Landshark:

I agree, but price is relative to service, and I'd rather pay more for a service that works than pay less and get the run-around like I did with other ISPs (who shall remain nameless).

SHARK!

I agree entirely with this statement. I may be currently getting a cracking deal financially from Pipex but their customer service is is somewhere in the sewers. I am prepared to pay more for a better service

I used to be with Zen Internet - best ISP I had been with in years, very fast, always on, never had a problem. Although customer services were 9 to 5, there was never a problem. They're ideal for those who need a fast, stable connection with an extremely low ping (e.g. Gamers) and they have multiple peers with leading ISPs around the UK such as Linx and Level3.

Now though I'm with Be Unlimited - cheaper, faster (Zen didn't offer ADSL2+), 24/7 customer service/tech support with multiple ways to get support if needed (phone, email, forums & IRC).

One thing to note, O2 share the same network as Be. Although O2 offer UK-based customer service and tech support, they don't offer as many support options as Be. In addition they're more expensive if you're after extras like a Static IP (like me) compared with Be.

I've just recently signed with utility warehouse, up to 8 meg free phone call free line rental all for £19.99 per month, within two weeks i was up and running. The which mag recently voted them 2nd best broadband provider within the uk. Waitrose was first choice..

Hi there

well, go to an o2 shop. They are voted reguarly the best customer service, along with genuine wat you see is what you get packages to suit everyone. I use a dongle and pay £20 a month for 3gb, unlimited download, and some other benefits, but i paid for my dongle -£120 but im not tied in for 18 months, therefore,, if you dont need it anymore you can cancel in 30 days.

its fast, reliable and easy to set up.

regards

claire

I'm on Orange too, paying more than £30 a month. However, with all these deals the requirement is to 'Have a BT line', and I wouldn't have one of those even if BT paid ME for it! I think it's shocking that the only way to get the use out of good deals is to have a BT landline. S h o c k i n g

I'm with Orange and pay £ NIL. Yes, nothing. I pay more than £30/month on my mobile phone package and so receive free broadband. No probs whatsoever. All tickety-boo.

However, with BT at work and have so, so many problems. The broadband is down at least once a week - due to 'maintenance' according to BT and trying to get through to them on the telephone, well I've given up on that one!!!

Been with Sky for a year, unbroken quick broadband, cheap calls, hundreds of channels of nonsense. No bother, 26quid a month.

Can't say fairer than that.

JJ

Well, having been a broadband campaigner since the late 90s when more than half the nation hadn't even heard the term "broadband", first it had to be 2Mbps/0.5Mbps satellite as there was nothing else available in our deeply rural area. For some round me, there still isn't any other option 12 years later. There are fibre optics within 1-4 miles in either direction, which of course would be the ultimate - symmetrical, fast and reliable - but no-one will let me on them. :O(

Anyway, then the satellite company went *** up but ADSL finally rolled over the horizon. 5 miles from the exchange so never expected miracles but it really is diabolical, even in 2008. Tried BT (not even 1/2Mbps), the Phone Co-op cos at least if the copper was crap they were more ethical, but they never seemed to try to do anything to improve the service, which on a bad day was at 12-25kbps.

So, now with South Witham Broadband. Brilliant - a community broadband network run by real people. They have tweaked the line, got between 1.5Mbps and 2Mbps, it hasn't stopped working yet, we have a 30Gig monthly download limit (which just about keeps the teens happy) and they are amazing to work with. Real people who will do everything in their power to sort out any issues, on the end of a real telephone, who speak English, and are determined to bring the best of customer service to their users.

I envy those who live in Lincolnshire who actually have them on the doorstep. They come round for cups of tea and install everything for you themselves - how cool is that?! When did you last see a BT engineer coming round to your house to resolve your problems? They have built a wireless network using meshboxes and bonding so you get even better connectivity if you are on that, and all I can say is I wish I'd moved to SWBB earlier!!

adsl.southwitham.net for more info. And no, maybe they aren't the cheapest but you get what you pay for, and damn, this is good! There are community broadband networks all over the country offering similar services and products, but you never see them on sites like this or uswitch - and they really ought to be. If they were listed, all you would get is great testimonials from very satisfed users.

Jason Lloyd:How bad were Virgin Arc? (pls post in Hall of Shame)

do you have a piece of string to hand Jason?

How long is it?

:-)

Hi all,

I am new in this country :), i am moving to a new flat, therefore looking for information about the best broadband deal -just broadband. My question is: is there any website or specific forum where the "Line rental fee" issue is explained more in details?In particular, which providers offer a broadband package with the line rental included.I've phoned the Bt to know more about their new offer,and surprisingly i've found out that the deal doesn't include the Bt line rental,same for Tiscali, which is quite strange in my opinion.

Any suggestion?

Thanks

hi i was thinking of changing my line rental from BT because I could get line rental free with a differant package. The question is will i be charged for changing or will they let me leave. however my conrat is untill september 2008 and will they let me change and if they do will i need a code to change my lne rental and could a be fined for it or end up still paying for it.

Be*. After hell with Pipex/Bulldog I went to them as they were fast, cheap and only had a 3month contract so if they were awful, I wouldn't have to buy out of the contract but they were fine. Only getting 10mbit so I raised a packet online and they did something with the line on their end within the day and started getting 20mbit. No traffic shaping so p2p gets through great and I download up to 100gb on bittorrent and upload about 50gb (linux distro mainly) a month and not had one complaint with "fair use".

 

All in all I would highly reccomend them, especially as they cut their prices to be even lower. :D

How bad were Virgin Arc? (pls post in Hall of Shame)

I have to agree with Shark. After suffering at the hands of Virgin. (Amnesty International would hang Branson if they know how much pain and suffering his company is inflicting on the innocent)

Signed up for BT. So in 3 1/2 months here is my experience. 0 down time. I mean nada, nil, zilch. I'm getting an average of 6mbit on a 7200 mbit profile and that is being over 3 miles from the exchange. The whole installation of phone line and broadband service went off without a hitch. At every step I was phoned to confirm my satisfaction. The only thing that wasn't 100% was I ended up with a black hub and a white hub phone. A quick call and a replacement was received in 3 days.

You get what you pay for.

I agree, but price is relative to service, and I'd rather pay more for a service that works than pay less and get the run-around like I did with other ISPs (who shall remain nameless).

SHARK!