BT Midband

[Katherine]

Does anyone have this?

We can't get broadband out in the sticks and its not likley to happen either. Currently pay £16 internet access plus line rental for extra line.

Midband is BTs ISDN alternative to broadband and costs £35 month which I think includes line rental. You get 150 hrs at full speed or 75 hrs normal speed. So not much difference cost wise but if I spend a lot of time at the higher speed then I'll get less hours for my money. Trying to decide if its worthwhile doing.

Does anyone else use this service and how do you rate it?

It is only as good as a good dial up line although possibly a bit more resilient.

Where abouts do you live and have you tried Tiscali?

Live in Peak District but more than 3 miles from any exchange.

The advantage is I could use the phone line while surfing but I spend loads of time online so am worried that I will get through my hours too quickly. 75 hrs is only 2-3 hrs per day isn't it and I reckon I'm on 4-5.

Just fed up with things being so slow and wondered if there was an alternative for similar money. thought midband sounded hopeful but then read some bad reviews

No, if you have a good isp, then ISDN can be good - you can talk on the phone while surfing on the internet and you can dial up with a "dual" line, which gives you 128kb/sec (normal dialup is 56, broadband is 256): the downside is that you have to pay for two phonecalls (unless you have an anytime type deal). Plus ISDN modems can connect really fast - you can set the connection to disconnect after its been idle for a minute or so, and you barely notice when it has to dial up again.

But with the line retals and call charges, its expensive. Needs careful thought!

PS just read your post again and it looks like the price has come down (but you'll probably have to pay £50 odd for an ISDN modem). You must mean you get 150 hours normal speed. If you set it up to autodisconnect, 150 hours should be enough!

Its £75 connection fee which is why I'm hesitating. But then its £35 per month. For this you get 150 hours if surfing at the slower speed or 75 hours at the faster speed. However its meant to be clever so it automatically adjusts depending on the files you are downloading. Line rental is also included so as long as I keep within the limit then I think it works out pretty much the same as paying for an extra line (about £13 rental then £16 anytime access - not much in it if the benefits are good enough). But if you go over the hours then you pay anytime rates.

Would make my work quicker but not sure if the cost is worth it and I should plod on as I am and hope for a miracle with satelite broadband!

If you need the internet for work then go for the ISDN. It's a lot cheaper than it used to be! We also work with the internet and used to moan about our ISDN. Then it got cut off, and we were screaming for it again! (eventual solution: we moved house)

Like I say, make sure you set it to auto-disconnect after a shortish time though, otherwise you will end up with massive bills. There are various pieces of software which will monitor modems for you, so you can keep track of the cost - if you go over, you can adjust the settings so you only use the slower rate for the rest of the month (and it's still noticeably faster than normal dialup)

Satellite internet does exist (for ages it was download only, so you needed to dial up anyway - a bit pointless). but last time we looked it was about £2k setup with enormous monthly fees. I've heard stories of cheaper systems, but never seen anyone selling them.