Who would you recommend? (BB & LL)

shellsuit

Not interested in TV, just looking for BB and a landline.

We have Sky at the moment and after cancelling, we definitely don't want to stay with them/go back to them.

I must add, that at the very most, we would be running 1 PC, 1 laptop (maybe 2 laptops at times) and 2 xbox360's online so would need a decent enough BB to cope with all that!

Would really appreciate any advice

crampo_2

Why did you cancel with Sky? And whats the best speed in your area?

Go to this website. Put in your postcode and it will come up with a map of your area and where other people have added there broadband providers and there download speeds on it.
http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/streetstats/#home_London_download_0_all_all_3_1

JasX

O2 are supposed to be quite good value and reliable, you should go to the 'samknows' website and check with your postcode which providers can offer 'unbundled' service through your local exchange.

with O2 you can get an extra discount if anyone in the house is an O2 customer.

don't forget to check cashback websites for any free cash you can grab while switching

fuzzball172

I like my virgin 50meg cable broadband... no worse than anyone else I have tried.

shellsuit

crampo wrote: »

Why did you cancel with Sky? And whats the best speed in your area?

Go to this website. Put in your postcode and it will come up with a map of your area and where other people have added there broadband providers and there download speeds on it.
http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/streetstats/#home_London_download_0_all_all_3_1

Something to do with the nat setting not being open (if that makes sense?) for when OH and son are on the 360. Plus I've been with Sky for years and they aren't offering any good deals, so it's time to change.

Not sure what the best speed is, but thanks for the link, will take a look at that

JasX wrote: »

O2 are supposed to be quite good value and reliable, you should go to the 'samknows' website and check with your postcode which providers can offer 'unbundled' service through your local exchange.

with O2 you can get an extra discount if anyone in the house is an O2 customer.

don't forget to check cashback websites for any free cash you can grab while switching

I'll check that out thanks.

fuzzball172 wrote: »

I like my virgin 50meg cable broadband... no worse than anyone else I have tried.

I like the sound of that, but it's a bit expensive for what we're looking at paying. Trying to reduce costs a bit you see

BillScarab

Are you in a cable area? If you are I'd go for that over ASDL anytime. The slowest broadband they offer nowadays is 10Mb, they also do 20Mb and the 50Mb fuzzball172 mentioned.

I've been with them since they first introduced 512 Kb broadband and the service has been reliable and I always get very close tot he advertised speed. I'm currently on the 10 Mb service and last time I tested my download speed was around 9.5 Mb.

There are no download limits either. The only issue with them is if you do a lot fo downloading at prime times they use traffic shaping to slow you connection for a few hours. That shouldn't affect most people though.

elvch01

+1 for Virgin from me.

shellsuit

BillScarab wrote: »

Are you in a cable area? If you are I'd go for that over ASDL anytime. The slowest broadband they offer nowadays is 10Mb, they also do 20Mb and the 50Mb fuzzball172 mentioned.

I've been with them since they first introduced 512 Kb broadband and the service has been reliable and I always get very close tot he advertised speed. I'm currently on the 10 Mb service and last time I tested my download speed was around 9.5 Mb.

There are no download limits either. The only issue with them is if you do a lot fo downloading at prime times they use traffic shaping to slow you connection for a few hours. That shouldn't affect most people though.

elvch01 wrote: »

+1 for Virgin from me.

Yes, we're in a cable area, just been looking on the Virgin site and they aren't priced too badly are they? (I'm looking at the 20mb)

They are looking #1 upto now!

elvch01

The thng I like about Virgin is that they do give the advertised speed rather than some "upto XXXmb". I find their (offshore) customer support a bit pedantic on the few occasions I've used them, but they quickly figure out that I actually know what I'm talking about & transfer me to the level 2 support teams in UK.

I originally switched to them because I can't get more than 3Mb on my phone line & I only used them for BB. They kept pestering me about a phone & eventually offered me the basic phone at no extra, so I now have a fax line. After this, they kept pestering me about TV, but I am happy with my Sky+ HD & eventually, they gave me the basic TV package for free (not that I use it)

gonzo127

shellsuit wrote: »

Something to do with the nat setting not being open (if that makes sense?) for when OH and son are on the 360. Plus I've been with Sky for years and they aren't offering any good deals, so it's time to change.

Hi if this is what i think it is basically it is a setting on your router (the box that connects to the internet) most if not all routers come with a NAT firewall built in which blocks certain ports (like doorways/windows into the internet) if these hadnt been opened it would stop traffic going through on that port hence problems connecting the xbox's

if this is indeed the problem you could come across it on any supplier that hasnt set up your router for xbox's - and if it did come preconfigered for a xbox i would be supprised

shellsuit

gonzo127 wrote: »

Hi if this is what i think it is basically it is a setting on your router (the box that connects to the internet) most if not all routers come with a NAT firewall built in which blocks certain ports (like doorways/windows into the internet) if these hadnt been opened it would stop traffic going through on that port hence problems connecting the xbox's

if this is indeed the problem you could come across it on any supplier that hasnt set up your router for xbox's - and if it did come preconfigered for a xbox i would be supprised

Apparantly the NAT settings are closed, they can be set open, but you can't do it with Sky. (Something about an encrypted code which you need but Sky won't give it)

I don't know a thing about it, that's just the info OH has picked up from the net and on talking to someone at Sky.

It's not a major problem, but it does mean that most often, when one of them has gone on, the other moans that their game is lagging when they then go on.

Boys and their toys :rolleyes::rotfl: