planning getting broadband...anyone know any good deals??

[quiteone]

been on dialup but planning broadband but on a budget?? any help??

[lazytown]

See this thread:

http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=40572

[Bobinovich]

At just £9.99 you'd be hard pushed to beat PlusNet. Of course it does depend on how much downloading you're expecting to do but as a starter Broadband package I've happily recommended them to some of my customers.

[mandy&baz]

wat ever u do, do not go with bt.....they rip u off the scum bags

[wifie]

Have just changed to plusnet from AOL (aaaargh) - likin it so far!!!

[Bobinovich]

Having battled with yet another AOL PC today for a few hours can I please simply suggest 'Anyone other than AOL'

[chamb]

Having battled with yet another AOL PC today for a few hours can I please simply suggest 'Anyone other than AOL'

Have to disagree, AOL have served me for nearly 10 years and I have never thought about going away from them. they have never let me down.

[sphinx]

try tiscali broadband never had any faults way there serivce

[poppett]

I am a pipex customer and have had brilliant, speedy service every time. I pay £19 per month but that includes phone calls to any 01 or 02 number 24/7 for up to 90 minutes at a time.

A friend in England has just moved from AOL to SKY surf and speak, but we can not get that deal up here yet.

[Metalattakk]

try tiscali broadband never had any faults way there serivce

If ever there was an ISP to avoid like the plague, it's Tiscali. They are utterly, contemptuously, ridiculously and completely useless. The mere fact you are happy with them says more about you than the 'service' they 'provide'.

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/isp_ratings.php

Look at the ratings. Tiscali, Orange/Wanadoo and BT all way down the ranks. Do yourself a big favour folks, and go somewhere else.

Of course, it always helps to know what you want from your ISP.

Edit: Comments on Tiscali service here - http://www.dslzoneuk.net/isp_ratings...nts.php?isp=14

[flip]

Have To Agree With Bobinvich Aol Is Hard Work I Use Pipex Not Bad

[Metalattakk]

Unfortunately, Pipex have recently been taken over by........ Tiscali!

[justine]

Well when wanted to get broadband we phoned quite alot of places to find out the best deal, price and speed. They all promise max speed but it only runs aswell as bt can run.All operators use the same provider fort heir telephone link..The cheapest quote i got was from sky broadband but unfortunately it is unavailable up this far...We have bt and have no problems other than the speed....The other thing is with bt broadband software it is incompatible with windows Vista...
I say just look about and see what is best for your personal needs. Hope you have fortune looking....

[Dog-eared]

Onetel do good broadband / phone packages.

[Riffman]

Tiscali -- not that great. I was with them for a year, not worth it IMHO.

AOL - great service if you manage to avoid using their email and browsing software as it kills your PC.

I have AOL running a wireless network, and the main PC that has AOL software on it is useless!

But, apart from killing your PC they are fast, very reliable, and if you moan at them will send you free routers and things!

[NickInTheNorth]

Having battled with yet another AOL PC today for a few hours can I please simply suggest 'Anyone other than AOL'

I totally agree with that Bobinovich!

In fact I don't know anyone that has ever done any work as a techy that wouldn't wholeheartedly agree with you!

I've used Plus.net in the past and found them very good indeed. Currently with BT until the end of my current contract, then we'll see, but there's only 2 ISP's on my shortlist, and I've named them both in this paragraph!

[Kevin Milkins]

It was interesting to here such varied opinions on providers.I have been with AOL for a while and its good when its going ok and the service is getting a bit better if you have to phone them ,however I can,t help thinking that I am being shafted on the price as I pay over thirty pounds a month.When I get bumph off BT or see the adverts on the telly I think sombody is not telling me somthing

[johndh]

Have a look at the forums at http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk

The guys who post to these forums don't pull punches, so you should get a fair feel for what the various ISP's are like.

If you have never used Broadband before be careful of minimum contract times. It costs every ISP £45.00 or so, to order a new provide from BT Wholesale. Some isp's pass this onto the customer straight away, but they don't tie you into a 12 or 18 month contract. Other isp's do not pass the charge on, but they will tie you in for 12 months at least. The obvious downside is, if you go for the cheapest option and you find the isp is'nt performing, you are either lumbered for the remainder of the year, or pay a hefty penalty to get out.

How you choose which is best for yourself is largely down to how you are going to use your Broadband and how much you can afford. If it's web browsing and email, then many of the main stream isp's will probably suit. There's a fair chance that when you get into it, your demand for bandwidth will increase. So the next tip is, never believe the guy that says 'Unlimited'. It's complete nonsense, there is always a limit, but they like to call it a Fair Use Policy (FUP) make sure you read it and satisfy yourself that it's adequate.

The guys above have made some good points, I'm just adding to what they say, and pointing out a few gottchas for newcomers.

Whoops, just one more thing. When you do get sorted, use a router via your ethernet port rather than a usb modem. Its much better, and leave it switched on.

All the best

John

[rob16d]

plus.net or pipex...or madasafish.com

[emb123]

I agree with Bobinovitch too - AOL software makes a real mess of the PCs it is installed on and is far more intrusive than I would ever permit on a machine of my own.

The AOL service is not too bad actually provided you don't require usenet but the software is dreadful and the technical support if you ever need to contact them drag out expensive phone calls to last even longer than my postings

I used a Tiscali free trial for 30 minutes before deciding that it was absolutely dreadful, it took three weeks for them to release me to switch to Virgin not to mention the mess they made of my phone account, and the whole experience cost me about £20. I do NOT recommend Tiscali. Ever, under any circumstances whatsoever.

I do not recommend Virgin either any more, although they used to be very good. I am currently in the centre of Wick and you can see my supposedly up to 8mbps broadband speed here:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/236797280.png
Nuff said.

A pal of mine is on Supanet. He gets up to 8mbps and it doesn't slow down in the evenings to the extent that Virgin cap the speed (despite claiming that they are not capping them). He downloads on Bittorrent most days and they don't cap him. He pays about £7.50 or £7.99 per month. I can't remember which. They also do not operate a usenet server if that is important to you.

One thing which is vitally important - if you go with someone on a trial and decide to switch, make sure you get a MAC code (migration access code) and do not cancel the service without getting that code accepted by the new ISP. Otherwise you could be without internet for weeks.