Best broadband for first time user

HeMan_3

Hi all my aunt is looking to get BB and has currently got a BT phone line. She has decided to get BB, however only uses the net to check e-mails (i would say she use's less then 200 mb per month).

Could anyone suggest a cheap broadband service for here.

I looked at NTL £9.99 however its not avilable in her area.


Thanks.

mike_paterson

e7 still have a great deal on at present - 1M broadband for £10 a month - no capping.

Cheers
Mike

MDUK

as i have a spare modem might be worth trying - Mike FYI it is a new install, rather than a switch from BT,

Just to explain where i am coming from, my wife is a small business owner and is employing somebody who will work at their home. They will need broadband as much of the work involves copywriting and sending/receving hi-res images. Dial up simply wouldn't be enough.

My wife is going to supply the Broadbanad as part of her employment package. I will install Skype so they can talk for free (as the learning curve will be quite steep and they will need to talk alot) i will set up a contract for 18866 (which i learnt about on the forum) and as the amount of calls she makes on behalf of the business increases i will provide an orchid dialler (also learnt about on here)

And that is why i wanted to find a cheap but reliable provider.

many thanks

MD

innovate

MDUK, unless you have already done this, I would recommend you do a few more comparisons based on your expected usage profile - - 18866 may well not be your best bet since their rates for mobile calls are just not the best

Their calls to UK mobiles are 14 p, 0845 is 3p and 0870 7p. You can get this from Dialwise for 4p (10 p less!!), 2p and 5p respectively. Only rate 18866 beats Dialwise in is UK landline calls.

MDUK

No i haven't done anything yet and there will be a reasonable number of calls to mobiles. Would i be able to programme the orchid dialler to use 18866 for landline, and dial wise for mobile and linklines?

gogsboy

innovate wrote:

MDUK, unless you have already done this, I would recommend you do a few more comparisons based on your expected usage profile - - 18866 may well not be your best bet since their rates for mobile calls are just not the best

Their calls to UK mobiles are 14 p, 0845 is 3p and 0870 7p. You can get this from Dialwise for 4p (10 p less!!), 2p and 5p respectively. Only rate 18866 beats Dialwise in is UK landline calls.

Dialwise mention a low cost access number for example 0844 462 49 49....are these 0844 numbers freephone and if so can they be used from mobiles that allow freephone access of course to make it worthwhile

innovate

MDUK wrote:

Would i be able to programme the orchid dialler to use 18866 for landline, and dial wise for mobile and linklines?

It is my understanding you can do just that - basically, the dialler just automates what you can do manually. And you can manually dial any prefix you like. But call the Orchid guys and get them to confirm it (don't forget to dial a prefix for their 0870 number

innovate

gogsboy wrote:

Dialwise mention a low cost access number for example 0844 462 49 49....are these 0844 numbers freephone and if so can they be used from mobiles that allow freephone access of course to make it worthwhile

As I understand it, the Dialwise numbers are not freephone - you get charged at the rate they list for the number the instant you connect to it. But the nice thing is, the actual number you want to call is also charged at that same rate then.

Quoting from the Dialwise FAQ:
So for example, if you make a 5 minute call to South Africa from a BT phone via access number 0844 428 45 45 which is charged at 4p/min; Next time you get your BT bill you will see a call to our 0844 428 45 45 number, a duration of 5 minutes and a total charge of 5 min x 4p = 20p

The only possible snag is that you pay whilst the actual number is being called - i.e. if in the above example the South Africa number isn't answered for a minute, you pay 4p to listen to a ring tone.......I personally don't consider this an issue since it would only ever be tiny amounts, easily recouped by the savings I can make on calls that connect.

Regarding mobiles and these access codes, Dialwise says:
Yes, you can. However be aware that you may be surcharged by your mobile operator. How much you will be charged depends on your mobile operator and which tariff plan you have. Please note your mobile operator controls this rate on their billing system. We unfortunately have no influence on what they may charge, nor do we receive a penny extra of any surcharge.
We advise you to get in touch with your mobile phone provider to double check their rates to our access numbers

I haven't yet investigated this with my mobile provider, perhaps someone has?

BexTech

MDUK wrote:

I will install Skype so they can talk for free (as the learning curve will be quite steep and they will need to talk alot)

Might be worth considering Sipgate (https://www.sipgate.co.uk) over Skype, you can get a local (or national) phone number at not cost, it is also not a proprietary system like Skype, you can call other Sipgate users for free as well as many other SIP networks, also you may later want to go down the route of using a hardware SIP phone.

Edinburghlass_2

Can we bear in mind on this thread what the OP was, internet connection for broadband

There is plenty of information on the Home Phones boards regarding the use of 18866/1899, Orchid, Dialwise and the cheapest method of phoning mobiles and most of the answers to the questions can already be found there.

Spilt_Milk

I'm with Pipex - they've been really good - they give you everything and let you get on with it. The support is good if you need it. They're not the cheapest but they're pretty competitive.

Stay well away from BT. They are a shower of s***s.

When I moved in to my new place I was on hold for 56 minutes when I phoned to become a new customer!