Im confused!! changing ISP

juliecwuk

Hi all,
im sure this has been posted various times but im just confused!

I have discovered we use the Tettanhall Exchange in Wolverhampton for out internet access. For the last year or so we have been with AOL (and suprisingly not had many problems - a couple of down days but thats it). But we pay £14.99 for 10GB usage and up to 8MB speed (we can only get up to 2mb on our line anyway). We have a BT phoneline at the moment.

Anyhow, obviously there are cheaper providers out theres - namely Plusnet Value (£16.74 inc phone line rental) or TalkTalk (17.74 inc line rental and setup charge). I have read negative reviews for both.

Im just awfully confused, i want to change to someone else just to save money and im not too bothered about combining phoneline and internet packages but if it saves money then we are happy to do it.

Basically i was reading up to see if the other providers are worse than AOL, and then started reading things about LLU's and ADSL's and i got awfully confused! Anyone want to help me out and tell me who to change to so that i can reduce my monthly outgoings without getting crap internet!!

moonrakerz

Firstly: Terminology;
ADSL is just the type of technology that delivers your internet service. ADSL will give a max of 7mbs if you live next door to the telephone exchange, the further away you are the slower it gets.
Have a play with this: http://www.samknows.com/broadband/mapping/mapping.php

LLU stands for Local Loop Unbundled: this means that the Internet Service Provider has some of his own equipment in that exchange rather than having to rely totally on BT.
I used to be with Zen ( a quality, but expensive ISP). o2 are now LLU at my exchange and can offer higher speeds. My speed was about 6mbs for £24.99 a month, I now get 13mbs for £9.78 a month.
o2 are worth considering if you have an o2 mobile, either contract or PAYG. They are very competitive price wise and their service is excellent.

Would strongly recommend that you remain with BT for your line rental - though not necessarily with them as your call provider. Many organisations that offer "cheaper" line rental, just sub-let from BT. They have no engineering backup so have to rely on others to do it. If a BT customer has a line problem he will get it fixed first, if a "cheapofone" customer has a problem, he could have a long wait.

Spend a couple of hours here:-

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/

Hope that helps.

PS: There is £70 cash back on Quidco if you get o2 BB !

PPS: I don't work for o2 !!

mattp_3

Even though this site is all about saving money - when it comes to internet connections/broadband accounts (without which this website wouldnt exist :O) the cheapest option is rarely the best.
I was with Pipex two years ago and had no-end of problems, paying £15.99pm - in the end I got fed up with their excuses and bull, then moved to Zen Internet which is £17.61pm for 5GB download limit which is pretty low compared to most other deals - but I've had no problems with them, constant 5-6MB speed and great customer support (based in the UK) I now pay £24.46pm for 25GB download limit as I work from home plus there are 5 others in the house needing access and its well worth paying a few extra pounds per month

Cheap isnt always cheerful!

Ypaymore

Have a look here for what suppliers you can use on your exchange.

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/CMTET

juliecwuk

many thanks for your replies, it makes sense now! i was under the impression that it was best to avoid LLU's (i didnt really understand it)!

ive looked into O2 as i noticed that its available via my exchange but it says on the website that its not available in this area? We also both have work mobiles so we wouldnt be able to get it discounted.

so its best to stick with the BT line? i will have a proper look around for a new ISP

many thanks for your replies, they have been very helpful!

macman

According to samknows your exchange is LLU enabled for O2. I would phone them to recheck this if you are interested in the O2 LLU service (which I would recommend). Don't bother with the O2 Access service though, as this is just a resold BT Wholesale product.