Help - trouble in the sticks!

easypeezy

I Live in the country (Suffolk) and have done for 30 years but have finally come to a grinding halt when it comes to joining the 21st Century. I have max 1.5mb broadband and freeview but really want to get a faster broadband and some kind of freesat service, to get the HD tv and some of the other channels available, or Sky if I must (though I've had no joy there either) and I also want to ditch BT for phone and broadband.

I'd be happy to bundle all services to get the best deal (phone, broadband, TV) but so far can't find any supplier to help - any ideas? Thank you

easypeezy

A bump to see if anyone can help

macman

Living in the country should not stop you getting satellite TV-you can get ITV/BBC Freesat, or Freesat from Sky, both require a dish and set top box (HD box if you require HD). What was the problem you had with Sky?-all you need is a line of sight to the satellite.
There are really no alternatives for broadband. Assuming you're not in a Virgin cable area, the the service has to come via a BT line. The only alternatives are satellite broadband (v. expensive) or mobile broadband (expensive if you download much data, and also likely to be slow unless you can get a decent 3G signal at your property, which may not be the case in rural areas).
Have you checked to see that you're making the most of your existing broadband (1.5MBps is not that bad for normal surfing usage), have you checked your filters/internal wiring etc?
What other options are available on your exchange-can you get an LLU service which may be faster for you? Have a look on samknows.com and check 'LLU Operator Presence' for LLU providers-though if your exchange is small and rural, BT may be the only option.

dave777

easypeezy wrote: »

I Live in the country (Suffolk) and have done for 30 years but have finally come to a grinding halt when it comes to joining the 21st Century. I have max 1.5mb broadband and freeview but really want to get a faster broadband and some kind of freesat service, to get the HD tv and some of the other channels available, or Sky if I must (though I've had no joy there either) and I also want to ditch BT for phone and broadband.

I'd be happy to bundle all services to get the best deal (phone, broadband, TV) but so far can't find any supplier to help - any ideas? Thank you

WOULD NOT USE BT OR SKY ! I use and set up freesat myself and got all my info to self install cheaply from freesatbox.net - now i am happy and rent free !

easypeezy

thanks for the replies, my biggest problem is getting broadband whilst not using BT and I guess a package offer would be the best deal?

Can broadband be received via satellite?

Thanks

macman

You don't have to use BT for either. But you will still need a BT line for broadband, have you explored the LLU options on your exchange as suggested?
Broadband satellite is much more expensive, and I think most of them still use a BT landline for the uplink, where the speed is not that important.
Why don't you just see what you can do to improve your current speed?

BobDelamare

As macman says broadband speed depends on distance from exchange. We are 2.5 kms and BT says 5mbps is tops. Under Talktalk with a USB modem I was getting 1.5/1.7. I switched to Plusnet and for the same money they upped me to 3.3 using the same modem. I switched to a router with ethernet conection (free with the deal) and got 4.3/4.5. I tidied up the wiring, took out a surplus socket on the circuit and replaced 35 year old master with a mdern NTE5 master. Now I'm getting 5.6mbps. Total cost about £25 for socket, wire, cable clips.

macman

BobDelamare wrote: »

As macman says broadband speed depends on distance from exchange. We are 2.5 kms and BT says 5mbps is tops. Under Talktalk with a USB modem I was getting 1.5/1.7. I switched to Plusnet and for the same money they upped me to 3.3 using the same modem. I switched to a router with ethernet conection (free with the deal) and got 4.3/4.5. I tidied up the wiring, took out a surplus socket on the circuit and replaced 35 year old master with a mdern NTE5 master. Now I'm getting 5.6mbps. Total cost about £25 for socket, wire, cable clips.

How did you persuade BT to change the master for free? They normally won't do this unless there is a fault on it.