so which broadband provider would YOU recommend?

Amazin

Im with VM atm. Terrible. Don't recommand it at all. Plusnet seems good. As a side question, are there any products out there that can improve the signal strength? My bedroom is slightly far from the router.

JJ_Egan

Plusnet BT
Home plugs or wifi extensions better router .

talktalktobt

What I would recommend is good for my area. I can't recommend one to you because I have no idea where you live or what you will be using it for.

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ is good for finding what speeds those around you are getting.

Pincher

Personally, I would run an Ethernet cable to a second location, and you can add a switch, extender, whichever. The flat Ethernet cable will go under the carpet or run along the gripper.

For borderline cases, try to replace the aerial(s) with a directional one on a wireless extender, which is also very flexible in terms of location.
The aerials are usually just screwed on.

CarlMalibu

Best ISP I have ever used (by a long shot) is Xilo/UNO
xilo.net/adsl_broadband/

Scroll to the bottom and look at their ADSL LLU services.

Faultless customer service, a small team of people who know a lot about their tech, and will work with you to solve problems.

Sadly their fibre offerings are ridiculously expensive (they say their price is set too high by BT), so I've ended up with mainstream providers, but if I ever need ADSL again or their prices drop on fibre I'll be there.

AAISP also gets good reviews for similar reasons.

Pincher

One more vote for Plusnet.

parttimeskint

I had BT and hated it, virgin was great speed wise but their cost traffic management, phone and TV let them down, sister has talk talk and has lots of issues, daughter has talk talk and has no problems.


I currently have fibre with sky and have no issue with it. initially speeds were well below the expected speeds but after talking with their CS and doing the checks they sent an openreach engineer who fitted a vdsl faceplate. After visit, speed was up above the high end of their estimate so very happy. And I only pay £10 for the Unlimited fibre service.


Anyone over 30 probably has 20 years of internet experience behind them and these days, you have to set your expectations along side the cost. if you pay nothing for your broadband service, should you be upset when it stops working and someone in an overseas call centre can't be of much help?


If you pay nothing, expect nothing. rant over.


Most ISP's now supply a router with wireless N 2.4GHz as standard which gives better range than older routers with the b and g standard. Some also have a 5 GHz dual band signal, either N or A. the 5GHz connection does give a better speed but has less range.


A good set of homeplugs and a decent router will sort your issue as far as coverage goes.


I don't like Sky's hub thing but you have to use it so I also use home plugs and have it connected to an Asus AC router at the other corner of the house. This gives me full coverage of the house and allows me to stream, copy and move stuff on and off the network drive I have attached, very fast. I also means if I move provider I can if wanted, keep the setup I have as the only things connected to the sky hub are via Ethernet.


Its swings and roundabouts. There is no best ISP..... only a service that suits an individuals needs and what is a priority to the user whether that be speed, cost, customer service, reliability and so on.


If you want all the above, expect to pay a premium with something like Zen.

teddysmum

parttimeskint wrote: »

I don't like Sky's hub thing but ..

Its swings and roundabouts. There is no best ISP..... only a service that suits an individuals needs and what is a priority to the user whether that be speed, cost, customer service, reliability and so on.

I like the Sky router, though I'd prefer a black one , as white can yellow over time. It is sturdy and the large lights make it easy to see which ones are lit, instead of having to walk over and look for tiny poorly lit ones.


However, I agree with the next paragraph, as there will be no provider that someone is not dissatisfied with and add that many ADSL services are similar, because they depend on a third party's wiring, over which they have no control.

parttimeskint

I have a black one....... actually have a spare black one too


......but still don't like them...... then again..... my needs are probably different

bigjim1974

The only one I've ever been happy with is IDNet, rock solid connection with very low latency and when you call customer services someone just picks up the phone straight away!