Broadband anyone?

[lou33]

We can finally get broadband here and I am trying to convince dh to get it (quite sucessfully it seems). So what has everyone got and how do they rate it? Has anyone got Biscit, because I hear they are very good? Tia. I want 500kbps ideally.

We've got Nildram and have been really and truly impressed with them. They're not the cheapest, but they seem to have an exceptional track record and very good customer service.

I have friends who are having issues with Tiscali - I don't know if that's consistent or just they've been unlucky though.

Haven't heard about Biscit tbh.

I have got half speed broadband with Tiscali and I'm very happy - it's cheaper and fine for most things!

We've got Demon and they are fine although they have had some dodgy patches recently.

I saw Blue Yonder/Telewest (?) were advertising the fastest available connection.

Our phone bill reduced by £100/month when we wnet onto broadband.....

Telewest is cable modem - I have to say Telewest were one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had (and that is saying a lot) - that was for the "normal" cable modem rather than the broadband version though. I still wouldn't touch them!

Thanks so far. We can't have cable here though, so that rules out a few I spose, like ntl. Any more?

Got BT B'band a couple of months ago - no real problems so far, just niggles. Live streaming often judders, but otherwise am much happier using internet - no all night downloads costing a small fortune. We should really upgrade the pc to make it worthwhile, but there's the kitchen to pay for and the new radiator valves and the car service........ Least we know what we're spending now and can leave Mumsnet on all the time.

We used to have Telewest Broadband and it was more hassle than it was worth! It cut out quite alot and the help desk was not helpful.
When it did work, it was fast though!

We have been with Zen for about a year now, and they are EXCELLENT. We have never got less then 512kbps, I'm currently on 576, upload is about half that. They have just droped their prices too and are NEVER down, well not since we've been using them. And activation is free untilthe end of June.

Not trying to advertise, just its no often you can make a genuine recommendation.

I would be careful about NTL as they are supposed to cut people off a lot and set limits on time, or so I've heard.

I think that their site is www.zenadsl.co.uk

Thanks Pie, I'll give it a look.

We're with plusnet and, pie, I can echo your posting almost word for word. Think they're great. Even better, my employers pay for it...

£22.99 a month, website = www.plus.net, can't remember what set-up charges were so they can't have been too punishing

Lou33

I have been with BT for their Broadband offering and they are good. No major problems and only one call to customer support that i was not happy with.

After BT told us we could not have broadband even though our neighbours could (and we live in a Terraced house!) - we write to Ofetl who made BT "look at the issue in more depth".... to be told by a senior manager... the same rubbish.... there was NO WAY that we could have the connection... we told them in details why we thought their reasoning made no sense.

Anyway - we spoke to our ISP provider and HE made a call to BT... we had broadband the following week..... it was simply that BT did not bother doing proper tests (manual one I think) on our line.... anyway our ISP who deserves a medal for sorting it out is VISPA! £28/month and we are extremly pleased with the service. Also they give you some money off if you refer clients to them !

BTW it has never been down since we had it and the download speed is 598??? it is more than 500 but can't remember the excact number.

We've got the 518k broadband from Tiscali and dh (who's the one who uses the computer at home) is very pleased with it. He particularly likes their cusotomer service - if there is a problem, they are good at communicating what it is and how long it is likely to last.

Pupuce - BT should have have done the manual tests without you having to push. Broadband's reach is limited, even when your local exchange has been "enabled" for broadband. So if you are are beoynd a certain distance from the exchamge, they need to check whether it will still work. The limitation is caused by the copper wire that is used for all domestic connections: the technology can only "fire" the broadband so far.

JanZ - we had a BIG and I do mean big discussion with BT (DH spent hours on the phone with them) as their "you cannot have broadband" answer made no sense.
We live in a terraced house NOT only do our neighbours have broadband but people further from the exchange (we know where it is) also do.... they then argued our line must be too old... to which we said "we live ina terraced house" we all got our line at the same time. We got a letter from the regional manager telling us : NO WAY you cannot have broadband as we are not looking at uograding your line or having a new exchange nearer to your house.....
We spoke to Vispa - we had it a few days later.

A client of mine had the EXACT same experience... he called Vispa.... he has Broadband.

BTW other ISP were not going to help us but as we were already clients and they have always been very responsive to our quries.... well anyway I say well done Vispa!

Pupuce - interesting story about BT. You should maybe think about making an official complaint to Oftel that even after their intervention, BT were still obstructive - and compliment Vispa at the same time, as having sorted your problem!

DH plans to write an article about the whole incident and I will suggest he DOES write to Oftel (again)
Thanks !