Cheapest Broadband Provider Discussion

sale_2

hi all,

could be a stupid query, but imp. for me.........i have BT option 2 and wanadoo broadband. now can i switch my BT line with anyone as there are plenty of cheap provider. i am reluctant to do this cause wanadoo needs a BT line and i am tied up with wanadoo for a yr as everyone. if my understanding is correct the phone network is mainly BT / NTL etc and rest are all using them. i don't use much of my land line and wasting money on option 2. instead i am planning to take a contract mobile phone and use that to save some money.

cheers....

BexTech

You could use another provider like OneTel for line rental, but saving 50p per month on the line rental is not worth it, there is also IT plus who charge £8.50 per month, but have a rolling 12 month contract, and charge a joining fee. You can however use other ADSL suppliers over these lines, but you are prevented from using other phone carriers for cheap calls.

You would do best staying with BT for the line rental and dropping down to option 1, at £10.50 per month. Use a CPS (carrier pre-select) provider where your calls are automatically routed via another provider like OneTel or TalkTalk (£10 credit when you get recommended, which I can do) this will give you free weekend UK landline calls. Then use 18866 (https://www.call18866.co.uk) for your weekday landline calls, these will only be 2p per call, and weekend mobiles at 3p/min. Use 1899 (https://www.call1899.co.uk) for calls to mobiles 10p/min daytime.

Opting for a contract mobile will in most circumstances work out a lot dearer than if you just tried to contact people on their landlines first, and then as a last resort their mobiles and then for short calls. It's not worth spending £25+ / month on a mobile for minutes you probably wouldn't normally use, and end up wasting them on landline calls just to use them up.

slazman

Being cautious here, I'll just check out cheapest is not best SO I need feedback!

I'm migrating from BT (they could only give me three months 1MB at £16.99 to try and keep me! and I'm back up to £24.99) - they are reliable and that's what I want plus a no hassle transfer.

I need 512k link and would prefer unlimited access as I don't want to have to bother about what I am using - I also want a provider who migrates (I have my code) so Tiscali won't do!

Looking at EFHBroadband and V21 at the moment - any experiences you want to share? Anyone else I should look at - are ADSL4Less in it for the long term?

Help!

stuartw101

I currently have aol dial up and have a bt land line, i am looking to get broadband and was wondering who i should go with and the costs involved, i dont want to have to change my phone line provider.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

BexTech

Might be worth looking at http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk / http://www.adslguide.org.uk/

I am currently with Pipex who may not be the cheapest, but are extremely reliable.

My line is with BT, my calls via TalkTalk (CPS), 18866 and 1899.

stuartw101

plusnet look good, what you think?

oranabana

navid wrote:

If one doesn't want to sign for 2 years to get the free connection then will it be possible to sign with isp like virgin.net (free connection/modem/activation/no 12 months contract) just for a month and then migrate free to euro1net.com and sign for 1 year?

I have done just that in Dec 04. Although I did not go for the free modem option (its just a USB modem anyhow). Initially they gave me some grieve - not for moving, but wanted to make me pay for one additional months (notice period), depsite me having given them notice by e-mail exactly one month before getting my new ISP (ADSL4Less) active.

In the end I just cancelled my credit card and things have been alright since. I think the secret is to get them to issue you a MAC and then find ou the new activation date, for which you then sent notice to Virgin one month prior...

>;-)

webmasterpolo

crunchy_with_ketchup wrote:

It's important to note when comparing broadband deals that there are two types of connection.

The most common type is IPstream, and users of an IPstream service can switch between providers (subject to any minimum contract length) at a low cost with no loss of service.

Some providers (including Tiscali and Bulldog) install their own equipment in local exchanges, and you connect to this (service known as Datastream). If you have a Datastream product and want to change service providers, you have to cease your ADSL line and then get it reprovided, which normaly takes 7-10 days *and* you can't get the lower cost "migration" fee, you have to pay a new connection fee.

Also Datastream services can have real capacity problems, as the ISPs often use low bandwidth lines from each exchange, so if there are a lot of users locally your speed can hit the floor.

So, while Tiscali are undeniably cheap, switching away will be difficult, and you may encounter more problems with lack of speed.

Very interesting, I didn't know anything about this. Is there a list or a way of finding out from each of the broadband providers which one they are? Would be useful when making a decision.

Madasafish_Customer_Care

Dear Money Saving Experts,

Madasafish was recently featured in Martin’s article on low cost broadband providers; and we’re very pleased about this! We feel that our 4 month free migration offer can’t be beat and we were happy for the mention.

Being a fan of Money Saving Expert myself, I would like to make myself available in this forum to those who signed up for the services because of the article or anyone who has any further questions or comments about our services. We would like to make certain that anyone who did sign up because of Martin is happy with our services.

Prior to posting this message, we have received the proper permission to post in this forum from the site administrators.

I am part of the Customer Care team at Madasafish - if you prefer to not have your query posted on this forum, please e-mail us through our website and we'll get back to you straight away.

Happy money saving!

Kind regards,
Mara

terriermama

Follow up:on Bulldog for a month and a half now. They took 1.5 months to set me up in the first instance and then had problems in the first week - no internet connection, though tel was fine. Then everything was smooth for a while and the connection fast, but in last 2 weeks their entire system was down twice, one of which was for an entire weekend and last Wed. It's hellish to get through to Customer Service, and they never can give you an answer to your question when you do. Of course, the Sales dept always manages to answer on the first ring.
Good thing it's only a monthly contract. If things don't improve, I'll be changing providers again.

terriermama wrote:

Hi, newbie here. I took up Bulldog's offer of 4MB Internet, 'free' local and national calls anytime, at start of this month for £39.99 plus £1 connection. They haven't connected me yet but will re-post when all goes through on whether good or not.