Broadband-yes or no

pluto_2

Could anybody please tell me why b/band? I am a new
starter on the net and have yet to be convinced why I
should pay £16-£20 pm plus £70setup when applicable,
just to get somewhere faster on the net, and be able to
use my phone while using the net.

Last friday I ordered bt b/band basic for £17-99pm.
By monday after reading various articles in mse I rang
and cancelled. Still not convinced. :-/

rushnowt

Hiya Pluto, I've got no intention of converting you to b/b it absolutely as to be your decision

I can only give you my take on it, I was a narrowband user for many years and converted to b/b about 16 months ago, it was a really big decision for me at the time because i wasn't sure i could justify the higher price, although there are many isp's now that charge the same or just slightly more than narrowband. I was a bit hesitant at signing up for something for 12 months without knowing what i was doing, however i really really couldn't imagine life without it now. I was searching for a new isp recently and had to go back to dial up for a few weeks before i could change and it was an absolute nightmare, the waiting for pages to load drove me insane.

Now, i guess it all depends on your usage I have 5 kids me & hubby so if we all want to use the pc that day/night it makes it easier if things are done faster. also i hated missing calls if the pc was online and having to call people back, however if you have free calls that doesn't really make much difference unless someone is desperate to reach you and you dont pick up their message for an hour or so :'( . so if your happy with things as they are then converting to b/b should not be an issue for you, your quite right why pay more for something if you don't really need it.

But i guess it's like when you used to make a pie in the oven and had to wait 20-30 mins now we have microwaves and it can be done in 2-5 mins ;D but it's all down to personal choice.

Good luck with your decision

Jay-Jay_4

Hiya Pluto,

I took the plunge last week with BT Broadband after receiving a £70 phone bill for one month.

Now I pay £17.99 and I'm not constantly looking at the clock and reckoning up how much it's costing me on the internet.

I leave my comp on this site all day and just refresh my page when I want to catch up.

It's not amazingly fast or anything but so much more convenient.

I would hate to go back to dial up.

Chippy_Minton

It really depends on how much you use the internet. If you only need it for sending and receiving emails and a bit of surfing then dial-up is all you need, and considerably cheaper if you only connect to your ISP in the evening and use one of the BT Friends & Family savings schemes. If your interest and use of the web takes off b/b is the way to go.

For me the advantage of broadband is obviously the speed (very good for big downloads and uploads if you have to manage a website), the fact that it doesn't tie up the phone, and the way it seamlessly integrates the PC with the whole surfing experience. 8)

MarkyMarkD

If you don't use the Internet enough to justify an "anytime" type dial-up deal, then you probably won't need broadband.

But if you are willing to pay £12.49 or more for anytime dial-up, you would be daft not to pay around £15 (at the cheapest places) with free connection and modem, for a far better broadband service which effectively gives you an extra phone line.

vansboy

As you say that you're new to the net, I'd say theres 2 things that will happen....

1 - You'll get TOTALLY disillusioned with allthe fuss about the www & find you're wasting sooooooooo much time on line, you'll bin the whole idea.

So dial up would be fine, for e mails & the few things you feel you REALLY want to check out (like this site!!)

2 - You'll get hooked - be up all hours searching for information on stuff you didn't know you wanted to know about.Make new friends, that you could never have met in real world (the www is ALL fantasy land, isn't it??)Chat people the other end of the country - or continent, that have sinmilar interests as you.

Broadband it'll be, then!!

I'm on AOL, £19.99 unlimited use package, no set up costs, so worth checking any limitations, the provider offers.There's bound to be plenty sugestions along shortly!!

Happy Surfin'!!

VB

Tony_H_3

Another thing which is often overlooked and based on the fact that you don't use your PC as a fax machine is that with BB you can physically remove your modem. This means you dont have to worry about "Rogue Dialers" and large premium rate telephone bills.

I also use an internet based "Photo Lab" for producing real photos from my digicam, this is simply not feasible when using dialup due the the large size of image files.

The same theory applies if you want to host you images or large files on the internet to share. BB makes uploading so much faster.
You have to deside what is best for YOU, but rest assured once you have BB there'll be no turning back. You simply wont be able to live with the speed of dialup again.

pluto_2

Fiistly thanks to all who contributed to my item on b/band. Poochy I sympathise, my last phone bill for the
Qtr £213 just for net use my ISP was Tiscali. :-X
My ISP is now Fast4 with unLtd net access at £6-99pm
monthly contract. As for your other suggestions, I have
joined the great band of Grumpy old men Club and will
receive my SAGA Brochure next year so I don't think I'll
be loading up or down!

vansboy

Bet you change your mind!!

VB

Pat__3

Bet you change your mind!!

VB

I have read this thread and agree with you vansboy on this.

Good Luck Pluto

Mr_Stroppy

I've just had Wanadoo broadband installed @ 1mb and was on dial-up before.
THERE'S NO STOPING ME NOW!!! ;D