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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

TalkTalk down again!! Can anyone recommend me a broadband provider that actually works?!

37 replies

Dongdingdong · 12/01/2019 19:54

I have TalkTalk broadband and it’s utterly crap. Download speeds are abysmal (it takes about a minute to upload a 5MB file - surely that’s not normal!) and the router just randomly stops working on a fairly regularly basis. Currently we have WiFi but the router has stopped connecting to the TV box, so we can’t watch any catchup. When you tweet or ring them for help they just ask you to go through the same pointless routines (checking it’s plugged in correctly - uh, yes Hmm) and are often unable to resolve the problem.

I previously had Virgin and wasn’t happy with them either - they consistently put the price up most months and were a nightmare when we moved house and needed to end the contract.

AIBU to ask you to recommend a broadband provider that’s fast and reliable?! I came across Zen recently, which has a lot of positive reviews online - does anyone have any good experiences of them?

OP posts:
AutumnCrow · 13/01/2019 08:03

BT are crap, and expensive for loyal customers.

speakout · 13/01/2019 08:07

BT.

Simply because they have ownership of problems, whether it's the router of cables, or cabinet servers at the exchange it is theirs to fix.
Companies like Tlk Talk rent server capacity at the exchange from BT ( Openreach) and they are dependent on BT if there is a problem.

Having said that I am with Talk Talk, BT were becoming crazily expensive so I switched. I agree Talk Talk have crap customer service.
Once my contract is up with Talk Talk I will switch back to BT as I will then qualify for a new customer teaser rate.

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 13/01/2019 08:14

I’m looking for a new broadband provider. BT is absolutely crap, it keeps dropping out and when you ting them up they just try to upsell you to fibre. I would like to upgrade to fibre but not with BT and their extortionate price for long time customers. I’ve also heard that until recently BT basically had an monopoly as they were in charge of the telecommunications infrastructure until Openreach was forced to go separate.

NowTV is looking good. I like that they have a no contract option so if it’s crap you can swap easily although there is a £50 set up fee.

AutumnCrow · 13/01/2019 08:20

I'm looking at Virgin. £25 set up fee. Then £27 a month for first year (basic package) rising to £45. Can't see how long the contract's for though ...

nannynick · 13/01/2019 08:30

Other than Virgin, don't they all use the same physical cables anyway? The issue in some locations is the line lengths, so switching provider does not change that. Switching from ADDL to Fibre (FTTC) can change that and switching to Fibre (FTTP) is even better as then no copper cable involved.

Badbadbunny · 13/01/2019 08:36

In a lot of areas, it won't make much difference changing provider, because the signal is coming through the same wires. So if you're a long way from your local exchange or the wiring between the street and your house box is poor, you'll never get a good, reliable broadband whoever you use.

Obviously, in some areas, there are different options, such as Virgin media with their own wired fibre network that doesn't use the normal telephone cables.

We're stuck with the BT/Openreach cabling - there's no Virgin nor other wired infrastructure, and we're also just about the maximum distance from the BT exchange. So we're never going to get top fibre speeds. We've had broadband with talk talk, sky, and a couple of other providers, but the speed has always been poor and we suffered the connection dropping out several times per day. Despite reporting the slow speed and drops to each provider, nothing ever improved.

Last year, we finally moved to BT - as they were doing a cheap offer. At first, the speed/drops were the same, but we found their router a whole lot better - it reached all through the house which was better than anything we'd had before where we needed a repeater to reach upstairs. But, what we discovered by accident, was their line checking and fault reporting facilities via their website - we could do our own line checks and any faults found were reported instantly. First time we did it, a report on the line was found outside our premises - BT came out to repair it within 2/3 days. After that, we re-tried the fault checks, and another fault transpired - this time it was a broadband fibre fault, which took longer for them to fix - about 2 weeks - again not in our house. After that, we tried the fault check again and another fault was identified, this time it said there was a fault inside our house, so within a couple of days, another BT man came and changed the "box" inside the house. So there were in fact 3 different faults - that was a year ago, and we've enjoyed faster and consistent broadband since then - maybe only 1 or 2 dropped connections in a year!

Despite BT and openreach being official separate, my experience has been that having BT for broadband, when you're using BT for your landline, and the broadband is coming down BT cabling, means that when there's a fault, it's all "in house" under BT. Changing back to BT for broadband has certainly worked for us. Fault identifying and solving has been easy - all done via the BT website, so no phoning, no waiting in queues, no chasing, no passing the buck!

Jasmin82 · 13/01/2019 09:24

I'd never go back to BT. Internet went down 20th January 2013. Phoned BT. They claimed that there was no problem with their line. They said it must be a problem with the wiring in the house and would cost £99 to repair. The engineer duly came out, looked at our wiring, looked at our lack of internet connection and scratched head. Not a problem with our wiring. Phoned BT back. No, not a problem with their line, leave it a while and it should come back tomorrow. This is now 4 days of no internet. Following day, went to work, came back home: Still no internet. Went out for food with friend, came home, no internet. Phoned BT again. While I was looking at the modem and telling them there was no internet, they were claiming that I had internet. I asked them what the amber light meant "no internet, but that's not whats showing on our system, so you must be imagining it. Try connecting again." Got fed up of being lied to. Went to friends house and switched to Sky. Sky modem turned up at start of February, switched over on 6th February and suddenly, I have internet! Only ever had a single problem with my Sky internet and that was an old line that needed replacing and was done free of charge.
Every so often I see an advert that shows I could get cheaper internet by switching back to BT, then I go onto my FB timeline and scroll back to 2013 and remember why I left.

Charlottejade89 · 13/01/2019 12:23

we have sky fibre unlimited and it's brilliant. Never goes off, and we get good signal all over the house, even though they warned it might not be good in the kitchen as the router us upstairs and the kitchen is an extension, but it's spot on. We pay £25 a month, they always do good deals for new customers as well and even when your contract runs out they are always willing to negotiate a good price to keep you

Mousewithascarf · 13/01/2019 12:31

I’m with Virgin and they’re the best provider I’ve been with. It’s never gone down, consistently great speed with no buffering while watching videos, tv. The price is high £33pm whIch I had to get them down to after it crept up to £42 but I’m loathe to switch to someone else because it’s so good. Every company’s reviews are so mixed it’s really hard to decide who to go with and it’s so dependent on your area too.

SisyphusDad · 13/01/2019 12:50

Another vote for Zen here. Have been with them for years and they've always been at least good and usually better. They are more expensive, but to me it's worth it not to have to deal with the likes of BT and Virgin directly.

As to them using BT's network, that's true and it will impose some constraints. But they do have their own kit in a large number of exchanges, which gives them more control over their service. (Not saying that others don't do this as well.)

MortyVicar · 13/01/2019 13:27

We've never been with anyone other than Zen. 'Nuff said.

acacia33 · 28/02/2022 08:52

Have you looked into gigabit networks?
They only operate in the midlands so may not apply to you but they're amazing.
930mbps speeds which is massive, using full-fibre cabling instead of part fibre like virgin and BT. They have great support, 99.9% target uptime, and amazing customer service. It's only £49 pm and the price stays the same through your contract so I feel like you get what you pay for. Definitely one to look at if you're in the midlands x
I'll leave the link If you're interested:
gigabitnetworks.co.uk

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