Wanting to Change to Broadband

jasmin10

Hi all,
As you can see I am a newbie that has been lurking.

I would be grateful for some advise please.

My landline rental is with BT and calls go through one tel. I am currently on dialup with Virgin at a cost of 13.99 a month. I have been thinking of moving over to broadband for a while as I know that there are Broadband ISP's that deliver the goods for a similar price.

The reason I haven't change over before is becuase it all seems so complicated especially as I have my telephone calls going through a different provider (I was thinking of transferring them back to BT to make it all easier). The thing that has pushed me to get away from Virgin is because they have been taken over by NTL (ARGHH), I have dealt with NTL before and were my worst nightmare.

I know what I want. I want unlimited surfing at any time of the day (I don't download music, but would like to have the choice if I choose to).

I was thinking Tiscali but I'm not sure. Obiviously I need all the modem stuff etc too.

What do you think????? (oh and cable isn't an option as apparently we don't have that built into the new estate I live on)

Sam

steve!_10

I won't make any difference that you use Onetel. Tiscali have arguably the worst reputation of all the major ISPs, by the way. I'd also suggest considering buying your own modem cheaply off eBay, while it's money upfront, getting one from your ISP usually involves them locking you into a contract.

jasmin10

Oh, I think I was just thinking of them setting it all up as I wouldn't know what to do with a modem if I bought it (actually come to think of it I wouldn't what to look for in a modem ????)

Thank you for the warning about the ISP though I will keep looking

Sam

jasmin10

found this?

No 12 month contract
512 Kbps broadband – download up to 10 times faster
3 GB monthly download allowance... more >
Free activation
Free anti-spam
Free email virus protection
Sign up

Perfect if...
you're new to broadband but don't want to sign a 12 month contract. Its 3 GB monthly download allowance is ideal if you want a fast connection to surf the Net and send emails without tying up your phone line.

http://www.virgin.net/internetaccess/broadband/planthree/?buspart=265

mrJ_5

virgin dont tell you that if you leave within 12 months, you have to pay them £50..... you will find most ISPs will have a similar policy - if you are getting activation for free

steve!_10

512k is pretty poor these days as well. I know of a provider that will give free activation provided you stay for 3 or 6 months (depending on the package), plus up to 8Mb speeds, but I'm a little hesitant to mention it because I work for them.

mrJ_5

there is nothing wrong with 512k ... i for one am still on it, yes I am tempted by adslmax (mainly as i would have to switch from being unlimited to capped, and in theory will pay less each month).... but the only difference will be a little less time waiting for streams, and also downloads will be quicker..... but the vast majority of what I use the internet for ie. email and web browsing, will not differer (other than a couple of milliseconds faster)

as a lot of people say - if it ain't broke, don't fix it

steve!_10

But then a lot of people also say nothing ventured nothing gained.

You're right in that 512k is adequate for most, but it's still nice knowing you're getting more bang for your buck. I didn't notice the difference between 512k and 1Mb, but once you get to 2Mb you start to notice. I can safely say that if I went back to 512k now I'd be quite disappointed with my connection. I, like you, mostly do email and web browsing.

Browntoa

don't worry about the install being complicatded !!

you install the broadband modem software, it asks you to plug in the modem and finsishes the install and maybe reboots. You then plug the modem into the phone socket using the ADSL splitter in the box, click on the connect button that has appeared on your PC and bobs your uncle !!

if not go post your problem in the techie section of the forum and someone will help

jasmin10

Hmm blimey it does sound all indepth.

That virgin one that I posted about further down. If I wasn't worried about being tied to them for 12 months (to avoid the £50) do you think that it would give me a better speed thing that my current dialling up?

Browntoa

most definately faster

my mum uses Virgin Broadband and she manages to sort it out (she's 75 !!)

I'm sure you will find it easy to install it and get it going , if not we are here to assist

does your PC have USB ports ?