Need internet, not sure what route to go?

aliasojo

Moving into a rental property. Unsure as of yet for how long, could be the minimum 6 months or could be 12/18 months, just don't know yet.

The property is in a very rural area, it has a BT line installed but the phone isn't connected . There is also a Sky dish there but not sure yet if we want to get Sky.

We have mobiles so don't really need a home phone BUT we need good internet access for 4 people and a dongle or 2 just wont cut it.

We are not in an area where any of the 'select' type packages from O2 or Sky etc are available, it's all the default basic options that we have.

Suggestions as to what would be the best thing for us? I assume we need to approach BT first to get the phone connected? Do we have to be tied for a year? What happens if we move after 6 or 8 months? Are all BB options a year too?

Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks in advance.

i8change

You could try Plusnet. They are owned by BT but tend to be cheaper and have better customer services (UK based.)

They can re-connect the phone line and do short term contracts. I think the broadband is 10 days notice to leave but you will have to pay for the router.

O2/BE broadband do monthly but they are only a good choice if LLU. As you are in a rural location the are probably not unbundled/LLU at your local exchange.

If you go the BT route they may reconnect for free if you pay £10 per month up front (£120 for the year) for their "Line Rental Saver" which gives free weekend calls. You could then use 18185 for very cheap daytime calls etc.

You could have Plusnet for the broadband and Bt Line Rental Saver. It just depends whether you want to risk part of the £120 if you leave the rental before a year is up.

Zen also do monthly contracts for both BB and Phone and have an excellent reputation, but are expensive. Also not sure if they can re-connect the Phone line.

Hope the move goes well, sorry cannot be more helpful but most are 12 month contracts.

aliasojo

Thanks. The 10Gb monthly usage thing with Plusnet is a negative though. 4 people would tank that very quickly, especially if gaming online and downloading game add-ons etc.

i8change

The 10GB is only their cheapest option. They do 60GB for £11 but may charge a bit more if you are not in one of their cheap areas. Check to get the exact price for your postcode.

Also there are no limits on downloads between 12 midnight and 8am, which helps a bit.

aliasojo

i8change wrote: »

The 10GB is only their cheapest option. They do 60GB for £11 but may charge a bit more if you are not in one of their cheap areas. Check to get the exact price for your postcode.

Also there are no limits on downloads between 12 midnight and 8am, which helps a bit.

Didn't see that.

hareng

Have a look on samknows.co.uk even though most are not listed on that site, its about as good as it gets.
Avoid the biggies like TT, Plusnet, BT, etc what you will need is a decent aftersales service being so far from the exchange - worth its weight in gold!

Will need to pay line rental but why not go separate including weekend and eve calls etc sub £10 p/m https://www.yourcalls.net - 12 month contract though.
You can now choose any ISP offering a monthly contract such as https://www.adsl24.co.uk any BT line is suffice.

What exchange are you on?

Im_just_careful

I've found them good for technical support.

They have UK based people and my experience has been that they know what they are talking about.

aliasojo

As it happens, I called them this morning to query something and was impressed when a) the phone was answered promptly and b) the girl answered my query easily and didn't even attempt to sell me the package I was enquiring about. She gave me the info I needed and we ended the call. (If I do sign up, I'll be doing so through Quidco.)

I've done some searching round and the majority of views seem to be very positive.

i8change

Originally Posted by hareng
Avoid the biggies like TT, Plusnet, BT, etc what you will need is a decent aftersales service being so far from the exchange - worth its weight in gold!

Plusnet are pretty good for the price but if you were unlucky enough to have a problematic line and it was not getting sorted (sometimes there is a reluctance due to the associated costs of investigation/repair) then there is always the 10 day exit and a move to one of the more expensive/specialist ISP's listed in the link:-

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/11_Best_UK_Broadband_ISPs/01.php

Small businesses, home workers and those seeking stronger reliability in general often have to consider paying extra for higher quality. Here’s our pick of several highly reliable ISPs that have a tendency to place quality, support and service above price.

AAISP (Andrews and Arnold) in particular will make every effort to correct any problems you have, even if you are not with them currently but are migrating to them:-

http://www.aaisp.co.uk/broadband-trial.html

Give us a month and we'll sort your problem line or your money back.

If you are migrating your service to us, even though you know you have a problem with your line, we'll take on the fault. We'll tackle the problem and get it fixed within one month. If we don't then you can migrate away and owe us nothing for your migration to us and your service charges for that month.

An expensive solution, but it could be handy if you ever were unlucky and had big problems that need to be sorted more promptly than those with a lower price/profit margin could manage.