I.S.P's

**Monstro** · 13 Nov 2007, 20:29

Ok, sometime over the next couple of days I've got to decide which Broadband provider to sign up with and was hoping you all could let me know your experiences, cost, download speeds etc.

I was gonna go with sky as they're installing a dish etc but they want an extra £17 a month for an up to 8mb download speed service.

Oh yeah, Virgin media is out, seen the problems Emma has with them lol

duke knooby · 13 Nov 2007, 20:32

with tiscali... been perfect for me..no problems so far

*AndyK* · 13 Nov 2007, 20:33

I use BT costs me around £30 a month I think, slated at 8Meg bandwidth, but it';s variable between 6 and 10 (really depends on your local exchange can be anything from 512K upwards with BT depending on where you are)... just had the bonus of the free BT Vision box delivered as well, which gives me Freeview, TV on Demand and a hard disc recorder allowing all the gizmo's of pausing and recording Live TV etc.

Deb · 13 Nov 2007, 20:36

I've had no problems with virgin media and theyre relatively cheap.

**Monstro** · 13 Nov 2007, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deb

I've had no problems with virgin media and theyre relatively cheap.

I think it's a London thing

Evil One · 13 Nov 2007, 21:05

Virgin Media is good when it works, but their customer services department is terrible.

**RadioMaster** · 13 Nov 2007, 21:08

whatever you do ... dont do AOL lol

mszee · 13 Nov 2007, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadioMaster

whatever you do ... dont do AOL lol

I didn't know anybody still uses them...it was a joke to have AOL as a provider even years ago when it was still dial up...

JanT · 13 Nov 2007, 22:45

I'm with Sky, I'm on 8mb unlimited (subject to fair usage) and it only costs £10 a month on top of my sky bill. Had no problems so far, been with them since April this year.

wolfy35 · 13 Nov 2007, 23:04

Im with TalkTalk ( Carphone warehouse ) I pay £20 per month for phone line all UK and international landline calls, international mobile calls and an 8meg quoted internet connection but the weird thing is that according to my connection wizard so far I have not had a connection of less than 11.3meg

When they first started service was crap ( I was with AOL at that time) but the service is really good now.
P.S. Did you know that Sky BB is actually a piggyback on AOL and that AOL has been just a trading name of Carphone warehouse for over a year now?

SW31 · 14 Nov 2007, 01:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadioMaster

whatever you do ... dont do AOL lol

i've been with aol for over 2 years & had no problems with them now getting up to 8 meg downloads

Hypnobabe · 14 Nov 2007, 12:52

I'm with AOL, and although I went through a phase of having problems with them a while back, I haven't had any lately.

Ageing Bat · 14 Nov 2007, 14:10

Checkout AOL (I'm with them by the way) - dunno if they still have the free laptop offer? (Carphone Warehouse). It's more expensive where I live, but you should be OK in London.

CarylB · 14 Nov 2007, 20:00

I've used BT for years and although as Andy's said their broadband speed varies depending on the area you're in, they're pretty consistent, and I've had no service interruptions for years. Their customer service was once excellent .. but now it's been moved out of the UK is pretty tricky when you're trying to deal with technical things when you have limited geek-speak and they have limited English and work to a script for predictable problems. Mine was when we were setting up a new computer, and it was impossible to get them to answer our questions .. although I finally found one CSA who was really helpful, spoke excellent English I could understand, and gaveme his email so I could contact him if I had another query .. and when I did he phoned me back within an hour :)

I'd love to go with Virgin .. or any cable company offering a full phone/internet/TV package, but they stopped short of my side of the city when laying cables when govt subsidies stopped, and I don't expect to ever be able to use cable

Sky seems expensive. Just wish BT would finally feel the need to compete with a full service like Virgin's.

Caryl

**RadioMaster** · 14 Nov 2007, 20:01

you dont have Alice over there, do you?

duke knooby · 14 Nov 2007, 20:04

Alice?? Alice?? who the f.....

Lord Kagan · 14 Nov 2007, 20:05

feck is she?

**RadioMaster** · 14 Nov 2007, 20:07

the company that took over AOL over here:

mszee · 14 Nov 2007, 20:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadioMaster

the company that took over AOL over here:

oh THAT Alice...ask her to move sign down a bit...

Lord Kagan · 14 Nov 2007, 20:34

i was just gonna say that

samurai7 · 15 Nov 2007, 04:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil One

Virgin Media is good when it works, but their customer services department is terrible.

Ha! Tell me about it - I used to work there!

Seriously. Back in the day, during the whole NTL and Cable & Wireless merger I was a tech on the helplines for ntlworld, virgin.net, and all the other internet services that NTL had a hand in. Just before I came to my senses and left, I was seconded to the new and shiny broadband department. Of course now the whole thing has been rebranded as Virgin Media, but it's the same setup. I only used their products because I got a discount. Had I actually lived in a cable-fed area I'd have got the services for free, but that's a different story. Unfair b*stards.

Any of you who know me will be wondering 'How the hell was this guy a techie?' to which there is no answer. Hell, I don't even know how (or why) I was doing it. I'm But I was pretty good, though. Weird, huh?

mszee · 15 Nov 2007, 14:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by samurai7

Ha! Tell me about it - I used to work there!

THIS...explains EVERYTHING...

Quote:

Any of you who know me will be wondering 'How the hell was this guy a techie?' to which there is no answer. Hell, I don't even know how (or why) I was doing it. I'm But I was pretty good, though. Weird, huh?

Actually...now that you've mentioned it...

13 Nov 2007, 20:29	#1
Monstro Promoted to Wario's spellchecker Join Date: 17.09.2005 Location: London Posts: 12,947	I.S.P's Ok, sometime over the next couple of days I've got to decide which Broadband provider to sign up with and was hoping you all could let me know your experiences, cost, download speeds etc. I was gonna go with sky as they're installing a dish etc but they want an extra £17 a month for an up to 8mb download speed service. Oh yeah, Virgin media is out, seen the problems Emma has with them lol

13 Nov 2007, 20:32	#2
duke knooby Mega Loafer Join Date: 24.06.2005 Location: belfast Posts: 17,888	with tiscali... been perfect for me..no problems so far

13 Nov 2007, 20:33	#3
AndyK Relentless Join Date: 21.11.2003 Location: Over the top..... seeing what's on the other side Posts: 18,694	I use BT costs me around £30 a month I think, slated at 8Meg bandwidth, but it';s variable between 6 and 10 (really depends on your local exchange can be anything from 512K upwards with BT depending on where you are)... just had the bonus of the free BT Vision box delivered as well, which gives me Freeview, TV on Demand and a hard disc recorder allowing all the gizmo's of pausing and recording Live TV etc.

13 Nov 2007, 20:36	#4
Deb Mega Loafer Join Date: 26.04.2003 Location: Did I say that?... Posts: 4,162	I've had no problems with virgin media and theyre relatively cheap.

13 Nov 2007, 21:05	#6
Evil One Mega Loafer Join Date: 15.01.2007 Posts: 5,192	Virgin Media is good when it works, but their customer services department is terrible.

13 Nov 2007, 21:08	#7
RadioMaster The German Join Date: 11.03.2006 Location: some kind of hunting lodge for rich weirdos... Posts: 15,778	whatever you do ... dont do AOL lol

13 Nov 2007, 22:45	#9
JanT Mega Loafer Join Date: 22.06.2006 Location: Blackpool Posts: 2,232	I'm with Sky, I'm on 8mb unlimited (subject to fair usage) and it only costs £10 a month on top of my sky bill. Had no problems so far, been with them since April this year.

13 Nov 2007, 23:04	#10
wolfy35 Dangerous on a full moon Join Date: 14.03.2007 Location: Standing on the outside, Looking in on you Posts: 751	Im with TalkTalk ( Carphone warehouse ) I pay £20 per month for phone line all UK and international landline calls, international mobile calls and an 8meg quoted internet connection but the weird thing is that according to my connection wizard so far I have not had a connection of less than 11.3meg When they first started service was crap ( I was with AOL at that time) but the service is really good now. P.S. Did you know that Sky BB is actually a piggyback on AOL and that AOL has been just a trading name of Carphone warehouse for over a year now?

14 Nov 2007, 12:52	#12
Hypnobabe mszee's Mistress with sexy goddess boots Join Date: 13.07.2005 Location: Hitting the highway like a battering ram... Posts: 7,686	I'm with AOL, and although I went through a phase of having problems with them a while back, I haven't had any lately.

14 Nov 2007, 14:10	#13
Ageing Bat Young at heart. Slightly older in other places. Join Date: 20.11.2003 Location: Here! Posts: 1,311	Checkout AOL (I'm with them by the way) - dunno if they still have the free laptop offer? (Carphone Warehouse). It's more expensive where I live, but you should be OK in London.

14 Nov 2007, 20:00	#14
CarylB Mega Loafer Join Date: 16.04.2003 Location: Sheffield UK Posts: 5,910	I've used BT for years and although as Andy's said their broadband speed varies depending on the area you're in, they're pretty consistent, and I've had no service interruptions for years. Their customer service was once excellent .. but now it's been moved out of the UK is pretty tricky when you're trying to deal with technical things when you have limited geek-speak and they have limited English and work to a script for predictable problems. Mine was when we were setting up a new computer, and it was impossible to get them to answer our questions .. although I finally found one CSA who was really helpful, spoke excellent English I could understand, and gaveme his email so I could contact him if I had another query .. and when I did he phoned me back within an hour :) I'd love to go with Virgin .. or any cable company offering a full phone/internet/TV package, but they stopped short of my side of the city when laying cables when govt subsidies stopped, and I don't expect to ever be able to use cable Sky seems expensive. Just wish BT would finally feel the need to compete with a full service like Virgin's. Caryl

14 Nov 2007, 20:01	#15
RadioMaster The German Join Date: 11.03.2006 Location: some kind of hunting lodge for rich weirdos... Posts: 15,778	you dont have Alice over there, do you?

14 Nov 2007, 20:04	#16
duke knooby Mega Loafer Join Date: 24.06.2005 Location: belfast Posts: 17,888	Alice?? Alice?? who the f.....

14 Nov 2007, 20:05	#17
Lord Kagan On the other hand, You have different fingers Join Date: 17.05.2006 Location: Belfast Posts: 8,833	feck is she?

14 Nov 2007, 20:07	#18
RadioMaster The German Join Date: 11.03.2006 Location: some kind of hunting lodge for rich weirdos... Posts: 15,778	the company that took over AOL over here:

14 Nov 2007, 20:34	#20
Lord Kagan On the other hand, You have different fingers Join Date: 17.05.2006 Location: Belfast Posts: 8,833	i was just gonna say that