Updated Find the cheapest broadband discussion thread

opportunity_cost

Supanet are cheap but you'll struggle to find a Supanet user that recommends their service. Good find, though. The more of these terrible 'cheap' broadband deals we can warn against, the better the choices MSErs will make.


*** I urge anyone who's thinking about switching ISPs to check the feedback for any given provider on DSL ZoneUK, thinkbroadband and ISPreview ***

whizzocki

opportunity_cost wrote: »

Supanet are cheap but you'll struggle to find a Supanet user that recommends their service. Good find, though. The more of these terrible 'cheap' broadband deals we can warn against, the better the choices MSErs will make.

I must be the only one, but I've been with Supanet for over two years, and they've been fine: reliable, no-frills, cheap. I have a limited bandwidth package, but even when I do go a bit over, they tend to let me off - can't say fairer than that!

tabone

Can anybody give me any info on ID Net? I'm thinking of going with them. Not the cheapest but seem a good provider.

opportunity_cost

tabone wrote: »

Can anybody give me any info on ID Net? I'm thinking of going with them. Not the cheapest but seem a good provider.

They're one of the best providers but their prices are not competitive. If you're looking to pay a bit more for a top ISP with great customer service, O2 Broadband and Entanet are as highly rated as IDNet but they're significantly cheaper and offer much more generous allowances.

Speedee

opportunity_cost wrote: »

No, it's just not worth the hassle. You may save a couple of pounds a month by getting line rental from someone else than BT but by doing that, you tie yourself to that provider for your broadband, which is a bad idea since most of those providers offering line rental + broadband bundles are poorly rated ISPs offering sub-standard broadband products.

There's no way around BT's line rental even if you don't make any calls from that line, I'm afraid . Sticking with BT is a necessary evil if you want the greatest choice of broadband providers. I retaliate by using 18185, 1899 and whatever 5p/min calls to mobiles phoneyourgranny provider Martin's call checker throws at me. :rotfl:

O2 Broadband would be your best option @ £12.50/month (or £10.83/month if you top up an O2 PAYG phone with £10 every 3 months), unlimited/undefined usage, up to 8Mbit.

If you can't get O2 Broadband, given your usage needs, UK Online @ £14.99/month, 2Mbit, unlimited/undefined usage is your next best option. If you can't get that either, go for one of the Entanet resellers (UKFSN, ADSL24, Aquiss, Vivaciti, Freeola, TitanADSL, Xifos, Falconnet) @ £19.99/month, up to 8Mbit, 30GB peak/300GB off-peak usage allowance.

Thanks for this tip. I wish I had read it sooner, although it isn't too late for me, just that I've wasted ages ending up at dead ends!!

I thought I had found a bargain with O2's offer, but it's not available to me!

I shall have to stay with BT Line rental anyway, as my exchange is small (<1000 users) and there is no LLU presence from anyone, and I suppose it is unlikely too!

Can you give me any other advice for a good value broadband provider, as dial-up is getting too expensive and frustrating! :mad: I don't really want BT Broadband either, not value for money.
My indicated top speed is 3.5Mbps; and with iplayer etc, getting more useful, a high usage allowance would be prudent too, I suppose?

Thanks, Speedee getting no where fast (as usual)!

opportunity_cost

Speedee wrote: »

I shall have to stay with BT Line rental anyway, as my exchange is small (<1000 users) and there is no LLU presence from anyone, and I suppose it is unlikely too!

Can you give me any other advice for a good value broadband provider, as dial-up is getting too expensive and frustrating! :mad: I don't really want BT Broadband either, not value for money.
My indicated top speed is 3.5Mbps; and with iplayer etc, getting more useful, a high usage allowance would be prudent too, I suppose?

Given what's available to you, I'd recommend the Entanet resellers (UKFSN, ADSL24, Vivaciti, TitanADSL or Falconnet). Entanet are one of the best ISPs around and their allowances are quite generous.

Go for the 30GB peak* / 300GB off-peak** package @ £19.99/month if you don't wanna be having to watch your iPlayer and other bandwidth-hungry programs usage.


*Peak hours are defined as Monday to Friday 08:00 to 22:00
**Off-peak is defined as Monday to Thursday 22:00 to 08:00 and Friday 22:00 through to Monday 08:00

Speedee

opportunity_cost wrote: »

Given what's available to you, I'd recommend the Entanet resellers (UKFSN, ADSL24, Vivaciti, TitanADSL or Falconnet). Entanet are one of the best ISPs around and their allowances are quite generous.

Go for the 30GB peak* / 300GB off-peak** package @ £19.99/month if you don't wanna be having to watch your iPlayer and other bandwidth-hungry programs usage.

*Peak hours are defined as Monday to Friday 08:00 to 22:00
**Off-peak is defined as Monday to Thursday 22:00 to 08:00 and Friday 22:00 through to Monday 08:00

Thanks for this. It would of taken me a time to come across them!! I am a bit confused though; if 'samknows' says Entanet (and all the others on his list aren't available in my exchange, (although it is enabled for broadband, with BT), can I still use an Entanet reseller?

I was thinking of getting a cheap Sky subscription (for the Superbike racing on British Eurosport) and using them, £17 for broadband and free or maybe the next package up for home phone. I think you pay BT your line rental still, so I assume you can still use switch-through companies for UK mobile and overseas mobiles. But I'm still wary of getting too many services from one company!

DatabaseError

samknows is listing the LLU side of things, entanet do have a llu side, but not in the same way as the others (enta is trialling 21cn), if bt have enabled the exchange for adsl then entanet are an available option, if you rely (you really shouldn't) on your isp for email, then ukfsn are best avoided, but the others, vivaciti, adsl24 et al are ok.
you mention high usage, i don't consider the 40gb offered from sky to be 'high', while the 330gb from enta is a little excessive for most (i average about 80b/month, so plenty of headroom)

moonrakerz

The trouble is with this thread is that someone says "I have JoeBloggsISPLtd as my ISP. I get 100gb (peak) and unlimited off peak, per week. 100mb download speeds ALL the time. The call centre is 0800 and is guaranteed to answer on the second ring or you get your annual payment back. Oh - and it is in the UK !"

Three million people immediately move to JoeBloggs and their system collapses under the load !!

When I go to football at the Emirates, I have found a way to get onto the train after the game without queuing for half an hour to get into the tube station - and get a seat every time .
Am I going to tell 60,000 people how I do it - am I ******************** !!

opportunity_cost

Speedee wrote: »

Thanks for this. It would of taken me a time to come across them!! I am a bit confused though; if 'samknows' says Entanet (and all the others on his list aren't available in my exchange, (although it is enabled for broadband, with BT), can I still use an Entanet reseller?

I was thinking of getting a cheap Sky subscription (for the Superbike racing on British Eurosport) and using them, £17 for broadband and free or maybe the next package up for home phone. I think you pay BT your line rental still, so I assume you can still use switch-through companies for UK mobile and overseas mobiles. But I'm still wary of getting too many services from one company!

That Entanet entry that Samknows is showing is for Entanet LLU service, which is an altogether different service to Entanet ADSL Max (ADSL Max being the bog standard way in which people get broadband via a BT line).

If you have a BT line you can get Entanet, no problem. No Entanet reseller is offering LLU yet, so all the packages you see on UKFSN, ADSL24, etc. are for the ADSL Max product.

That £17 for broadband Sky would offer you is the Sky Broadband Connect package, which, unlike the other Sky broadband packages (Max/Mid/Base, the LLU ones you can't get), has a poor reputation. It's just not worth paying £17/month for an unreliable Sky Broadband Connect service with a 40GB usage limit when you can get Entanet 30GB/300GB package for £20/month.

Just take Sky TV on its own or with the free Sky Talk package if you like. Alternatively, you could get Eurosport the moneysaving way by DIYing your own satellite system and pointing the dish towards Eurosport Germany (with English Sountrack) on 19.2E Analogue. Monthly cost: £0 :cool: