Cheapest Broadband Provider Discussion

charley

barebumundermakilt wrote:

So how can I tell if my line is capable of 1mb or above?

Thanks in advance to the techies!

Scott

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/availability/btchecker.asp

N9eav

I have not read all the comments on this article. But I must say that it does not always take into account the service provided and helplines etc. Aol are now offering 1gb broadband for the old 512 price of £17.99 with no limits and free phone and on-line advice. I think that's not bad really. I am happy with it and the free help is really usefull too. I read a which report too that rated some of the common providers as poor in the service ratings. Also I have 7 screen names, one for each of my family, so everyone's happy.

Jim02

I disagree that an 'all-inclusive' package is best, for a couple of reasons:

1. You don't get to choose your connection hardware. Most providers will give you a cheap and often hard-to-set-up modem, but you're much better off with a router for reasons of protection, configuration etc. You can also choose a reliable, recommended make rather than whatever your ISP can get cheapest.

2. All-inclusive packages provide a modem and connection; BT charge £69.95 for connection, whether you're an ISP or a private user. The ISP will pass the cost on over the first year by charging a premium in their monthly charge (that's why they're all one-year contracts). Fair enough. However, in the second year, once you've effectively paid the company for these extras, do they drop the monthly charge? Of course not. Every year you pay for another modem and connection charge, even though you've already got both.

For the record, I'm with MetroNet. I was happy to pay the connection charge up front, as I know I'd pay it anyway, one way or another. I was also able to buy the router of my choice, the only setup involved was plugging it all together. It contains a hardware firewall and I've been delighted with it so far. It was about 50 quid, and I also had to buy a couple of filters. As MetroNet is still quite small compared to the likes of Tiscali etc., contention ratios are likely to stay small for the time being at least. MetroNet offer a 3-month rolling contract rather than a year, so if and when they stop being competitive I can move relatively quickly.

Rather than just going for a cheap headline monthly rate, I would recommend considering the total cost of ownership (TCO). www.adslguide.org.uk is a good place to start your research.

Galen_2

OK... This advice maybe too late for many and fairly obvious to most but it is certainly true for Broadband supply.
The level of customer Service is esp important for Newbies.

I can wholeheartedly recommend ADSLGuide as a place not only to source the cheapest but also the best BB providers.

You can compare between ISPs on price, service, connectivity*

The site is independent of all ISPs so no bias!!


*Yes despite the phrase, 'Always On' Broadband does sometimes drop- you want to pick an ISP that has a good record as far as this is concerned.

Galen
:A

tomtait

I was a subscriber to Tiscali broadband. Their technical support was very poor in my experience and I 'lost' my connection for 3 days on two occassions for planned maintenance but Tiscali did not have the courtesy to inform me of this. I spent 45 mins on the phone at national rate over the problem.

Furthermore you are locked into a 30 day notice period after a minimum of a year's subscription but Tiscali do not adhere to the industry's code of practice relating to changing subscribers. This means they will not pass on any information to your new broadband subscriber meaning that there could be a period of 15 days after the 30 day period when your telephone line will not be broadband enabled.

My experience of Tiscali was a poor one and I would caution others to take into account other factors such as customer service and reliability.

anitainjune

Help! I'm now totaly confused. I want to set up broadband for my student daughter and two friends for one year in an ntl area. they will need to work on their own PC's so is ntl the best for them and will a standard package cope with 3 pc's.

Alvin_Ardup

Sharpy wrote:

You should check out https://www.talktalk.co.uk. This offer is great and runs out on the 31st March so be quick

1mb for £14.99 per month - unlimited download

I signed up to this yesterday. The offer also gives free national evening and weekend call for the whole year. Good news following call18866's 100% price hike.

bry_3

I'm surprised you dont mention Freedom2surf.net in your review of best/cheapest broadband suppliers!

I've been with them since November, £14.99 per month, 2Mb connection and only one month terms, not 6 or 12 like many others. Also very good customer service etc. Found them via ADSLGuide.org.

Check them out

mattb_3

Please, please stay away from Tiscali!

There are so many things wrong with them! Have a read of this article for a start:

http://www.3dvelocity.com/articles/tiscali/broadband.htm

also check out http://www.adslguide.org as so many people have said.

Perhaps the worst thing about them is you can't just leave. It's not like switching electricity providers. Firstly you're tied into a 12 month contract and secondly, when you cancel you have to wait up to 15 working days (usually, sometimes it's more though) after you get disconnected before you can join another broadband ISP! Imagine switching electricity/water/gas providers and having to wait like this!

markkw

when i was looking to migrate from bt (£29.99 per month) i found that a lot of providers couldn't sign me up until i had actually cancelled with bt. this would mean a delay of around 10 days before i could start with the new provider.

however, i later learnt that there is an ofcom code of practice which allows an almost seamless transfer between ISPs that have signed up to the code.

the relevant to ofcom web page is: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer_guides/bbm_cop/?a=87101

in the end i migrated to virgin 512k with a 3gb limit at £17.99 per month. the migration took 12 hours, during which time i used a pay as you go product. i have been with virgin for about 5 months now and am happy to recommend their service as i have had little reason to contact them. see http://www.virgin.net/internetaccess/broadband/

best regards


mark