Basically had a bad experience with NTL so my dad has asked me to find a new broadband provider. Currently paying £18 a month, dont want to pay OTT.

any suggestions? will be wanting usual free modem.

Alan H

I use BT. dont see why anyone would use anyone else. Never had any problems with them, and i find their customer support to be ace (not because they answer the phone on time or help, but due to absolutely no downtime or problems, i dont neeeeeed to phone them). I may pay a few quid over the odds, but its fast, reliable and easy.

I can tell you NOT to go with, and thats Bulldog. Bulldog are Bull****. for more reasons than i care to note.



"Imagine how it would be,
to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour, all around the world,
and tell stories about all the young girls."
- The Prodigy 2004

I signed up for broadband about 5 or 6 years ago now. Originally with Freeserve who became Wanadoo and now they are Orange.
Very happy with service, never had any problems with them. Currently on the top package - 8 Mbit line with unlimited download for £8.99! You have to start a new contract > £35 per month on orange to get it that price. Normally it is £27.99.
You also get a free livebox that provides wireless internet and can also be used to make free phonecalls off peak.

Stephen


Abarth Brava 1.2 16v - http://www.fpsplanet.net
Member Page - http://www.fiatboo.co.uk/members/200stephenlancs.htm

Having worked for BT, I have to say their service is pretty crap. That's based on figures and reports I had sight of when I worked there. When I was an employee, I was entitled to the biggest broadband package they did for just £10 a month. I think it says a lot when I say that no-one I knew at the company took them up on it !

I've been with Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange since '98 and have had very few problems with them, except trying to get my direct debit date changed. Good, reliable service and reasonably priced too.

Don't fall for the Carphone Warehouse scam either. It's not at all what it's cracked up to be.

Do some research and check out sites like http://www.adslguide.org.uk/ & http://www.samknows.com/broadband/index.php

Rob

Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX

BTW, the Orange Broadband MAX package (£27.99) gives you free UK landline calls over VoIP 24/7, not just at evenings and weekends as stated above.

Rob

Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX

I'm afraid I'm with the Hoff's company of choice.... Pipex. Been with them for about a year(ish) now. Damn good service. Reliable.

Was previously with BT ever since DSL came out, but the service got so bad I gave up with them.


Breaking a Marea 1.6SX - All parts available!

I'm with Plus.net and there about £14.99 a month, 8meg, unlimited between 12am and 4pm, free modem etc. Excellent customer support: my modem got fried by a lightning surge and they replaced it free even after more than a year. :-D

www.plus.net

im with plusnet, got a free modem, unlimited download limit and i got a far higher connection speed (usually 7mpbs) than all my mates. no probs with them either!

Yup i'm out in the sticks and they deliver me a far better speed than any of the others could do. I get on average about 3megs and full upload speed. I am over 10 miles from the main exchange and 4 from the local one. BT couldnt even promise 1meg. And as soon as line/technology takes it it gets faster. Already had a free upgrade from the 4meg package i started on (double upload speed now).

Got Braod Band just over a year ago enabled @ my local exchange & went with Virgin as they were our Dial up provider for about 6years....

Service was very good.. but technical support was supidly expensive... no free phone numbers to any1 & e-mail support took 7-10days!


Now with Orange, thanks to their free braod band with Orange contract over £35.


I can get speeds upto 2meg wirelessly plus a 0845 number through the live box which is now the business fax line


I do have ADSL max enabled, which I could if with BT get 4.5meg internet but Orange can provide it once BT let them (so i was kinda indirectly told).


All depends on what speed you need or how much stuff ur gonna download!


My mobile contract would be over £35 reguardless... so the Orange internet was a bit of a No brainer as it saves me £15 a month (virgin 512kbps cost) per month.... but now i get 2meg, free calls in the evening to landlines & wirless router




Tommy K - Have you got the Bottle!!

ps sorry for the large 10 miles! was experimenting with some html

i was with pipex for years, but last month switched to orange. Unimited broadband at appox 2mb (i'm a few miles from the exchange) for £10
it could have been up to 8 if i was closer.

Pipex service was relentlessly reliable, although i was paying £24 for the same package as i'm on now.

you can haggle with them a little, but i think that may only have been because i was a longstanding customer.

SO far Orange has been fine, though i'm less enamoured with their mobile phone tariff! no gprs allowance, and mms is charged seperately from allowance!
with O2 i had 1mb download, and an mms counted as 3 texts, which i had 600 a month of...

wish i'd never left them after 5 years now...

so AOL's 12.99 is actually quite competative then?? Particularly bad experiences with them anyone??

BT = GASH!

Do not go to them.

I spent most of December offline due to the neighbourhood christmas lights?!?! cutting the internet off. Or so BT claim.

AOL ?

A-O-HELL !!!!

Rob

Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX

Yeah had very bad experiences with AO(Hel)L

Do Not, repeat, Do Not ever go with them.

That's an arse then cos my dial up (I'm still paying more for than I would do BBand - cos have moved lately and been using the PC at work mainly with BB connection) is with AOL and I still use AOL as my main addy

I'm now with Orange (previously Wanadoo & Freeserve).
The modem was provided free and the package I'm on is £17.99 per month. There's supposed to be a limit on downloads but its never been enforced, so unlimited at that price is good.
Never had any problems with their service. But their help centre charges 50p a minute so its just as well.
AOL don't charge for their helpline. I'm told AOL is very good if slightly more expensive than their rivals.
NTL or TeleWest (depending where you live) don't have as good a service from what I hear, but may well be cheaper.

Like everything else in life....you get what you pay for, and not always that!