Looking for Fast Broadband, but not from the big five

Nanako

Hello everyone, I am currently with zen broadband. I picked them for their reputation and high quality support, i can say i've been pretty pleased with them during the several years i've been a customer. They were not the cheapest option by quite a significant margin, but I was happy to pay more in order to avoid the bottom-of-the-barrel experience i've had with less reputable corporations

Unfortunately, zen is no longer doing the job for me. I live in the east end of glasgow, at the end of a street. My current speed is somewhere between 11-16 mbps down, and 3-5 up. This is simply not enough for my continued needs.

I have contacted zen to no avail, i'd be happy to pay more, I've pestered them countless times and looked at every package they offer. But they assure me, they cannot possibly get me any faster speed than I currently have. So with a heavy heart, I am forced to look elsewhere.

Virgin is a big name around here, they do a lot of advertising, and have a lot of cables laid in my area.

They can definitely offer me roughly double speed at no extra cost over what i currently pay, or even 10x speed with a relatively affordable cost. Presumably through installing fibre lines to the home

But I frankly hate virgin. I object to using them on ethical grounds, along with the rest of the big five, BT, EE, sky and talktalk. If it is at all possible, I would prefer to avoid using any of these companies.  Not only that, but I am also worried about lock-in. Virgin will come and install their own-branded fibre cables at my house, but who really owns those? If i ended things with virgin, could another ISP continue providing me service using the same cables? Such as going back to zen?

Still, I do need more speed.

I know that having the best of all worlds is going to come at a cost, and I can pay.

I am interested in ISPs that are ethical, anti-censorship, and have good customer support.

Speed is of course a major concern, I don't have a specific target here beyond "more", a lot more than what i have now.

I would rather avoid contracts, and be free to leave anytime if i so wish.

Low prices are a low priority, i'll pay what it takes.

So with that in mind, can anyone recommend an ISP that can suit my needs?

Also questions about one specific supplier, does anyone have any experience with starlink?

It is available in my area, but the website doesn't give any specifics about speeds or caps

MikeJXE

In my experience Leicestershire, Virgin do their own ducting and their cable is swapped at the point of entry at your home BT box, if you leave them just switch it back. If you do a broadband search on Money supermarket and others they will inform you what providers are in your area.

Nanako

MikeJXE said:

In my experience Leicestershire, Virgin do their own ducting and their cable is swapped at the point of entry at your home BT box, if you leave them just switch it back. If you do a broadband search on Money supermarket and others they will inform you what providers are in your area.

that site doesn't exactly have filters to show the things i'm looking for though. Anti-censorship isn't a searchable property :P That's why i'm here, asking humans

It does have some quotes with acceptable speeds from...

NOW broadband

BT

Shell ENERGY broadband

Vodafone

3

Plusnet

Onestream

Cuckoo

I don't know much about most of these companies, can anyone advise on how well each fits my other criteria?

MikeJXE

I think you will struggle to get what your looking for as regards to ethics, even a cable from Westminster or in your case Holyrood wouldn't be able to provide that.

Nanako

MikeJXE said:

I think you will struggle to get what your looking for as regards to ethics, even a cable from Westminster or in your case Holyrood wouldn't be able to provide that.

its about the effort. Nobody can just ignore government censorship, but i would at least like an ISP that does the minimum possible compliance.

I did a bit of research and found that the big five are more heavily regulated in that regard than others, hence a desire to avoid them

400ixl

Zen I believe use the Openreach network as the local infrastructure provider. This would be the same for any of the other providers other than those with dedicated infrastructure like Virgin.

So if you can only get the speed you quote from Zen, then any ISP utilising the Openreach infrastructure will be the same. 

Unless you can find a provider who has their own infrastructure other than Virgin then you will be stuck with the Openreach speeds.

As for your question about Virgin infrastructure and could another provider us it if you later left Virgin, then the answer is no, that is Virgin owned and exclusive to them.

littleboo

You need to define "ethical".  You mention Starlink, I think a lot of people would question the ethics of Elon Musk. What is your problem with the mainstream providers?

BUFF

Have CityFibre not dug up your street yet (if they haven't they will, wait for the chaos)? That will give you an alternative to Openreach for carriers but whether they are any better/more ethical ...

Most ISPs will want a minimum term contract or you will pay a significantly higher price for freedom to leave.

[Deleted User]

I am interested in ISPs that are ethical, anti-censorship, and have good customer support.

Try AAISP. Their CS is exceptional but it comes at a premium. Their CEO posts under Rev K Ramblings:

https://www.revk.uk/

He has posted a lot about censorship in the past.

MikeJXE

How about going through a VPN ? 

Jonboy_1984

Almost all services except Virgin travel through BT openreach cables.

Virgin do normally install their own cables and will leave the BT openreach installation intact if you ask (they seem to have a helpful habit of chopping sky tv cables and reusing holes through walls locally if allowed).

Plusnet are the low frills arm of BT (retail arm).

Now are part of Sky.

Vodafone apparently seem to block access to Tor and the dark web etc.