# Internet Service Providers



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

We've had Demon for years - it used to be excellent: fast, reliable, unlimited usage and excellent customer service. Nowadays, it has none of those qualities. We reboot our router sometimes four or five times a day simply to re-establish the connection (no, it's not the router at fault) and the mail server keeps going down. Customer service is still ok but now located overseas and can be a struggle due to both the language barrier and quality of the voice line (sounds like VOIP).

I would be very interested to know members' views on or experiences with current ISPs - what's available out there nowadays. Rosie and I are using the internet more and more for accessing video content, web design, blogging, Skyping etc. and I think, anyway, that traditional broadcasting will be migrating slowly over to the Net in the next few years... so: my particular requirement would be for a fast, reliable, high-bandwidth, no-usage-limit provider with decent customer service and landline bundled into the package. We're not concerned with cost - you get what you pay for and we will happily pay the extra for an excellent service. We don't have cable here (SW London) - but I see this as a wider discussion, so please give your recommendations (or otherwise) for cable providers also.

So. What's out there? What's good :thumbsup: what's bad :thumbsdown: and what's downright ugly :bull*******: ?

Thanks for any suggestions.


----------



## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

These look good .................Â Â









http://www.youtube.c...h?v=652xFAsw600


----------



## sparky the cat (Jan 28, 2009)

Only ever had two providers - Cable and Wirless - down the TV wire, but moved to where there is no TV wires and we joined Talktalk - so if its

my particular requirement would be for a fast, reliable, high-bandwidth, no-usage-limit provider with decent customer service and landline bundled into the package.

they would provide. In the early days they had a bad rep for service - mainly down to the fact that the bundle was so good it was overwhelmed for suscription and they hadn't forseen the demand (Must of been the same guy that did the Hoover offer).

However, things seems to have improved greatly since then and I've had no probs - I'm at the end of the exchange line so the speed here isn't that great (about 2Mb) but as I don't stream I don't mind. Not sure where the customer servicve is but I've got a Brit the to times I've need them (I think the cost of the call was in the Telephone bundle) and I've been sorted out quickly. Must ahve been with TT about five / six years and never felt the need to move.

George


----------



## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Cable has to be the way forward, there must be a program to get it to SE London soon!

Im on the 10meg Virgin cable package and its fast enough, and is reliable, tempted to go 20 though.... 

Im sure MarkF started a similar topic relatively recently....


----------



## tixntox (Jul 17, 2009)

Living in Norfolk " Ar woyers int so gud an tinterweb int royt farst". We are on BT! Very expensive, slow and took an age before they "got it royt". I would do an online search for suppliers in your area and read up on reviews. It seems to be an area thing.

Mike


----------



## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

I have been using Fast.co.uk since MarkF recommended them (I think it was him) they are OK, support staff are in the UK but as they use the BT network they aren't the fastest by a long way despite the name!


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

jasonm said:


> Im sure MarkF started a similar topic relatively recently....


Oops. Sorry, Jason - I hate it when that happens. I'll look for Mark's thread!



tixntox said:


> I would do an online search for suppliers in your area and read up on reviews. It seems to be an area thing.
> 
> Mike


Yep. Done that - thinkbroadband.com is quite good. But, being a lazy sod, I thought I'd save myself the trouble! Anyway, I would trust views on the forum more than random people out there - that's what these places are all about, after all.



JoT said:


> I have been using Fast.co.uk since MarkF recommended them (I think it was him) they are OK, support staff are in the UK but as they use the BT network they aren't the fastest by a long way despite the name!


Thanks - I'll check them out. :thumbsup:

As for the cable suggestions: I would certainly choose cable if it were an option... but it ain't. 

Keep 'em coming, guys. 

.


----------



## Andy Tims (Apr 13, 2008)

I started with Tiscali, who were OK until being taken over by Talk Talk who have to be the most incompetent, least customer focussed organisation I've had the displeasure of dealing with for many years.

I've been with Orange for about 6 months - no complaints.


----------



## Odo (Mar 22, 2009)

Would agree with Sparky, have been with TalkTalk for years with very few problems. Have just upgraded to their top package as the kids are online constantly so we are using up to our limit download wise most months, the new package has unlimited usage.

The only drawbacks have been customer service when things go wrong, usually abroad and with some language differences on the way. Did look at Plusnet though, they seem to have some good deals but you have to cost in BT line rental on top.

Cable would be the way to go for speed, but we are cableless round these parts


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Andy Tims said:


> I've been with Orange for about 6 months - no complaints.


Thanks, Andy. Didn't know Orange does broadband... As I am a T-Mobile customer (Orange and T-Mobile are the same company now) maybe there's a mega-package tie-in to be had there. I'll investigate. Cheers.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Odo said:


> Would agree with Sparky, have been with TalkTalk for years with very few problems. Have just upgraded to their top package as the kids are online constantly so we are using up to our limit download wise most months, the new package has unlimited usage.
> 
> The only drawbacks have been customer service when things go wrong, usually abroad and with some language differences on the way. Did look at Plusnet though, they seem to have some good deals but you have to cost in BT line rental on top.
> 
> Cable would be the way to go for speed, but we are cableless round these parts


Thanks, Paul. I must look into Talk Talk, as they're getting good reviews these days. Plusnet have been on my radar for a while - was rather hoping a few people would mention them. As for cable: me too  .


----------



## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

I was Telewest now Virgin - the customer service is good enough within it's limits. You get local-ish people, but some still can't spell Edinburgh and don't know where it is - FGS it's the capital of the country. The deal is good if you take the package and push them a bit, TV, Phone and Broadband as a package but say you reckon it's a bit too dear and keep pushing.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

mel said:


> I was *Telewest now Virgin* - the customer service is good enough within it's limits. You get local-ish people, but some still can't spell Edinburgh and don't know where it is - FGS it's the capital of the country. The deal is good if you take the package and push them a bit, TV, Phone and Broadband as a package but say you reckon it's a bit too dear and keep pushing.


Both cable providers - right, Mel?


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

O2

No problems at all for the last 3 years. Very reliable, very cheap, good equipment. Can't fault them.

Think about moving to O2 for mobile phone since they offer a good broadband / mobile phone package.


----------



## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

As ever, they are all great until something goes wrong, then you find out who you are dealing with. I would not touch any large corportaion with a bargepole, I've used 3 of them and they are as bad as eachother, terrible. I use Fast.co.uk and like John say's, they are not that fast and certainly not that cheap. But, I can speak to the same guy if I have a problem, I can text or email my number and* they will call me. *

At times I think about moving to a faster/cheaper supplier but then I think about what will happen *when* I have a problem and that thought is enough to stop me doing it.


----------



## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

BE Broadband have been my pick of the bunch for ADSL service providers (non-cable)

https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/homepage

Their connection process is great, they send you a text at every step of the way. Cable is my first choice but when forced to use a phone line, these people have been the best all round in my experience - best in customer service, value and performance.


----------



## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

squareleg said:


> mel said:
> 
> 
> > I was *Telewest now Virgin* - the customer service is good enough within it's limits. You get local-ish people, but some still can't spell Edinburgh and don't know where it is - FGS it's the capital of the country. The deal is good if you take the package and push them a bit, TV, Phone and Broadband as a package but say you reckon it's a bit too dear and keep pushing.
> ...


Actually they're one and the same, Telewest was the cable provider in the city, then part of NTL, then became "took over" into Virgin. Originally customer service was local in the city, but it now appears to be some place like in the North East of Southern Britain - a lot of Geordie-ish accents if you have to contact them. I mentioned them for you in case cable is forward planned for your area. :yes:

I started with a dedicated phone line on dial-up for the PC, but went into BB when they offered a free modem, then pushed them for a router - but you have to keep pushing hard to get deals, they's a big outfit and your prob is finding someon who will authorise a deal. The wee lassie that answers the phone with a screen in front of her is not likely to be able to say you can ahve a free "anything"


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

KrispyDK said:


> BE Broadband have been my pick of the bunch for ADSL service providers (non-cable)
> 
> https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/homepage
> 
> Their connection process is great, they send you a text at every step of the way. Cable is my first choice but when forced to use a phone line, these people have been the best all round in my experience - best in customer service, value and performance.


Thanks for that. I've just looked up BE at thinkbroadband.com and they certainly come top (or near to it) in practically everything. I'll research them a bit further. :thumbsup:


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

squareleg said:


> KrispyDK said:
> 
> 
> > BE Broadband have been my pick of the bunch for ADSL service providers (non-cable)
> ...


Owned by O2 I believe.....which is better?


----------



## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

squareleg said:


> KrispyDK said:
> 
> 
> > BE Broadband have been my pick of the bunch for ADSL service providers (non-cable)
> ...


No problems. We use a lot of ISP's where I work connecting different remote sites. We've been through most of them and these have never let us down. If performance is really important to you and cost isn't - have a look into 'bonding' your link. Basically, you get 2 lines connected to your home and they give you a box which combines the link into one, doubling the bandwidth.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Silver Hawk said:


> squareleg said:
> 
> 
> > KrispyDK said:
> ...


Thanks, Paul - that wasn't obvious from their website! Researching....

AAISP (Andrews and Arnold) seem to be the bee's knees of the industry at the moment. Used mostly by professionals, though isn't really that much more expensive than a domestic-orientated outfit. However, I don't believe they do a broadband + landline package. Will report further.



KrispyDK said:


> No problems. We use a lot of ISP's where I work connecting different remote sites. We've been through most of them and these have never let us down. If performance is really important to you and cost isn't - have a look into 'bonding' your link. Basically, you get 2 lines connected to your home and they give you a box which combines the link into one, doubling the bandwidth.


Thanks again. Seems BE/O2 front runners in the 'package' stakes, with AAISP top for 'just broadband'.


----------



## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

I've been with Virgin for years, and they seem pretty good. Customer service is up north somewhere, Leeds or Sheffield I think (judging by their accents!) rather than in India, which makes a nice change. They always seem friendly on the phone, and have sorted out any problems without fuss. I've got phone, TV, broadband, and mobile all with Virgin, and no plans to change to anyone else.

One other thing, I have checked their broadband speeds a few times and it has always been more or less spot on to what is advertised.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Davey P said:


> I've been with Virgin for years, and they seem pretty good. Customer service is up north somewhere, Leeds or Sheffield I think (judging by their accents!) rather than in India, which makes a nice change. They always seem friendly on the phone, and have sorted out any problems without fuss. I've got phone, TV, broadband, and mobile all with Virgin, and no plans to change to anyone else.
> 
> One other thing, I have checked their broadband speeds a few times and it has always been more or less spot on to what is advertised.


Virgin is cable only, right - or do they operate in POTS areas also? (Great acronym: Plain Old Telephone Service ) .


----------



## hotmog (Feb 4, 2006)

I've been with PlusNet for about 5 years. Never had any problems, excellent value and reliability; I can thoroughly recommend them.

I was on their Unlimited Broadband + Talk Evening & Weekend phone package, which was Â£16.34 + Â£11.25 (line rental) per month. However I just got an email from them saying the cost of the Unlimited option is going up by Â£5 per month from January following the VAT increase, so I've now switched to their Broadband Extra + Talk Anytime phone package, at Â£11.49 + Â£5 + Â£11.25 (line rental) per month. That gives me a 60GB monthly usage allowance and up to 20MB speeds (13MB in practice), plus free phone calls anytime. Since my current monthly usage is around 20GB, that is more than sufficient for my needs.









Oh, and if you do decide to go with them, please mention that I recommended you on the sign-up page (my PlusNet username is dadween), so I get a referral discount.


----------



## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

squareleg said:


> Davey P said:
> 
> 
> > I've been with Virgin for years, and they seem pretty good.
> ...


Nope, Virgin also have an ADSL service down a normal phoneline - See here:

Virgin Broadband

Also, if you mention my name when you join I get 50 quid off my bill... :lol:


----------



## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

mel said:


> I was Telewest now Virgin - the customer service is good enough within it's limits. You get local-ish people, but some still can't spell Edinburgh and don't know where it is - FGS it's the capital of the country. The deal is good if you take the package and push them a bit, TV, Phone and Broadband as a package but say you reckon it's a bit too dear and keep pushing.


rumour has it you have more fun at a glagow funereal than an edinburgh wedding

back on topic i got sky happier than a happy thing with it


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

> Virgin is cable only, right - *or do they operate in POTS areas also*? (Great acronym: Plain Old Telephone Service ) .





> Nope, Virgin also have an ADSL service down a normal phoneline - See here:
> 
> Virgin Broadband
> 
> Also, if you mention my name when you join I get 50 quid off my bill... :lol:


Thanks for that.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Ok, as part of my research I have spent some time at thinkbroadband.com, comparing ISPs. You can compare 6 at a time, so I did this by a process of elimination, knocking off the less-well performing ISPs as I went along. It's not a perfect system but it does show who is rated well above the rest. The ISPs came out into 3 categories: the best - the ok ones - the worst.

As you can see, AAISP stands head and shoulders above the others. Forums rave about it. However, they do appear to be 'broadband only' so you can't get a landline package included in the deal. For me personally, this is a shame because the point of this exercise is to get one provider to do both. Nevertheless, it's great to see someone out there providing a no-compromise, truly excellent service. Sadly T-Mobile (my mobile provider) came out rubbish on all counts. 

As for the others, they seem to be almost equally good, so it's just a matter now of choosing one that has the best overall package. I haven't researched all these yet but will report back.


----------



## Odo (Mar 22, 2009)

MarkF said:


> As ever, they are all great until something goes wrong, then you find out who you are dealing with. I would not touch any large corportaion with a bargepole, I've used 3 of them and they are as bad as eachother, terrible. I use Fast.co.uk and like John say's, they are not that fast and certainly not that cheap. But, I can speak to the same guy if I have a problem, I can text or email my number and* they will call me. *
> 
> At times I think about moving to a faster/cheaper supplier but then I think about what will happen *when* I have a problem and that thought is enough to stop me doing it.


Very true Mark, TalkTalk have been great but issues do take some perseverance to get right. The only plus has been that calls to support lines are free from your home phone. I would probably pay more for a smaller more helpful company in the future.

Just moved from Vodafone to O2 following a balls up with customer services, had the same number with Vodafone for 10 years, asked to change to a different tarif and they cancelled the number instead. After finally getting through to a human on the other end of the phone, told sorry its gone-would you like another contract?! Mmm.. no thanks...

( sorry to rant, not helping the decision process!)


----------



## whatmeworry (Aug 28, 2010)

:notworthy:



KrispyDK said:


> BE Broadband have been my pick of the bunch for ADSL service providers (non-cable)
> 
> https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/homepage
> 
> Their connection process is great, they send you a text at every step of the way. Cable is my first choice but when forced to use a phone line, these people have been the best all round in my experience - best in customer service, value and performance.


 +1. Been with them 2 years and very happy. No bandwidth limiting either.


----------



## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

i have sky at home for 7.99 a month and very rarely do i go below 8meg ,i am within spitting distance of the exchange which also helps. in work i was lucky enough to be included in bt's superfast broadband trials so had supposedly 40meg limit but in 6 months of trials i very rarly got above 15meg in 6 months of testing and again only a mile from the exchange.so dont hold your breaths that the new fangled fast broadband is the future because its another giant rip off.

comercially i am with eclipse they are very good and you have a personal dude on the end of the phone or email whenever needed based in devon and very reliable and for commercial service quite cheap.


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Must be just me then......we have been with, now don't laugh, AOL for the past 8 years after a brief spell with BT and Virgin, I must say I have had to call them maybe half a dozen times in those years and as I recall only twice for connection/NO-connection problems, and every time I have had very good customer service from them.

I am on the 10Mb package but when I was upgraded AOL did tell me beforehand that maximum speed at my exchange is 6Mb and I regulary get around 5Mb when tested so I cannot complain there.

It may not be blisteringly fast but its consistent and has been almost totally reliable, so I personally recommend AOL.....but don't take that as a recommendation, they could be crap in your area :rofl:

Oh yes I almost changed because of a tempting price from another supplier about two years ago, when I told AOL I wanted to terminate my contract they dropped my monthly from 12.99 to 6.99....thats unlimited usage too, I am not complaining!


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Thanks, David. Noted  - however, AOL doesn't really feature on my radar, though useful for others' research. For me they're just one of "those" providers. Memories of Compuserve etc. from the early days...


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

squareleg said:


> Thanks, David. Noted  - however, AOL doesn't really feature on my radar, though useful for others' research. For me they're just one of "those" providers. Memories of Compuserve etc. from the early days...


Oh I know what you mean Nick, if I were to hunt around fresh for a supplier now AOL would be way down the list according to all the bad reports that fly around.....but hey, ain't it all fun?


----------



## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Upgraded my Virgin media broadband connection this morning......


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

jasonm said:


> Upgraded my Virgin media broadband connection this morning......


Thanks, Jason. If my area was cabled, it would be a no-brainer! :thumbsup:

.


----------



## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

Location, location, location.

I live in a very rural location and am getting 4.5mbps via PlusNet, which i think is good and copes with me playing mariokart online. More importantly, if there is a problem there people are helpful and based in the UK - I've only had to ring them up once, got straight through and they answered a problem about my Router that they didn't supply. Can't fault that


----------

