Cheapest Broadband Provider Discussion

theloft

Thanks to MSE Martin for that comprehensive explanantion. :T I realise now that it is the overall picture you have to portray. The best advice is for people to read the posts and make their choice accordingly. "You pays your money and takes your choice" . I for one will not be going to Tiscali though especially as they provide a datastream service, which means you cannot easily migrate to a provider with IP stream, and you have to pay another connection charge.

polaris_sl750

http://www.talktalk.co.uk/talktalk/servlet/gben-broadband-Home?NODE_ID=6920

Monkey_3-2

Im now with BT's 2mb service. Im not sure how it compares exactly with the other providers vs. cost but i have had absolutely no bother with them and their customer support is excellent.... unlike Tiscali. I tried them first and had nothing but problems, installing, receiving and then using their service and their customer support is based in India i think and they couldnt understand or help me and refused to put me through to a supervisor, cutting me off instead on numerous occasions. Heaven only knows how much i wasted on calls to their 'customer support' 0870 number. Avoid Tiscali at all costs! :mad:

Celtic

As I have cable telephone and broadband and am fed up with the service can any one please suggest an alternative without switching back to bt for broadband ?

klay321

I notice that some people are finding really cheap broadband packages, but are suffering service or customer service problems. We all know that cheapest is best in most cases, but if you are using your connection for business (as I am), and you are not a tech head (like I'm not!), these sort of problems can cost you a lot in the long term. It's a difficult factor to quantify, but "time is money" (as Gordon Gecko would say.... Sorry for sad 80's reference!).

I'm using SJR24/7 and although it's not quite the rock bottom cheapest, if you are unable to connect to some of the "cheaper" providors due to their "monthly sign up limit" etc SJR24/7 has Free Migration, No Monthly Downloads, A Choice of Contention Ratios (standard or business packages) & no minimum Contracts to sign up to. Obviously, as I'm writing this my experince of the connection has been excelent and I have been happy to reccommend the provider to family & friends - over 5 have signed up (I don't earn commision before you ask!).

Prices and sign up are at [URL=http://]www.sjr247.co.uk [/URL] . Hope it saves you some time/money/hair!

:rotfl:

crunchy_with_ketchup

Celtic wrote:

As I have cable telephone and broadband and am fed up with the service can any one please suggest an alternative without switching back to bt for broadband ?

The only alternative without a BT line would be satellite or wirless. Wireless is only available in tiny pockets of the UK, satellite in most areas. However, it would probably be cheaper to install a BT line even if you keep you cable one rather than going for satellite access.

Martin

VinnieX

gabrielharrison wrote:

Unless their customer support has changed I recommend you avoid Tiscali. I was with them and had minor technical problems but had a nightmare trying to sort things out because their technical support was so busy and the staff frequently couldn't understand what I was saying.

See www.adslguide.org.uk/isps/compare.asp

I am now with Zen who are expensive but have their support in the UK and I even have a standard code phone number for them.

Gabriel

I note that Martin is recommending Tiscali as an ISP, my simple advice to you is "don't"

They may be cheap, but they are (in my experience) a nightmare.

I have been:
Frequently overcharged
had a really slow unreliable service.
Ignored on email
and
Ignored on the phone.

and to top it all, my 512k line is often slower than the AOL dialup that I came from (and I thought they were bad).

In my opinion, they are oblivious to their customers, the performance of their network is temperamental at best and their tech support people may as well be asleep for all the good they do!

You pay's your money and takes your choice, but in my opinion Tiscali are cheap for a reason...........they have a high turnover of customers and can't keep them because of an inadequate service and woeful lack of back up, so they have to attract new ones by offering low prices.

Oh and beware, Tiscali don't support continuations should you decide to leave their pitiful service, which could leave you high and drive without a service at all until they declare their line free (which they seem to do deliberately) to your new ISP.

Don't say you haven't been warned!

Farewell tiscali, I'd like to say its been nice.......but it hasn't!

Jolaaled

theloft wrote:

Thanks to MSE Martin for that comprehensive explanantion. :T I for one will not be going to Tiscali though especially as they provide a datastream service, which means you cannot easily migrate to a provider with IP stream, and you have to pay another connection charge.

I called talk talk bb. They tie you in for one year and also use datastream. Think i'll keep with virgin for now

crunchy_with_ketchup

Jolaaled wrote:

I called talk talk bb. They tie you in for one year and also use datastream. Think i'll keep with virgin for now

They do lock you in for a year (and have some other odd stuff in their T&Cs AFAICR) but they don't use Datastream (or they couldn't support inward migration, which they do).

VinnieX

Its just a thought Martin, but its quite possible that you're damaging your own reputation by recommending Tiscali.

If I were in your position I wouldn't do it again, in my opinion they are blatantly inadequate to the task or service they offer and some of the people who trust you may well be upset with the result of your recommendation.

My own experience is abosolutly abismal and of all the hundreds of posts on other forums I've read, I can't find one that says "yes, tiscali are the best ever" or even "their service is quite adequate"

Its wrong m8, don't allow them to ruin your good name!