View Full Version : best Broadband ISP (UK) ???
Hi guys I need a bit of advice.
my contract with my ISP (Eclipse) has just run out, and I want to change providers.
I was wondering if my fellow UK members had any toughts on good providers.
I cant get cable because of some problem between Virgin and the local council.
I am 4-5 miles from the exchange and so i get quite bad contention on my connection. (I have 8meg Broadband and i actually get about 2.5 meg now)
I would need unlimited dowloads but otherwise dont mind
(note AOL can bite my shiny metal a^%) :)
I dunno if this will be any use to you m8y...
http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/
Thanks mate thats really good :)
but i'd also like to hear what people think of their providers, ie 'BE' promise 24meg download speed but do they really live up to that? OR has anyone had problems with their ISPs fair use policy etc
OK... do u really need this extra sppeed you're payin for m8?
I personally get and do everythin i want on 4mb, is 24mbps really what u need m8?
For ADSL BE without a doubt, They don't promise anyone 24mb.. they just give you whatever your line can handle.
Nice thing about BE is that it's cheap and offers unbeatable upload speeds, up to 2.5MB. 1.5 Normally.
woops forgot i did this thread lol
To be honest i dont really need that high a download speed BUT with my current provider on 8meg i only get aprox 2meg (maximum-at best times) which does cause me problems from time to time. so i do tend to think faster is better. even if im only going to get a low percentage of what they promise. I may be wrong about this and I may be better off with a lower download rate that the provider can guarentee
Privateschenk
16-09-2008, 12:41
What ever you do don't get virgin broadband, cos they are screwing with peoples internet rights. Also you should know that the advertised speed my not be what you get, so insted of spending lost to get a high speed, try get ur phone line tested to see what speed it can actualy take.
Rogu3granny
16-09-2008, 14:49
Virgin, fibre optic connection for the win, Also they are beta testing their new 100mb connection in some parts of the U.K.
But you are right, they are disrupting Connection for some people, what they are doing is viewing customers account to check if they are uploading as much as they are downloading and if so are penalizing their connection as either a torrent or news group user which breaks up their connection. Though they are one of the first to do this it is not an isolated case and other ISP are following in their foot steps as in their view there is money to be made i.e. advertising, legal download sites ect. Won't be to long until a lot of ISP adopt this so even if you try and camouflage your usage they will still be able to tell your download to upload ratio.
Virgin media has download times, as long as you don't download too much in those times (Depending on your package) you won't get capped, if you do then say goodbye to 3/4 of your connection for a few hours.
BT are much worse, they are capping people 3/4 of their connect from 5-12 daily.
Virgin, BT, Orange, Sky, Tiscali all signed Anti-P2P Contracts.
hmm interesting, i cant get virgin though so thats not a prob.
would the P2P bit affect newsgroups, cause when i download its from them (easynews)
also (sorry being a bit thick here) but I take it the capping/resriction is on amount downloaded rather than the speed or am i wrong??
Privateschenk
17-09-2008, 00:05
Thing is with virgin, is they are blocking websites or somat for thier customers to stop piracy and stuff
Thing is with virgin, is they are blocking websites or somat for thier customers to stop piracy and stuff
Source?
sexytime-24-7
11-10-2008, 21:24
one thing you guys might want to know is that when isp's say they have a speed of say 8Mbps they are giving you 8 mega bits not bytes so instead of 8MBps (mega bytes) you get around 1 (devide mega bits by 8 to get mega bytes)
i just thought you guys might want to know
APOLLOFRENZY
15-10-2008, 12:37
I thnks its all a post code lottery at the moment and does depend on were you live in the uk
Can't moan at VM:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/339280897.png
BaconDude
24-10-2008, 23:24
Sky is who I'm switching to in Febuary when my BT contract packs in. They seem the best, good speed, good support, ENGLISH BASED. Good value for money.
BT is the oppisite. British Delicom, should be.
Here's a conversation I had with them:
Me: "Hello, I'm having problems connecting my wireless. It packed in a few days ago and hasn't been back up since. It works with another router, why not with your BT Home Hub?"
Them: "It is turned on?"
Me: "Yes"
Them: "Are all the wires plugged in?"
Me: "Quit messing me around. All the basics are checked, it stopped working randomly. It isn't a case of I brought it yesterday"
Them: "I'm sorry we can not help you *click*"
And so I phone again
me: "Are you in India?"
Them: "Yes"
Me: *click*
That went on a few times. An english fella picked up:
Me: "You're english?"
Them: "Yes. How may I help you?"
Me: "Are you in england?"
Them: "Nope. India. They sent me over to sort these guys"
Me: "So you don't have anything that can help my problem?"
Them: "Nope. Sorry buddy"
I never did get help. Moral of the story: BT is a last resort. I'd go with AOL before BT.
This is a picture taken in India.
This is where you phone when you phone customer support of nearly any company.
http://www.uniquedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/phone-lines-india.jpg
Privateschenk
25-10-2008, 13:28
haha lol. Yeah it is useless, thies days. But one of my mates got BT last week and he had some problem and spoke to someone in england and he was english, mabey you just had bad luck.
Lolo, i'm with talk talk ...... and before you all start i have had no probs with them, they do have a bad rep and can be slow setting you up, but fast and if you get your land line with them you get free B/B.
BaconDude
25-10-2008, 19:40
It is a lottery with BT. They have a very small chance you will get to an English call centre, but it's literally a roll of a many-sided-die.
It is a lottery with BT. They have a very small chance you will get to an English call centre, but it's literally a roll of a many-sided-die.
Get more connection´s, the more you have the bigger chance of getting a good one :gypsie:
Can´t moan either:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/353097436.png
i'm looking at the moment at UK broadband offers and really i don't know what to go for. i checked my postcode and i have around a 4mb speed available in the area, so would a 2mb broadband package be enough for playing instead of having to pay for the unnecessary 8mb or so?
one other question, because i might move out of my house in a few months, i was wondering if mobile broadband offers are a good alternative for playing BF2142. is it fast enough and the download limit allowance okay (around 3GB per month in most offers)?
thanks in advance ;)
BaconDude
16-11-2008, 21:36
Go with Sky mate. £10 a month, 16mb maximum connection, unlimited bandwidth.
Are you looking at your closest exchange? Perhaps look a few miles further out?
My closest is Radnage, a small little village which is BT only. 3 miles further (makes hardly any differecence) and I can use sky, better technology, etc.
kegNeggs
19-11-2008, 21:38
ive been wondering about the mobile broadband as well
is it any good for BF?
Got V/media 20mb bit pricey but with a ball & chain + 3 rug rats all using pc's i needed the bandwith, service not to bad in luton aera onlyt prob is they want you to have the phone and tv as well.
My advice with regards to broadband is Sky.
It is by far the best out there, cheap too.
Deathtaker27
26-01-2009, 14:38
im with sky
they are good for prices but the router that they supplied is cr@p
it dies on me all the time
Sgt-Bashem
26-01-2009, 19:31
im with sky
they are good for prices but the router that they supplied is cr@p
it dies on me all the time
I've just changed from Orange to O2... did look at Sky, but the router is not very good, heard so many stories about them failing... and the other main reason was the support had to be UK based, both O2 and Sky are. Got fed up with Orange Indians who don't know what DNS is for and the best laugh is that they said they don't use DNS!! They must be really good at remembering numbers!! :lol:
Deathtaker27
26-01-2009, 20:36
lol
router is rubbish
loses DHCP, DNS, External IP, External subnet.
its a joke