Internet - broadband - recommendations

Glitterari

Mods please post in correct forum if this is the wrong place.


Does anyone have any suggestions of a good, reliable broadband company. Cost not such a big deal but would like at least 2mb speed.

Have tried tiscali and they messed me around so much (I ordered it on 14th Dec and cancelled my order today having still not received the installation kit and countless phonecalls with broken promises) so obviously won't be bothering with them again and want to avoid AOL as not heard good stories.
Thanks guys!

C xxx

Rikki

I'm with www.zen.co.uk Not the cheapest but Uk call centers and monthly contract.

I like them.

djchris_2

I can recommend Eclipse Internet from personal experience.

Reasons...
- A friend and I use them independently for work and for home and the speed and reliability is as good as ADSL gets
- Their tech support is accessible and helpful, not just robotic and procedure based
- The account management screens they give customers are better than average
- Prices for 8MB line with usable contention is £14.99/month. You won't get that fast unless you're quite close to the exchange, but if you do get it (I do!) it's great!

startrekker

i am with nt HELL:rotfl:
to be fair to them, i have never had a problem at all......plus its seperate to the telephone line so i never have any side issues like line degragation etc etc

kingmonkey

I would say it really depends on your needs.

eg. what do you think about capping and throttling and any other things you need like email, fixed IP address, webhosting, then you got to look at price.

Beebe

startrekker wrote:

i am with nt HELL:rotfl:
to be fair to them, i have never had a problem at all......plus its seperate to th ephone line so i never have any side issues like line degragation etc etc

Its deffo recommend cable if you can get it. ADSL especially ADSL max varies a lot on line quality. You could have one dodgy piece of wiring and it will be hell!

When i was on ADSL tho i was with Nidlram and they was very good.

Have a look round ThinkBoradband and see if that helps too.

C_Ronaldo

im with telewest on their 2mb line, its been pretty good, its uncapped but not sure if it will stay the same when the name chnages to virgin media

Mr_Dough

Like Rikki, I've beening using Zen for ~ 4 years and its been rock solid, have not had any outages or significant tech issues.
I have an 8mb connection for £24/month which includes 5 static IP addresses.

I use Zen at work and recommend their service to our clients.
Tech support is generally very good.

Also checkout Areti (https://www.areti.net), again not the cheapest, but very good technical support.


Hope this helps.

faz7875_2

I'm with UK online, 2mb unlimited for £15.00 a month. No extra packages you have to take, no real complaints, no hard sell.

Only issue I've had with my BB is that BT were crap at switching it on and switched it off once as well.

Only downside to the service is that no free router but you can buy theirs or get ur own, your choice.

My main reason for getting it tho, is that it's local loop and I live quite far away from my exchange so it offers a better service that 'normal' broadband for me.

HTH:D

Glitterari

Thanks for all your responses - now I have something to look at tomorrow!

Kingmonkey - I have to say I don't know what capping and throttling means tho I am pretty sure I won't be webhosting!

According to BT my line is capable of 6mb which is good (apparently). Although I've used the net loads before (work, uni, etc) I've never had it at home as I've only just got a pc that it would be worth having it on. I've already got a wireless router (the OH wanted it) and we bought that along with the pc from an independent shop - the guy who delivered the pc said he would set up the wireless once the broadband is ready as it's not an easy task to get right.

Am I right in thinking as I've got the wireless thingie - i won't need a modem....?????? Also will having wireless make a difference to what provider I should go with.

Thanks! C xxxx

faz7875_2

Glitterari wrote:

According to BT my line is capable of 6mb which is good (apparently).
I've already got a wireless router (the OH wanted it) and we bought that along with the pc from an independent shop - the guy who delivered the pc said he would set up the wireless once the broadband is ready as it's not an easy task to get right.

Am I right in thinking as I've got the wireless thingie - i won't need a modem....?????? Also will having wireless make a difference to what provider I should go with.

Some providers (like Sky) insist u use their equipment and it won't work without it but usually supply the router for free. But in essence, you can go wireless regardless of supplier.

Usually with a router, you have a modem built in but check the router manual - if it doesn't have a modem it will be described as a 'hub' or a 'switch' (IE, mine is desccribed as "4 point switch with wireless hub and built in modem" - I can connect 4 devices by cable then several by wireless and it has a modem built in). In the case that there isn't a built-in modem, the seperate modem sits between the phone line and the hub.

It can be tricky to set up a router but with the tech help guides on here and some info off the supplier's website it's not too hard as they are mostly the same settings (except for cable).

With local loop, you may get a better speed, best advice would be to go to the providers web sites and enter your number and post code on their sign up page and it will tell you what speed you will get with them.

Don't forget filters for every socket that uses phone/sky/cable box and wireless for each pc/laptop (whether built in or dongle or card).

HTH:D