which broadband isp???

blinky

P2P is around 20Kb/s max. The way it works is that there is a set amount of bandwidth for P2P for BB Plus users so the actual speed depends on how many people are using it together.

Premier, the £21.99 package, the P2P speed is only slowed by 5-10% (traffic shaping). They do this mainly as a QoS (quality of service) thing so latency dependant traffic e.g. VOIP, gaming and to a lesser extent email, http/s. It also prevents the BT Centrals being maxed out.

Plusnet have been emailing / mailing people who have been consistently using >150Gb per month and asking them to reduce their usage or their service will be restricted. They also say in the same letters that anything over 100Gb per month is unsubstainable. (Their Average users uses about 7Gb per month).

ravenlooney

Thank you everyone who gave some great recommendations. I think i'll go with plusnet as from what I gather from what ive read is that they are unlimited, but dont like you going over 100gb. There no way im going to use all that. The price is perfect and as their customer service is good too apparently. Thanks again everyone!!

GeoThermal

Thanks for that. I don't use P2P but for things like Windows Updates, antivirus updates and other direct downloads I would prefer to get the full speed of whatever BB package I was on. Are direct downloads affected by the traffic shaping?

blinky

They shouldn't be.

amateur_saver

GeoThermal wrote:

I notice they use bandwidth shaping on the £14.99 package meaning they slow down file downloads in favour of web browsing and email at peak times. How have you found that? It's one of things that put me off going with them as I couldn't find out how much of an impact it had, ie is it 5kbps - 20kbps slower or down to dialup speeds?

To be honest - I don't notice much difference at all. It is still quick, and no definately not as slow as dial up ! It is still really speedy...



A_S xx

CopperPlate_2

Can recommend Waitrose.com. 3 months free (saving £57) if you've your own modem. No connection fee or modem charge if you don't possess one. 5GB download limit and 2MB transfer rate. Free technical support phone number 24/7. Prompt responses to email queries and even have your questions answered properly!

Also all profits go to charity of your choice.

CP

http://www.waitrose.com/web_access/broadband/index.asp

Happy_Shrimper

Count me in for the Plusnet recommendation. Been with them 7+ years now, dial-up and BB. Excellent in every department for me although having a slightly disappointing time the customer services at the moment as I want to downgrade from Prem to PAYG (21.99 down to £14.99) and am told that I have to pay £14.99. Unclear whether I will also have to pay an additional £14.99 to upgrade speed from 512 to 2mb which should be done free very shortly.
Other than that. Very happy.
Tony

BobToo

I'll give Plusnet another vote.

I understand that traffic shaping only affects P2P applications, though I'm not sure how they know. I think expecting 100GB of traffic (I hammered mine this month and used 30GB, I'm usually around 10GB and consider myself a heavy user) from one of the cheapest suppliers is totally unacceptable.

elvis_bloggs

E7EVEN

IS

THE

BEST.

http://www.e7even.com/

Modem required.

Happy_Shrimper

Just to conclude my 'slightly disappointing customer service experience' I think this was a one off.
Eventually phoned again and got through to a chap in Sheffield who confirmed that although I would have to pay a one off downgrade, I would not have to pay additional if I didn't want to push through the line speed upgrade.
Even got chatting about football - told him I was gutted that his team Sheff Wed got promoted as I would have liked to have gone back to Hillsborough as a Southend fan to gain revenge for a FA cup defeat back in the early nineties! He took it well.
Anyway, he did the change there and then and 2 days later I even had been upgraded to 2Mb as a sheduled upgrade anyway!
Now saving £6 per month.
My faith wobbled, but was quickly restored. Should have never doubted them!