Agh - my head hurts - what ISP? Please Please help!!!

RACHIE77

Hi everyone

I know this question is asked millions and millions of times but I really am going ceeerazy here trying to choose which ISP to go with!

My needs are fairly high, but i want it to be as cheap as possible (of course!)

• I am always using the PC and we have a laptop and a PC on the same connection, often downloading music and large files - so we need an unlimited (or very high) download limit.

• I would prefer a 8MBps connection but I can't seem to find out for sure if we can get higher than 2MBps, I'm sure the connection we have at the moment is faster than that but on a test I did the other day it says we could only get 2??

• I want a half decent ISP, am currently with Tiscali who have slowed my connection down big time with their Fair User Policy Also Don't want to go with anyone that seems to be causing people trouble (I have had trouble with AOL in the past, mainly with the stupid software they send)

• I dont need a modem as already have a wireless router & setup

• I have a BT landline (:() and am in a non Cable area

• I already have my MAC code from Tiscali

Any ideas? From what I can see my options so far are:

****************************************************

Talk Talk:
£29.99 with Talk 3 package
(Can't get free Talk Talk Broadband)

Sky:
(Can't get free Sky Broadband and dont really want the TV package)

Madasafish:
£25.99 a month for the first six months and £29.99 thereafter
Up to 8Mb (50GB Download Cap)

Supanet:
£19.99 for unlimited (up to 8Mb) Broadband - with Talk Package

Virgin:
£17.99 a month for Unlimited (Up to 8Mb) Broadband (£19.99 with talk package)

BT:
£22.99 per month for first 3 months £26.99 thereafter
Up to 8Mb (Unlimited Download Cap)

Eclipse Internet:
£29.99 a month Up to 8Mb (40GB Download Cap)


Ummm... Any other ideas?? It looks like Virgin or Supanet at the mo??

RACHIE77

My CURRENT Speed test using this site:
http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/broadband_speed_test.html shows:

(lowest) 803Kb
to
(highest) 1.6Gb
at the mo



My POTENTIAL Speed using this site:
http://www.broadbandchecker.co.uk/broadband-checker.php shows:

* Your line should be capable of supporting estimated download speeds of 6Mbps up to 8Mbps.

MickMack

Don't you need to be in a Cable area to get Virgin??

Didn't they used to be Telewest/NTL which were a cable company as opposed to the usual providers who run on top of an existing BT phone line?

Just a thought since you said you live in a non Cable area!

RACHIE77

MickMack wrote: »

Don't you need to be in a Cable area to get Virgin??

Didn't they used to be Telewest/NTL which were a cable company as opposed to the usual providers who run on top of an existing BT phone line?

Just a thought since you said you live in a non Cable area!

They do either, its just the packages are different I think??

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/service.do?id=2
Where do you live?

Depending on where you live, there are two ways to get Virgin Broadband:

• By fibre optic cable (on cable)
• Or down your phoneline (non-cable)

Either way, you can look forward to a better service and a fairer deal.
To see which one is available in your area, check your postcode now.

MickMack

Realistically does anyone ever get anywhere near 8Mbps data rates ever?
For one thing it depends on who you are connecting to when you download files and how busy their server is or what level on internet connection they have.
Also when you do a speed test (you said you had more than one computer) make sure that the other computer(s) are not connected to the internet at the same time or that there isn't alot of network activity going on on your home network as this will affect the speed test.

MickMack

RACHIE77 wrote: »

They do either, its just the packages are different I think??

Cool i didn't realise that!!!

We were Telewest customers that just got transferred across to Virgin when they merged.

I will be interested to see what others say as we are thinking about changing. Currently we have phone Tv and BBand package and to be honest its not that great a deal.
The BBand is good, pretty good price wise (2Mbit i think) but the phone deal isn't that competitive (free evening and weekend calls for a fixed monthly fee) and the basic TV package isn't any better that Freeview but you don't seem to be able to cancel it and keep the phone and broadband!!!

RACHIE77

MickMack wrote: »

I will be interested to see what others say as we are thinking about changing. Currently we have phone Tv and BBand package and to be honest its not that great a deal.
The BBand is good, pretty good price wise (2Mbit i think) but the phone deal isn't that competitive (free evening and weekend calls for a fixed monthly fee) and the basic TV package isn't any better that Freeview but you don't seem to be able to cancel it and keep the phone and broadband!!!

I think the one I was looking at was just for Broadband? Not really worried about the phone as we use our mobiles most of the time and can't get the TV package without the cable line, I don't think??

moonrakerz

I think Broad Band suppliers are the ultimate case of "you gets what you pays for" !

I tried Tiscali & Plusnet at £14.99 a month, both of them gave rapidly declining speed and service as their popularity increased - due to their price. Talk Talk is probably the ultimate example of this.

I have now changed to Zen at £24.99 a month. This was done on several personal recommendations and trawling round many web sites.

I can't fault them. I had to contact them a couple of times during and immediately after the change over - instant response to my phone calls and e-mails ! I think I know where I am going to stay.

RACHIE77

Thanks Moonrakerz - comments like these are really helpful! I might look at Zen - I guess the price will even out in the long run if I am sitting staring at a slow PC I will wish I had gone for the better provider ey!

RACHIE77

No more ideas?

smcaul

Only another Zen fan here, they don't really do unlimited though, but do have a high 50Gb (I think) usage limit on their top package. The others you mention also have a FUP and so are not unlimited. Zen also has the benefit of no traffic shaping and only 1 month contracts so if your not happy you can leave and are not tied for 12 or 18 months.

HTH.