault them in any way. Always high ranked on the surveys on the isp website. Just my two pence worth.