Anyone here using Freeview?

0scar123

I am currently with Virgin and am seriously considering Freeview, which will shortly be available in my area, as an alternative. My concerns are, which would be my best options for phone and Internet access?
I have been a customer of Virgin since the pre-ntl days, but, as a pensioner, I find their continuing price increases burdensome.
Any advice welcome.

victor2

You can stay with Virgin for your phone and broadband, just drop the TV from the package. Probably best to call them and see what package they can offer. I find the best approach is to say that you're thinking of leaving them altogether and ask what bundles they can offer for just phone and broadband. I get just those two from them and am on a "Loyalty Pack" for BB/Phone where I get a £19.46 discount per month. My service charges work out at £25.98 a month, which includes "M" broadband (10mb/s), talk unlimited on the phone, caller display, talk international and talk mobile. Didn't particularly want the last two, but it was part of the deal. The talk unlimited is good - you can call any UK 01, 02 or 03 number free for up to an hour at any time of the day. Doesn't include 0845 or 0844 numbers though, which can be a bit of a pain as they are quite expensive with Virgin.
Look up the cost of the cheapest competitor before calling, so that you can say "I'm thinking of switching to ??????" when you call. They've never pointed out to me that I would have to pay the installation cost of a new line if I switched!

brewerdave

Freeview is fine if you are happy with the 5 "national" TV stations and their offshoots eg BBC1,2,3 & 4. No good if you are hooked on Discovery Realtime,Sci Fi,Living etc

Inactive

I use Freeview, it has a wealth of free channels, Yesterday, Quest, Dave 1 and 2 to name just a few.


Far better than paying Sky or Virgin for their mainly imported dross.

david39

I'm surprised that Freeview isn't already available in your area.
It runs alongside the old analogue signal from most transmitters now -it doesn't just suddenly start when they switch off analogue (Digital Switchover Day).

If you put your postcode and house number into
http://www.freeview.co.uk/availability/
it will tell you if you can get it now.

thefenman

I agree that "digital aerial" is not really an accurate description but you do need a broadband aerial, not one just tuned to the local analogue channels.

Inactive

thefenman wrote: »

I agree that "digital aerial" is not really an accurate description but you do need a broadband aerial, not one just tuned to the local analogue channels.

I think that you mean Wide Band, in many locations they are not necessary, my TV Aerial is over 30 years old, was made and installed well before digital TV was even dreamed up, but still works just fine with Freeview.

macman

The OP's actual question was not about Freeview's viability, but, in the absence of VM cable, 'what are my phone and internet options?'
OP, you cannot have any other service than VM through your cable line (there are no other national cable suppliers), so in order to use an ADSL-based internet/phone service, you first need to get a landline reconnected or installed. Unless you do that, you are stuck with VM forever.
I suggest you consult www.samknows.com for your broadband options-as broadband is exchange specific, no-one can tell you what is best without knowing what is available on your exchange. Do an exchange search and look for your LLU options, these will be the best deals for you.

0scar123

Thanks to all for the input. I will now sift through your suggestions to see what my best option is.
Happy New Year to all!
0scar.

macman

Post the samknows LLU options and proper advice can be given.

cdam

I have freeview on the TV that I also have my Sky package, and freesat in the spare room. The picture quality on freeview (we switched off analogue some time ago) is brilliant, BBC and ITV pictures easily as good as Sky HD. Whereas the Freesat pics the same as Sky,